Clos Fourtet 2018

Robust in style, even somewhat harsh, very closed at this stage, with rough, angular tannins. Needs to mature.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Clos Fourtet (a blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Franc) opens with wonderfully pure, intense black fruit notes of ripe blackberries, crushed black cherries and warm plums, leading to suggestions of pencil lead, clove oil, black olives and aniseed. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock-full of muscular black fruits, delivering compelling vivacity and tension, framed by velvety tannins and finishing epically long and perfumed. The intense, bright, energetic fruit on this 2018 has been impeccably preserved. Stunning!

Juicy, winey and very compact in feel, with racy acidity and chalky minerality deeply embedded in the core of sleek cassis, bitter cherry and damson plum flavors. Nice flecks of savory and dried anise dot the finish, where everything echoes nicely. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2038. 2,900 cases made.

While the 2018 vintage got plenty of buzz, following the less heralded 2017, I remain less enthusiastic when compared to the stellar 2016. The 2018 has a more roasted fruit profile, albeit with impressive (and seductive) mid-palate concentration and a long finish. There is no denying the layers of ripe fruit, although the alcohol is felt more (same level as the 2016 vintage). 3.6 pH.

Beautiful blueberries and black cherries with crushed-stone and limestone notes. Juniper, too. It’s full-bodied, yet so linear and energetic with focused, fine tannins. Fresh acidity. Really fine-grained tannins here. Drink after 2025.

90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc; 60% new oak. Barrel sample. Black with almost no rim. Very ripe, sun-baked but not raisined black fruit. A touch spirity on the nose. Creamy, deep but with some freshness here, though the whole is not yet meshed. Chewy on the finish. Big but should even out in the bottle. (JH)

The 2018 Clos Fourtet is one of the most elegant, refined wines of the vintage. Silky and aromatically expressive, Clos Fourtet is all grace. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol and sage all lift from the glass. Even with all of the natural richness of the year, Clos Fourtet sizzles with tension and delineation. Then again, that is the magic of the Saint-Émilion plateau. Clos Fourtet is easy to look past in 2018. It is neither exuberant nor exotically ripe. Instead, everything is in reserve. The 2018 is a magical wine, that's all there is to it. Don't miss it.

Inky in color, the wine is quite floral in nature, which adds to all the beautifully ripe, red and black fruits, spice, dark chocolate, licorice, espresso and crushed rock character. Full-bodied, concentrated and with a serious depth of flavor, the long finish focuses on you its freshness, rich, voluptuous textures and purity.

Deep dark ruby in colour with an opaque core, purple reflections, and subtle brightening on the rim. On the nose, aromas of ripe cherry, some liquorice, delicate nougat, and a hint of orange zest. The complex, tautly textured palate is mineral with fine acidity, ripe cherry notes and a saline finish with a touch of chocolate on the back palate. Still very young, this is currently somewhat unapproachable, having entered an initial dormant phase, this wine has enormous future potential and will benefit from further ageing.

Deep purple with an opaque core and ruby rim. Multi-layered bouquet of ripe dark cherries, refined cassis spice, and dried thyme. On the second nose, plums and licorice. On the delicate palate, creamy texture, glorious extract richness, and brilliantly supportive verve. The focused finish offers a basket of blue berries and a noble graphite note. A dancing Clos Fourtet with tremendous depth and gigantic cellaring potential—chapeau to the Cuvelier family!

Kunz barrel sample 19: mineral, fresh, complex, silky bouquet; blackberries, raspberries, delicate praline notes, mint candy, After Eight. A tightly knit, finely powerful palate with dense, creamy fruit, a varied and intense aromatic profile, plenty of fine tannins, a concentrated, finely muscular structure, and a very long, fresh finish.

Silky, dense, complex, creamy, fresh, sweet bouquet of strawberry jelly, pralines, vanilla, mint, currants, and fresh tea leaves. Dense, elegant, multi-layered, and fresh palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a creamy, dense structure, diverse, powerful, sweet aromatics, and a very long, fresh, sweet finish with lots of lingering flavors. 19/20 2025 - 2050

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.

Substantial breadth and plenty of freshness for this nascent first wine still in its infancy; you can sense a confident framework and an aromatic persistence that will refine over the coming months to yield the estate’s hallmark truffle-driven style.

The premier cru, expressing its freshness with aromas of fruit and spices, is lifted by subtle oak that gives breath and drive. Over the past year, the wine has settled, and the tannins have reclaimed their essential role in balance, with the limestone freshness taking the lead again. The Cuvelier family’s estate is at the cutting edge of what the Saint‑Émilion plateau can produce, strengthened by biodynamics that reveal energy and a texture close to perfection.

An open, pure, fresh and mineral nose, followed on the palate by impressive clarity, fruit of great purity, and a slight bitterness sliding over a rich, creamy, rounded texture that unfolds in the mouth without any heaviness, despite fairly imposing tannins, and a fairly long finish.

Beyond chalky notes and red berries, the 2018 bouquet also reveals hints of cherry pits. Subtle and complex, it displays many facets. On the palate, the wine is compact and fine, broad and streamlined… a kind of chameleon able to adapt to everything it encounters, yet whose nature ultimately brings it back to realms of elegance and freshness—something to be applauded in the context of 2018. A wine that makes it through a very challenging vintage and can pride itself on its freshness and aromatic persistence.

Logo on the capsule: CB Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Very aromatic nose with ripe fruit. Deep overall. Precise from the very first sip, velvety mid-palate, with black-fruit flavors; the wine caresses the palate, finely structured. It finishes long, very flavorful, on fine-grained tannins. It’s delicious.

Beautiful all the way, the deep purple hued 2018 Clos Fourtet comes from one of the prized terroirs on the upper limestone plateau, just outside the village of Saint-Emilion. The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Cabernet Sauvignon, brought up in 60% new French oak. Gorgeous minerality as well as cassis and ripe black cherry fruits emerge from this full-bodied 2018 that has lots of tobacco and spice-driven aromatics, again, an almost searing minerality, beautiful overall balance, and ripe, building tannins. It benefits from air if opening bottles anytime soon, and it’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and cruise for two decades in cold cellars.

95–97. Barrel Sample. This is a beautifully structured wine with smooth tannins and supple acidity. Its hidden power is masked by the vivid Merlot fruit. With the fresh acidity and the fine tannins, this is a wine that will age well.