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Clos Fourtet 2016

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot

Situated in the heart of Saint Emilion, close to Canon, this is one of the great vineyards of the appellation. The 19 hectares of vines are planted with 87% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc. 70% new oak is used. Stephane Derenoncourt and J-C Berrouet are consultants here.

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Label

Tasting Notes

Love the dark-berry and intense black-olive and chocolate aromas that follow through to a full body and firm and chewy tannins that deliver a rich and delicious finish. Such polish and, at the same time, finesse. But one of the cellar. A blend of 90 per cent merlot, seven per cent cabernet sauvignon and three per cent cabernet franc. Try from 2022.

97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2019

Clos Fourtet 2016 is blended from 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc and has a deep garnet color, with a touch of purple. The nose is shut down initially, soon unfurling to offer up notes of plum preserves, boysenberries and fruitcake, plus wafts of Indian spices, dusty soil, and garrigue. Full-bodied, the palate is super-rich, jam-packed with black fruits and exotic spice layers, supported by ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length.

97+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2022

This showcases why Clos Fourtet is such a confident, powerful wine. It gets the balance right between the sappy, saline quality of its limestone terroir and yet reflects the ripeness and flashiness of Merlot that makes St-Émilion such a well loved appellation. Excellent, serious quality, cerebral but sexy.

Drinking Window 2027 - 2050

96
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2017

Very sweet nose. Something a little dead about this sample. Not enough freshness. Smooth tannins but just a bit of lack of life on the mid palate. Obviously ambitious. I'd love to taste another sample. A saliva-sucker.
Drink 2023-2037

16.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2017

One of the gems in the vintage that should be snatched up by readers is the 2016 Château Clos Fourtet. Coming from a magical 20-hectare vineyard located on the upper, limestone-driven plateau just outside Saint-Emilion and a blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc from small yields of 38 hectoliters per hectare, it spent 16 months in 60% new French oak (and a small portion of the blend saw malo in barrel as well). Its saturated purple color is followed by a monster bouquet of ripe blackberries, cassis, graphite, and crushed rocks, and it picks up more blue fruits, truffle, and limestone minerality with time in the glass. This deep, full-bodied, powerful Saint-Emilion has some similarities to Canon yet is deeper and richer, with a more powerful yet still elegant style. It’s a brilliant bottle of wine to hide for 4-5 years and drink over the following 2-3 decades. 2023 - 2053.

97
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, February 2019

Depth on the nose the palate has sweet fruit ripe and fleshy. Integrated discreet tannins the mid palate has some fresh fruits but at the back there is breadth of flavour with supple richness on the finish. 2026-38

87/90
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2017

The sample here was from a new barrel, whereas the finished wine will only have 50% new oak, so this is woodier than it will be in bottle. No matter, as it’s a wonderfully polished wine, with lovely freshness, poise and structure, restrained alcohol, chalky minerality and very fine tannins. 2024-36

96
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2017
Read more tasting notes...

The 2016 Clos Fourtet is a blend of 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc aged in 60% new oak. It has a generous, well defined licorice-tinged fruit that is very focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, blackberry and boysenberry fruit with that salted licorice theme continuing. This Clos Fourtet has impressive concentration, yet there is real elegance and persistence, fanning out wonderfully towards the finish. Mathieu Cuvelier has overseen another outstanding Clos Fourtet. Tasted twice, with a second bottle demonstrating a tad more backbone but equally admirable.
Drink Date 2023 - 2055

95/97
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (230), April 2017

This is a solid and structured 2016 with fabulous density and freshness. Full-bodied yet vibrant and exciting. Wow. We will see.

95/96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2017

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Clos Fourtet is a little closed to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal notions of warm black cherries, crème de cassis, blackberry compote and dark chocolate with hints of garrigue, bay leaves and cigar box. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a firm yet beautifully ripe frame of fine-grained tannins with a lively line lifting the concentrated, multilayered fruit to a long finish.

95
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, March 2019
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.