Clos Fourtet: Premier Grand Cru Wine from Saint-Émilion

Raymond Blake visits Clos Fourtet and finds it lives up to its venerable reputation for excellence in the hands of its present day owners

Twenty-two hectares above ground and 13 below. That, in a nutshell, captures the essence of Clos Fourtet, the Saint- Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘B’ that lies adjacent to the town on its western side. It was originally called Campfourtet, when it served as a military fortification during the Middle Ages, and today its vineyard lies cheekby- jowl with a gaunt wall, which is all that
remains of a convent that met its demise in the French Revolution.

More recently — though nearly a century ago now — the quality of Clos Fourtet caught the attention of Irish barrister-cum-wine-writer, Maurice Healy. His book, Claret and the White Wines of Bordeaux, published in 1934 as part of Constable’s Wine Library, edited by André Simon, consists of a literary amble through the famed vineyards.

Having dealt with the Médoc and Graves Healy turned his attention to the Right Bank, specifically Saint-Emilion, where he singles out just a handful of châteaux for special mention: “… and I only speak of the one or two that have pleased me best. Clos Fourtet is an excellent example of how a vineyard can prosper in the immediate vicinity of a town; it stands in the middle of Saint-Emilion, and its vineyard adjoins the Place in front of the principal church of the town.”

Today, Clos Fourtet is owned by the Cuvelier family, who bought the property in 2001. Matthieu Cuvelier is the man in charge, a genial host who speaks with disarmingfrankness about the state of the Bordeaux wine trade, particularly when addressing the log-jam of back vintages currently cluttering up the négociants’ warehouses. He is particularly animated, however, when introducing his
guests to Clos Fourtet, the jewel in the family crown that also includes the well-regarded Château Poujeaux in Moulis.

The above-mentioned 22 hectares of vineyard are planted roughly to 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc and the final blend in the wine seldom varies by more than a few percentage points from that. Élevage usually lasts 18 months in barrel, about 80% of which are new. Production runs to about 45,000 bottles annually — and many of those bottles find a home in the 13 hectares of underground caves that call to mind the crayères of the Champagne region. This makes it appropriate that on a recent visit our group explored the caves with a glass of Champagne in hand: Leclerc Briant, Château d’Avize, Blanc de Blancs 2012 Brut Zero, which barely showed any sign of age, replete as it was with bountiful notes of baked apple and a whisper of brioche on the margins.

The low-ceilinged galleries are on three levels, between six and 12 metres below ground, and stretch into the distance in every direction, housing vintages that span over halfa- century: an impressive stock of 2015, a lesser pile of 1997, 1974 to the right, 1980 to the left, more 1967 than might be expected, a small bundle of 1958 and so on, and on…

The storage conditions are perfect in this cavernous space, which manages to be both functional and starkly beautiful in equal measure, and it plays host to about 250 barrels and 100,000 bottles of wine.

Dinner followed our exploration of the cellars, accompanied by a quintet of vintages. The first four served in well-thought-out pairings, 2008 beside 2009 and 2003 beside 2004 (all from magnum) before finishing with the 1989 vintage, flying solo as it were.

It brought the curtain down in memorable fashion on a visit to a property that tends to be a little overlooked, though not underrated. The style has an immediate appeal thanks to the Merlot but there is ‘ballast’ in the flavour too, a depth and intensity that in a great vintage can carry it across the decades to glorious maturity, as the 1989 effortlessly demonstrated.

2008 Clos Fourtet
Some bitter cold in winter, heavy rain in May and below average temperatures over the summer did not augur well for wine quality in 2008, though a late burst of sunshine gave a welcome fillip to grape ripeness shortly before harvest. The Clos Fourtet is very much a child of the vintage, displaying some pleasant reserve, though by no means austere. Those who seek flesh and substance in their claret should look elsewhere, but those who cherish freshness and a certain asperity will find much to like here. The nose is lifted and intense with a pleasant floral note. Dark fruit cloaked in crisp tannin is the palate’s calling card, augmented by an incisive mineral note, to deliver a singular, taut flavour profile. Impressive length on the finish suggests this wine has years of development ahead of it yet.

2009 Clos Fourtet
By the standards of today, the harvest was late, taking place in the first fortnight of October. Hardly had a grape been picked than 2009 was being hailed as another ‘vintage of the century’. In this wine that tired tag carries some currency. Impressive class comes by way of a palate that still boasts the exuberance of youth, with only a portent of maturity to acknowledge the passing of the
years. Still dark in colour, almost impenetrable, with aromas of rich, opulent fruit on the nose. The palate boasts an expansive texture led by  a surge of sumptuous, blackcurrant fruit, underpinned by firm, though not oppressive tannins. The finish lingers, warm and satisfying.

2003 Clos Fourtet
The heatwave vintage. All across vinous France 2003 is remembered for the furnace-like heat in July and August that caught les vignerons napping, as many of them were away on their annual holiday and had to rush back home to harvest the rapidly ripening grapes. Many of the resulting wines were ‘branded’ by the torrid conditions. Compared to the five vintages of Clos Fourtet assessed here this was the one that was most marked by the vintage.

The terroir character was still struggling to show through after 20 years in the bottle. Smoky fruit on the nose and a slightly singed character on the palate. Full, fat and fleshy; the baked fruit shot through with notes of liquorice and chocolate. Sumptuous and dense texture threatens to overwhelm but then a trickle of acidity comes to the rescue, arresting the slide towards unfettered opulence.

2004 Clos Fourtet
As a vintage 2004 has always laboured in the shadow of the celebrated 2005 and in truth the results across the board were patchy. Some châteaux met and responded to the challenging growing season better than others and, on the evidence of this magnum, Clos Fourtet can be numbered amongst those who wrested compelling flavours from unpropitious circumstances. The summer was
mixed, sometimes dry, sometimes wet, sometimes cool, leading to later ripening and no great promise at harvest time. A remarkable contrast with the lavishly-flavoured 2003, beside which it was served, the 2004 was lean and crisp by comparison, with lovely reserve without austerity. Above all, it delivered a fresh and well-composed flavour, noted for finesse and elegance rather than outright power.

1989 Clos Fourtet
Personally speaking, this is one of my all-time favourite Bordeaux vintages. Across the board the wines display a gorgeous conjunction of grace and gravitas, lovely harmony, elegance and integration. Noted Bordeaux authority, Jane Anson, had this to say in her assessment of the vintage: “An exceptional year, with a hot dry  summer leading to an early harvest… generally seen as a Right Bank year…” This wine at 36 years old, from bottle not magnum, was still vibrant and composed, showing glorious maturity unsullied by the frailty of age. All the components — fruit, acid, tannin — were melded seamlessly together to deliver a gently insistent flavour with notes of sweet leather, cedar and tobacco. There wasn’t a hair out of place. Classic claret.

In conclusion
The visit to Clos Fourtet was organised by Millesima, the négociant founded by Patrick Bernard in 1983 and now run by his son, Fabrice, and daughter, Hortense. It took place on the eve of the annual Millesima ‘Panorama’ tasting, which is held about a year after the en primeur campaign and which features the vintage that is just about to be bottled. Thus the wines are a year older than when tasted en primeur and it is possible to gain a more valid impression of the style and quality of the vintage being tasted. I have been attending the Millesima tasting for about 20 years and the wisdom of their approach was never more in evidence than when enjoying the Clos Fourtet 2008 with dinner at the château.

It brought me back to the Millesima tasting of spring 2010 when the 2008 vintage was put under the microscope. At the time, the 2009 vintage was already gaining gushing plaudits and 2008 was slipping into its shadow, yet at the close of that tasting, when conferring with my friend and colleague Margaret Rand (General Editor of the annual Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine Book), we readily agreed that 2008 was considerably better than expected. This pointed out, yet again, the foolishness of assigning a character to a vintage, carving opinion into stone and never revisiting it.