- Colour Red
- Producer Clos Fourtet
- Region St Emilion
- Drinking 2030 - 2052
- Case size 1x300cl
- Available Now
2020 - Clos Fourtet 1er Grand Cru Classé St Emilion - 1x300cl
- Colour Red
- Producer Clos Fourtet
- Region St Emilion
- Drinking 2030 - 2052
- Case size 1x300cl
- Available Now
Select pricing type
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Goedhuis, May 2021, Score: 94-96
90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc Almost ambassadorial in its representation of the Merlot grape variety and its success in the very best locations this year. Wonderfully plump and abundant, with aromas of dark cherry and Black Forest fruits. The initial impression is one of fleshy richness, which quietly give way to some tannic precision and lively freshness, only for the sweetness of juicy ripe fruit to come back on the finish. Eye-catching but also classy.
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Neal Martin, December 2022, Score: 95
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. Drink 2028 - 2060
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Neal Martin, May 2021, Score: 95-97
The 2020 Clos Fourtet was picked September 15–30 at 40hl/ha and matured in 50% new oak. It has an expressive, winsome bouquet of red and blue fruit, crushed rose and iris, touches of blood orange coming through with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins and wonderful acidity. Harmonious and almost crystalline toward the finish. This is a very impressive Clos Fourtet that brims with freshness and persistence, gaining weight and depth over the course of an hour. It will battle the 2019 for supremacy.
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Antonio Galloni, December 2022, Score: 98
The 2020 Clos Fourtet is a towering, statuesque beauty that captures all the personality and character of this site in a wine that marries vertical intensity, power and explosive energy. Black cherry, gravel, menthol, sage, crushed rocks and chocolate all soar out of the glass. This is a tremendous showing from the Cuvelier family. Drink 2030-2060
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Antonio Galloni, June 2021, Score: 96-98
A wine of stature and breeding, the 2020 Clos Fourtet is absolutely breathtaking from barrel. A rush of lavender, graphite, spice, licorice and espresso hits the senses. Vibrant and powerful, yet also remarkably light on its feet, the 2020 has so much of offer. All the elements are so crisp, so beautifully defined. The 2020 is all class. It is one of the most promising wines of this young vintage and a fabulous effort from the Cuvelier family. Don't miss it. Drink 2035-2060
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Wine Advocate, May 2021, Score: 96
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. Drink 2027-2057
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James Suckling, April 2021, Score: 95-96
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.
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Decanter, May 2021, Score: 96
Plush damson and blueberry on the nose, there is juice and a tightrope walking concentration of fruits. An excellent Clos Fourtet, with a juicy edge where the magic of limestone in dry summers is very much showing through. A yield of 40 hl/ha. 14 to 18 months ageing in underground limestone cellars. 2021 sees 20 years of the Cuvelier family at Clos Fourtet and this is an excellent wine to showcase what a brilliant job they have done here. Score could go higher after barrel ageing. Drink 2028-2044
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Matthew Jukes, May 2021, Score: 17.5+
While there is seemingly a forest of oak standing in front of the fruit this is still a forcefully fruity and heady wine with both black fruit and also blueberry tones in the mix. There are plum and mulberry nuances, too, which add to the complexity, but much of this exuberance is shut down by the earthy tannins which swarm the palate and dry everything out. This will be a medium to long-term wine and the fruit is reeling from the battering it is taking from the oak, but the fruit will win through given time.
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Jancis Robinson, April 2021, Score: 17
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
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Jeb Dunnuck, May 2021, Score: 97-99
One of the biggest successes on the upper plateau is the 2020 Château Clos Fourtet, and it does everything right in the vintage. A magical, perfumed bouquet of red plums, black cherries, white truffle, and white flowers just screams Saint-Emilion, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, a dense mid-palate, and a liqueur of rocks-like minerality on the palate. Building incrementally with time in the glass, this is thrilling stuff that should offer some up-front appeal in its youth yet benefit from 7-8 years in the cellar and keep for 30 years or more. Bravo! The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc that’s still resting in 50% new French oak.
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Wine Cellar Insider, May 2021, Score: 96-98
Dark garnet in color, the wine gets your attention quickly with its licorice, smoke, dark cocoa, chalk and plummy aromas. Pure silk and velvet on the palate, with a fabulous sense of purity in the fruits, lift, length, richness, concentration and minerality. This is clearly a top vintage for Clos Fourtet that will age for decades. The wine was made from blending 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% ABV.
Producer
Clos Fourtet
Unusually titled for a Bordelais property, Clos Fourtet gets its name from "Camp Fourtet" as it was originally used as a Medieval fort to protect the town of St Emilion.
Region
St Emilion
South of Pomerol lies the medieval, perched village of St Emilion. Surrounding St Emilion are vines that produce round, rich and often hedonistic wines. Despite a myriad of soil types, two main ones dominate - the gravelly, limestone slopes that delve down to the valley from the plateau and the valley itself which is comprised of limestone, gravel, clay and sand. Despite St Emilion's popularity today, it was not until the 1980s to early 1990s that attention was brought to this region. Robert Parker, the famous wine critic, began reviewing their Merlot-dominated wines and giving them hefty scores. The rest is history as they say. Similar to the Médoc, there is a classification system in place which dates from 1955 and outlines several levels of quality. These include its regional appellation of St Emilion, St Emilion Grand Cru, St Emilion Grand Cru Classé and St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé, which is further divided into "A" (Ausone and Cheval Blanc) and "B" (including Angélus, Canon, Figeac and a handful of others). To ensure better accuracy, the classification is redone every 10 years enabling certain châteaux to be upgraded or downgraded depending on on the quality of their more recent vintages.
