Visits

Clos Fourtet
Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé B (France)


 

The estate’s 18th Century château sits over impressive underground limestone cellars where its wines are quietly aged. From the château’s doorstep, visitors have a great view of Saint-Émilion’s monolithic  church and of the vineyards planted on the slopes surrounding the medieval village.
 

Clos Fourtet, 2005
Very good. This wine is being heralded as one of the estate’s best recent vintages (which include 1988, 1989, 1998, 2001) and maybe even equal to its 1947 vintage. Garnet/purple colour, aromas and taste of wild berries, pleasant, long finish. Blend of 87% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. (Jan 2007)

Vineyard
20 ha, 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. The vines are about 25 years old and planted on clay and limestone soils. Manual harvesting, sorting (in the vineyard and after harvesting) and de-stemming (twice).
 

Winemaking
The grapes poured directly into small, parcel specific stainless steel and wooden vats, without crushing. 2 days of maceration (15-18°C) are followed by alcoholic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation of the first wine takes place in oak barrels (80% new) and that of the second wine in vats.

The wine is aged 5 months in oak barrels in the ground floor cellar and thereafter blended. Barrel-aging thereafter continues for 10-12 months in the underground cellar. Before bottling, the wine is filtered but rarely fined. At the end of the aging process, the vin de presse, which is extracted with a vertical press after the malolactic fermentation and aged separately, is incorporated into the first wine about once every 5 years and into the second wine every year.

Wines
· Clos Fourtet (about 55,000 bottles/year)
· Closerie de Fourtet (about 25,000 bottles/year)