Clos Fourtet 2022

This is alluring, with a core of gently mulled blackberry and boysenberry fruit that shows a smoldering edge, with black tea, licorice, apple wood and tobacco details. There's underlying tension too, with a tug of chalk buried deeply on the very long and well-structured finish. For the cellar. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2042. 3,800 cases made.

Tobacco, pencil lead, rubber, violets, dark chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and mint. Silky, smooth and glossy, with depth but no heaviness. Piercingly fresh with a tang of liquorice and flint. Not fully open, narrowing towards the finish but exuding class. Acidity is excellent. While there are lots of impressive 2022s, this makes you sit up, take note and then drink the whole glass. A wine that makes you smile.

Extremely aromatic, with notes of iron, chalk, pencil lead and currants, carrying through to a medium to full body with integrated tannins that are polished and very long. Wonderful balance here, with just hints of fresh herbs like basil and thyme. A blend of 90% merlot, 7% cabernet sauvignon and 3% cabernet franc. Give this four or five years to come together.

Tasted blind. Deep, dark crimson. Opulent, layered, spicy nose. Cool palate, Silky texture. Superior and subtle with a touch of salinity. (JR)

Deep dark ruby in colour with an opaque core, purple reflections, and subtle brightening on the rim. A very inviting bouquet on the nose, with attractive black berry fruit, cassis underpinned by floral notes, some liquorice, and subtle hints of tangerine zest. The powerful palate is juicy and elegant, with a fresh texture and ripe, supporting tannins. A wine full of finesse and very long-lasting with a saline-mineral, slightly chocolatey finish. Great ageing potential.

The 2022 Clos Fourtet is based on a classic blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc, aged 40% in new oak with the balance in once-used barrels. It shows incredibly pure aromas of black cherries, black raspberries, scorched earth, graphite, white flowers, and truffly minerality. The palate is medium to full-bodied, pure, and detailed, with flawless overall balance, a silky, elegant mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. It’s one of the more seamless, pretty, and elegant wines of the vintage and should benefit from a decade of cellaring. It’s a fabulous expression of this crème de la crème terroir on the upper limestone plateau.

Vivid damson plum colour, medium to full intensity, toasted pine nuts and liquorice on the opening beats, still firm tannins and a ton of wet stone-tinged tannins, slate, pumice stone, texture and slow progression through the palate. Smoked caramel and cocoa bean add a luscious sense of joy. This is a beautiful wine. Owner Matieu Cuvelier.

An exquisitely refined nose, suave and distinguished, like a gentleman in a tuxedo, revealing captivating aromas of purple fruits, lavender, and a touch of subtle tar. The palate, delicately silky, opens on black fruit that gradually rises before blooming into a chalky, elegant, and fresh finish. Everything is in harmony.

The bouquet of Clos Fourtet immediately shows depth, both filigreed and complex. The many nuances devoted to minerality, limestone, fresh fruit and blackberries create an exceptional symbiosis. On the palate, the wine certainly shows breadth, but its focus is much more on the harmony between power and freshness. Fresh tannins provide an energetic touch, together with a structuring, mouthwatering acidity. A precise, bright, powerful and thirst‑quenching wine. This is a great Clos Fourtet!

Logo on the cork: CB Dark, intense, beautiful color. Very aromatic nose, fine, subtle and complex, with ripe fruit that gains in purity and nobility as the wine is swirled in the glass. Smooth on the attack, immediately showing a refined texture and a melting body, the wine glides, caresses, and builds to a crescendo in the final third of the palate. It finishes full, long, delicate and deep all at once. It’s superb.

The first vintage to include grapes from Château Les Grandes Murailles in the Clos Fourtet blend; deep, dark-fruited, seductively aromatic, with stony notes and endless violets, almost Piedmont-like on the nose; dense palate, highly elegant and precise, tannins chiselled from stone, fresh, juicy, lively, full of tension and great length; finishes saline, with a very, very long echo. A great Clos Fourtet that will age beautifully.

Opulent, velvety, silky, and lush, this is fabulous from the very beginning. The perfume, with its notes of flowers, licorice, smoke, black cherries, blue fruits, spice, salt, and oyster shell, is spellbinding. On the palate, the wine is deep, fleshy, unctuous, and yet also light, vibrant, and energetic. Concentrated and complex, the strong mineral influence on the finish is intense and compelling. This is the first vintage where the parcels of Grandes Murailles were integrated into Clos Fourtet. The wine blends 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. This could be the best vintage of Clos Fourtet ever produced as well as a candidate for perfection as the wine ages. Drink from 2029-2060.

The dense spice aroma and dark coffee edge lead to a wine that has power. It has a polish from the wood ageing while retaining structure and a mineral flavour from the limestone soil. Drink this fine wine from 2029.