2018 Ch. Clos Fourtet - Saint Emilion 1er GCC | € 114,99 (€ 139,14) |
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Donker als de nacht en een gebalde neus van blauw fruit en vanille. Deze korte Genesis vertelt nog niet veel. Pas dan overkomt ons een Big Bang met knapperige fraîcheur en superieure tannine. Aromatisch vertoont Clos Fourtet betoverend reliëf met in de kern, cassis, pruimpjes en kruiden. Clos Fourtet is royaal in zijn evenwicht. De présence en milieu de bouche is fenomenaal en de graad van perfectie in het evenwicht is ontroerend. De fijne, droge tannine is groots. No such thing as “Small is beautiful” op Clos Fourtet, die enkel in oppervlakte klein is... Alles is er, en alles is immens. Net is Clinet komt dit jong vatstaal natuurlijk nog zeer gebald en lineair over, maar het is oh zo beloftevol. Op dit stadium lijkt dit wel het tegenovergestlde van het bloedmooie Beau Séjour Bécot, maar geen nood: wanneer het hek van de dam komt, wordt dit een Bijbels feest van Canaa! Of zoals Emmanuel de Saint Salvy me zei : « Revenez dans trois semaines ! C’est plus un vin de Jésuite qu‘un vin monacal. » Kan ik nog volgen? Het tweekoppig dreamteam van consulenten bestaat uit Stéphane Derenoncourt en de legendarische Jean-Claude Berrouet. Het assemblage is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon en 3% Cabernet Franc. De oogst vond plaats tussen 25 september en 9 oktober. Het rendement bedraagt slechts 33 hl/ha. Na gisting op dubbelwandige inoxcuves en 24 tot 28 dagen cuvaison volgde een écoulage (zonder pomp) in barriques. 40% van de productie onderging malo-lactische gisting op vat. Onder de tonneliers vinden wen 60% Taransaud, 20% Sylvain en 20% Demptos. Het élevage zou 16 maand in beslag moeten nemen op 60% nieuwe eik. 35.000 flessen zouden dan worden gebotteld waarvan 80% Grand Vin. 14%vol. IN DE PERS 98 Antonio Galloni - vinous.com (Maart 2021) 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. Drink 2028-2058. 94-97 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (April 2019) One of the wines of the vintage, the 2018 Clos Fourtet is positively stunning. In the glass, the 2018 sizzles with tension and energy. A whole range of floral, mineral and red berry notes develop, but it is the wine's exceptional sense of harmony that leaves the deepest impression. Consulting winemakers Stéphane Derenoncourt and Jean-Claude Berrouet turned out a glorious Clos Fourtet in 2018. Don't miss it. The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc. Tasted three times. 96-97 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (April 2019) This is one of the best wines I have had from here. Full-bodied yet focused and super dynamic. Tight and linear with fantastic length and energy at the end. Exciting. 97 Jane Anson – decanter.com (April 2019) Easily as good as the 2015 at this estate, the 2018 may even prove to be better after some ageing. There is depth and concentration to the berry fruits, but also a fine quality to the tannins and a softness overall that suggests nothing was pushed, that all of this power is simply what was naturally given by the vintage. It's very good quality, true to the confidence of the estate, pulsating with rich raspberry and damson notes and playing between a seductive gourmet edge and maintaining its limestone freshness. I have enjoyed a number of older vintages of this wine recently, and I feel pretty sure that this will grow into one of those wines that you are so happy to open after a few decades of ageing. 33hl/ha yield. 60% new oak. 97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown – roberparker.com (Maart 2021) 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! Drink 2025-2055. 95-97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown – roberparker.com (April 2019) Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Clos Fourtet is a little youthfully mute to begin. With coaxing, it opens out to notes of crushed blackberries, warm black plums and wild blueberries plus suggestions of forest floor, lavender, baking spices and potpourri. Full-bodied, the palate has an amazing texture of soft, plush tannins and oodles of freshness supporting the layer upon layer of berries and spices, finishing long and fragrant. Total time in barrel should run 16 months in 60% new and 40% one-year old barriques. The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Franc. 96-99 James Molesworth – winespectator.com (April 2019) Dark plum and boysenberry fruit is laced with tobacco and chalk notes, while the fleshy grip slowly builds through the finish. This is seriously long, and though the fruit is gorgeous, the minerality steals the show in the end. 95-97 Jeb Dunnuck – jebdunnuck.com (April 2019) Tasted on two separate occasions, the 2018 Château Clos Fourtet is a beauty, offering a ripe, powerful style in its crème de cassis, spice box, liquid rock, and incense aromas and flavors. Checking in as a blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon that will see 16 months in 60% new oak, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, loads of flesh, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It’s slightly more approachable and sexier than the Canon, which shares a similar terroir on the upper plateau, but it’s going to evolve beautifully for at least 20-25 years. It’s a beautiful wine very much in the style of the vintage. 95 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Maart 2021) 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. Drink 2024-2044. 93-95 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Oktober 2019) The 2018 Clos Fourtet has a very pure and intense bouquet with ripe wild strawberry and raspberry aromas, the oak beautifully integrated, perhaps a little less flamboyant than recent vintages? The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, good acidity, fresh and vibrant with firm structure towards the truffle and black pepper tinged finish. This is a wonderful Clos Fourtet from the Cuvelier family. Drink 2024-2044. 17-17,5/20 Bettane & Desseauve (April 2019) 96 Jean-Marc Quarin – quarin.com (April 2019) 95-97 Roger Voss – wineenthusiast.com (April 2019) 17-18,5/20 Revue des Vins de France – rvf.com (April 2019) 96-98 Jeff Leve – winecellarinsider.com (April 2019) Inky in color, the wine is almost opaque. The fruits are ripe, dark and deep. There is a touch of fig, black cherry, dark chocolate, flowers and licorice. Full-bodied, concentrated, intense, dense and yet with ample lift keeping the wine energized on your palate. The finish hangs in there with multiple shadings of ready pit fruits, luscious textures and purity. The yields are quite small for 2018 at only 33 hectoliters per hectare. 17/20 Le Point (April 2019) Clos FourtetOp de westelijke vestingen van Saint Emilion kijkt Clos Fourtet uit op een uniek terroir van 19,66 hectare “argilo-calcaire” beplant met 87% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon en 3% Cabernet Franc (in double cordon de Royat) op een densiteit van 6.000 tot 9.000 wijnstokken per hectare. De wijngaard is gemiddeld 27 jaar. Een dunne laag klei op diepe kalkgronden is de basis van de glore van Clos Fourtet. De élevage gebeurt er in ondergrondse kelders die zich over 12 hectare uitstrekken. Zeker in de laatste wijnjaren is Clos Fourtet één van de meest betrouwbare en meest performante producenten van Saint Emilion. Aan de wieg staan de eigenaars Philippe en Matthieu Cuvelier en de consulenten Stéphane Derenoncourt en Jean-Claude Berrouet, de levende legende. CuvelierPhilippe Cuvelier kocht het befaamde Clos Fourtet in 2001. Samen met zijn zoon Matthieu kocht hij ondertussen Poujeaux in Moulis, maar ook Grandes Murailles en Côte de Baleau in Saint Emilion. Ze bezitten in minderheidsaandeel in Clos Saint Martin. |