2020 Clos Fourtet
Buying options
Tasting notes
Clos Fourtet has made a beautiful wine in 2020 with fantastic energy and freshness. It has a beautiful colour – bright, deep purple. Lovely, dry spice aromas from the oak sit neatly in amongst the primary fruit. The palate has great purity, the tannins very fine, integrated and evenly spread, providing depth and freshness. It has an impressive spectrum of flavours – lavender, fresh blackberry, and fresh red berry fruit all bring a crunchiness to the palate. This is fresh, vibrant, mouth-watering Saint-Emilion with real energy. Excellent.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Dark and slightly charry on the nose. Firm, charry and dark on the palate but the tannins are very fine and there’s freshness to balance all that pure dark fruit. Needs a lot of time. (JH)
The 2020 Clos Fourtet has a very well-defined bouquet with a mixture of red and black fruit, melted dark chocolate and a touch of mocha. The palate is medium-bodied with a sapid entry and fine balance. It's a little more muscular than its peers, with a very structured finish. More backward than expected (hence the lower score in this blind tasting), this needs four or five years before it entertains drinkability. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
The 2020 Clos Fourtet offers up aromas of dark berries, plum preserves and pencil shavings framed by nicely integrated new oak. It is medium to full-bodied, with a rich core of ripe fruit that's framed by powdery, youthfully firm tannins that assert themselves on the finish. This limestone site always delivers low pHs, so the wine remains fresh and vibrant, even if its fruit flavors are marked by the warmth and sunshine of the vintage.
About the producer
The Cuvelier family took over Clos Fourtet in 2001 and modernised the estate – renovating the winery and undertaking significant replanting. Its 18.5 hectares sit on the limestone plateau.