Clos Fourtet 2023

What a perfume! Guaranteed goosebumps, profound, with dark and red berries topped by floral notes; on the palate, chiseled from stone, chalky, crisp fruit, the finest tannins, an exceptionally long, saline finish. An immensely elegant Clos Fourtet with great potential.

Gorgeous fragrance, really ripe and expressive, so floral and perfumed too. Lovely pure aromatic expression. Ripe but juicy raspberry and black cherry fruit – cool and so refreshing. I love the gentle style, it’s smooth with tannins that give body but no weight. More vertical than wide, it’s layered and delicate. Finessed as you expect from Clos Fourtet. Lithe, supple, mouthwatering, a certain density is there and the length is great. Cool but chalky too. There’s power here in the fleshiness but it’s juicy with a touch of oak and enjoyable bitterness on the finish. Ageing: 40% new oak, 60% one-year barrels. 3.5 pH. 46 hl/ha yield.

87% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep crimson. Smells strangely like a Graves with a touch of stone-dust over dark-red fruit. Enticing dark aroma, a touch of black olive. Firm, smooth tannins, dry finesse that needs more time to open up. Excellent freshness combined with complete lack of showing off. (JH)

The 2023 Clos Fourtet is very well-defined on the nose, a mixture of red and black fruit, crushed stone, cedar and light, minty aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins. Quite citrus-fresh, tensile, a little lower in pH perhaps than its peers, which lends this palpable energy and brightness on the finish. Excellent.

Your initial introduction packs in flowers, red plums, cherries, black raspberries, crushed rocks, and chocolate in the perfume. The palate offers good concentration in a fresh, energetic style, perfectly balancing its sweet, lifted fruits with minerality. There is length, purity, and refinement, with a lingering, vibrant finish. The wine blends 87% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2028-2055.

Dark ruby, purple reflections. Delicate notes of candied orange zest, ripe cherry fruit, a hint of plums and nougat, fine savoury nuances, inviting bouquet. Medium body, red berries, fine tannins, fresh structure, salty and lemony, a lively, almost light-footed style, delicately nutty, but only of medium length.

Playful bouquet of fresh wild raspberry, sandalwood, and charming violet perfume. On the delicate palate, a silky texture, vibrant energy, a tightly knit tannic framework, and a very taut body. In the concentrated, long finish, sour cherry juice, a noble chalky note, and granular astringency.

Starts right out of the gate with fragrant white flowers, lime zest freshness, a scraped pumice-stone limestone feel, strong Clos Fourtet character coming through, with cassis and black cherry fruits, a whirl of peony and iris flowers, inching forward step by step across the palate. Aged in 2% amphora, 45% new oak, with berries destemmed but uncrushed before fermenting. Stephane Derenoncourt consultant.

Score: 93–95. A superb nose of red rose and rose leaf, with hints of cassia and cinnamon. On the palate, soothing red fruits wrap around a mineral, saline core that gives the wine energizing drive. A fresh, delicate whole, with velvety tannins.

This is suave, capturing the fresh, lithe feel of the vintage in its core of damson plum and cassis, while iris and hibiscus hints dart in the background. Silky and refined in feel, with a long, subtle chalky underpinning that lets the fruit sail through steadily. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2027 through 2038. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 5,000 cases made, 400 cases imported.

The “

Deep red color with bright highlights. An intense, refined, fruity and subtle nose. Gentle nuances emerge as the glass is swirled. Delicate on entry, very aromatic on the mid-palate, with a fine, silky richness flowing across the palate; the wine melts away, juicy, sappy and deep in the final seconds. A lovely, noble aromatic persistence. It’s very good.