Clos Fourtet 2018
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Winemaker Notes
The wines of Clos Fourtet, Premier Grand Cru Classé, embody the finest of Saint-Émilion. Smooth, intriguing and seductive, their pure natural aromas are delicately woven together in a charming display of the unparalleled potential of our terroir. Our wines mark the culmination of all of our efforts, unveiling themselves as time passes - alive, developing and maturing.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Easily as good as the 2015 at this estate, the 2018 may even prove to be better after some ageing. There is depth and concentration to the berry fruits, but also a fine quality to the tannins and a softness overall that suggests nothing was pushed, that all of this power is simply what was naturally given by the vintage. It's very good quality, true to the confidence of the estate, pulsating with rich raspberry and damson notes and playing between a seductive gourmet edge and maintaining its limestone freshness. I have enjoyed a number of older vintages of this wine recently, and I feel pretty sure that this will grow into one of those wines that you are so happy to open after a few decades of ageing. 33hl/ha yield. 60% new oak.
Drinking Window 2027 - 2043
Barrel Sample: 97 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Clos Fourtet (a blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Franc) opens with wonderfully pure, intense black fruit notes of ripe blackberries, crushed black cherries and warm plums, leading to suggestions of pencil lead, clove oil, black olives and aniseed. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock-full of muscular black fruits, delivering compelling vivacity and tension, framed by velvety tannin's and finishing epically long and perfumed. The intense, bright, energetic fruit on this 2018 has been impeccably preserved. Stunning!
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Jeb Dunnuck
Beautiful all the way, the deep purple hued 2018 Château Clos Fourtet comes from one of the prized terroirs on the upper limestone plateau, just outside the village of Saint-Emilion. The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Cabernet Sauvignon, brought up in 60% new French oak. Gorgeous minerality as well as cassis and ripe black cherry fruits emerge from this full-bodied 2018 that has lots of tobacco and spice-driven aromatics, again, an almost searing minerality, beautiful overall balance, and ripe, building tannins. It benefits from air if opening bottles anytime soon, and it’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and cruise for two decades in cold cellars.
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James Suckling
Beautiful blueberries and black cherries with crushed-stone and limestone notes. Juniper, too. It’s full-bodied, yet so linear and energetic with focused, fine tannins. Fresh acidity. Really fine-grained tannins here. Drink after 2025.
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Wine Spectator
Juicy, winey and very compact in feel, with racy acidity and chalky minerality imbedded deeply in the core of sleek cassis, bitter cherry and damson plum flavors. Nice flecks of savory and dried anise dot the finish, where everything echoes nicely. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2038.
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Clos Fourtet owes its fame to the Rulleau and Carles families. The latter were lords of Figeac. They were the first to grow vines on this barely arable land, which nevertheless has outstanding natural drainage. Clos Fourtet's old vines, perfectly balanced grape varieties, traditional winemaking methods backed up by the most modern techniques, and aging in new oak barrels in underground cellars complement all the gifts that nature has bestowed on this chateau.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.