Clos Fourtet 2020

The 2020 Clos Fourtet has a gorgeous, complex bouquet with ample red berry fruit, undergrowth, sage and hints of pencil box coming through with time. This is very classy. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, perfectly judged acidity and seamlessly integrated new oak. Backward at the moment, this will require a few years in bottle, but it will age with style and panache.

This is really something with so much tension and focus and a persistent, long finish that lasts for minutes. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and so long. Such polish and finesse. Elegance with power.

The 2020 Clos Fourtet is a blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc, harvested from 15th to 30th September and weighing in with an alcohol of 14.5% and a pH of 3.6. It is being aged for 14-18 months in 50% new oak barrels, 48% second-fill barrels and 2% amphora. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes bounding out of the glass with ripe, expressive notes of crushed black plums, juicy black berries and black cherry preserves, followed by hints of ground cloves, cinnamon stick, camphor and cedar chest. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with bright, vivacious black fruits, framed by velvety tannins and bags of freshness, finishing with great length. 2027 - 2057

Wonderful limestone character, walking the tightrope of tannins, acidity and fruit, remains pretty austere even after ageing, and this is one to put away for another six or seven years. Serious and concentrated, with creamy blueberry, raspberry and damson pueree appearing as it opens in the glass. 40 hl/ha yield. 18.5ha estate, that will increase in size as of the 2022 vintage due to incusion of neighbouring Les Grands Murailles. Stéphane Derencourt and Jean-Claude Berrouet consultants, Matthieu Cuvelier owner.

Full bottle 1,355 g. Cask sample taken 6 April. 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc. Fermentation of whole uncrushed berries in 25 small temperature-controlled tanks; extraction via manual pigeage; vatting period lasting 22 to 30 days; malolactic conversion in vats, jars and barrels.
Deep purple. Pretty heady, complex nose. Appetising palate. Round, ripe tannins lurking beneath some pretty sophisticated fruit. Finishes dry and spreads out on the very end like a peacock's tail. Much drier than most St-Émilions, with seriously interesting freshness. 14.5%
Drink 2027 – 2043

The 2020 is a blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc harvested at 40hl/ha. 14.5% abv. Deep ruby-purple in the glass with a redolent nose of bramble fruit, sweet vanilla and fleshy red berries. The palate is less succulent than might be expected, with moutchoating tannins and a graphite, mineral edge working well to cut through the dense and sweet core of fruit. The finish is toasty and helped by a savoury note against the fruit weight.

(90% M, 7% CS, 3% CF; 40hl/ha; 14.5% ABV; 50% new)
Soft and plump to smell and subtly mineral; rich, fleshy, vital in acidity, finely firm in tannin; rich, juicy, succulent flavor, with a beautiful complexity and length of taste; prolonged, lively, leisurely, linear, mouthwateringly tasty and very long to finish; a rich, complete, classy limestone wine. Elegance, freshness, great finesse, great beauty. A most successful Clos Fourtet. 2028–50.