Clos Fourtet 2023 (750ML)

97-98 JS / 95-97 WI / 95 JA / 95 DE / 94-96 WA / 94-96 VM / 94-96 JD

This is so full of energy. It’s full-bodied with electrified tannins and a long, long finish. So polish and focus here with exquisite balance and length. - James Suckling

The 2023 Clos Fourtet is deep garnet-purple in color. It requires quite a lot of swirling to coax out fragrant notes of redcurrant jelly, kirsch, wild blueberries, and violets followed by hints of cinnamon stick, star anise, cumin seed, and fallen leaves. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers intense, vibrant red berry and baking spice flavors, supported by fine-grained tannins and jaw-dropping tension, finishing with great length and poise. This is a real head-turner. The blend is 87% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, with pH 3.50. - Lisa Perotti-Brown, Wine Independent

Starts right out of the gate with fragrant white flowers, lime zest freshness, scraping pumice stone limestone feel, strong Clos Fourtet character coming through, with cassis and black cherry fruits, a whirl of peony and iris flowers, inching forward step by step through the palate. Aged in 2% amphora, 45% new oak, with berries destemmed but uncrushed befpre fermenting. Stephane Derenoncourt consultant. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Gorgeous fragrance, really ripe and expressive, so floral and perfumed too. Lovely pure aromatic expression. Ripe but juicy raspberry and black cherry fruit - cool and so refreshing. I love the gentle style, it’s smooth with tannins that give body but no weight. More vertical than wide, it’s layered and delicate. Finessed as you expect from Clos Fourtet. Lithe, supple, mouthwatering, a certain density is there and the length is great. Cool but chalky too. There’s power here in the fleshiness but it’s juicy with a touch of oak and enjoyable bitterness on the finish. Ageing 40% new oak, 60% one year used barrels. 3.5pH. 46hl/ha yield. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter

The 2023 Clos Fourtet is especially suave and refined this year, wafting from the glass with deep aromas of red berries, licorice, violets and pencil shavings, framed by a nicely integrated patina of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, supple and layered, with a velvety attack that segues into a bright, precise mid-palate, it's pure and lively, concluding with a mineral finish. - Wine Advocate, William Kelley

The 2023 Clos Fourtet is pure class. Elegant and soaring, the 2023 offers up an exciting mélange of dark-toned fruit, leather, incense, dried herbs, pencil shavings and crushed rocks. Beams of supporting limestone-infused tannin and acid give Clos Fourtet is super-distinctive feel. The long, enduring finish is a thing of beauty. Clos Fourtet remains a benchmark example of wines from Saint-Émilion's famed limestone plateau. Tasted two times. -- Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Checking in as 87% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, raised in 50-60% new oak, the 2023 Château Clos Fourtet has a beautiful limestone-driven style in its red and blue fruits as well as floral and chalky nuances that emerge with time in the glass. Medium-bodied, incredibly well-balanced, and elegant on the palate, it has fine tannins and outstanding length, as well as a gorgeous limestone character. It's a beautiful wine from this family estate that readers will love to have in their cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck