2018 Fourcas Hosten

The 2018 Fourcas Hosten confirmed my findings from my in-bottle report. Blackberry and seaweed scents feature on the nose, along with hints of tobacco (perhaps less prominent than before). The palate is medium-bodied with good acidity, and this bottle is suppler than the previous one, with a little more spiciness surfacing toward the finish. Give it 2–3 years in bottle.

Certified Haut Valeur Environnementale. In conversion to organic and biodynamic certification. 58% Merlot, 38.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc. Yields 24 hl/ha. A difficult vintage. They lost a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon to mildew. Clay on limestone soils. Dark fruit with a neat, minty-liquorice chew of caraway seeds. Tannins firmly, precisely, ruler-pencilled, draughtsman-style, to the fruit. Emphatic but not drying. Very composed with graphite-scented fruit. The finish tastes earthy, of damp cigar ash, of old-city pavements in early winter mornings. Steely resolve to the fruit – a young city worker, tightly buttoned in elegant coat and scarf, striding fast, head down, full of purpose and energy and tight focus. The drying finish that Julia picked up when she tasted it in 2019 seems to have already been fully resolved, but the evolution is still beautifully paced. If you drank this now, it would not be unforgiveable. (TC)

The 2018 Fourcas Hosten has a straightforward bouquet of blackberry, seaweed, tar and tobacco aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly chewy tannins and good acidity, but a little austere and serious toward the finish. It lacks a bit of persistency at the moment, though it did cohere and gain more precision with aeration.