2018 Clos Fourtet

Tasted blind. Composed, integrated nose. Gentle palate with tannins mastered by lots of ripe, energetic fruit. Quite a bit of alcohol though… (JR)

Owned by Mathieu Cuvelier, located right on the central limestone plateau of the medieval village of St Emilion. Ruby red in colour, the rough slate texture hits you right off the bat, landing you straight in limestone territory. As it inches forward through the palate, you get juicy raspberry, concentrated cassis fruit pastille, spiced plum, grilled almonds and tobacco leaf, with curls of woodsmoke and flint. There is a generosity that is already apparent, and this is exceptionally good quality, but needs another few years in bottle. A yield of 33hl/ha. 60% new oak.

The 2018 Clos Fourtet has a wonderful bouquet of mixed red and black fruit mingled with graphite and melted tar, all very focused and well delineated. The well-proportioned palate delivers fine-grained tannins, a perfect bead of acidity and very pure black fruit laced with tobacco toward the finish. I maintain that it is less flamboyant than recent vintages, which suits its well. This is going to age beautifully.