Château Clos Fourtet, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2012
Quite easily the wine of the St Emilion UGC for us. A really towering, smart wine from this high flying estate. Produced from 84% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon it possesses a bouquet of brooding liquid minerals, plum liqueur and bright cassis fruit. It is sumptuous, sleek and very graceful. Kudos to Clos Fourtet, they have got the tone of the vintage just right. There is ample depth, weight and plenty of complexity, but this has wonderful poise and is never heavy or lazy. This is another fine effort which finishes on long flavours of fresh raisins and finely shaved Valrhona chocolate. A beauty!
critic reviews
The 2012 Clos Fourtet was picked October 9 to 17 at 36 hl/ha. It is a wine that has been a bit variable over the years, though this is a better example. It is very lively on the nose, with scents of blueberry, raspberry and orange pith, a subtle note of mint coming through with time. It opens beautifully in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with hints of dark chocolate and espresso, plenty of dark berry fruit and a keen thread of acidity. There's good substance, though not a tannic Clos Fourtet. This is drinking extremely well right now and is certainly better than the bottle at the 10-Years-On tasting. Tasted at the Clos Fourtet vertical in April 2023.