Chateau Clos Fourtet St. Emilion Bordeaux Wine

Chateau Clos Fourtet St. Emilion, Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Bordeaux wine producer profile, with wine tasting notes, wine ratings, a history of the property, information on wine making and terroir, along with wine tasting reviews. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Clos Fourtet did not start out as Bordeaux wine estate. Even with its picture perfect terroir, Clos Fourtet, due to its proximity to the St. Emilion village was built for use as a defensive fort called Camfourtet during the middle ages. Camfourtet can be loosely translated to Camp Fort. The chateau on the property today was constructed by the Rulleau family. The Rulleau’s were also responsible for evolving the name from Camfourtet to Clos Fourtet in 1868.

The modern era of Clos Fourtet begins in 1919, when it was purchased by Fernand Ginestet. The Ginestet family eventually sold Clos Fourtet to raise money for their purchase of Chateau Margaux in 1949. In a convoluted, three way transaction, Clos Fourtet passed to the Lurton family who sold Clos Fourtet in 2001 to the current owners, the Cuvelier family. Before Philippe Cuvelier became a full time Bordeaux wine producer, he made his career in office stationery in Lille. Cuvelier ran the Guilbert stationery trade untill 1999. That was the year he sold his company to the Pinault Printemps Redoute (PPR) group. The Cuvelier family also own Chateau Poujeaux in Moulis, located in the Haut-Medoc appellation. In March, 2013, the Cuvelier family once again added to their holdings with the purchase of additional estates in St. Emilion, Chateau Les Grandes Murailles, Chateau Clos St. Martin and Chateau Cote de Baleau.

Thanks to the spare no expense attitude of the new owners, Clos Fourtet is doing what it takes to make the best wine possible. This effort begins in the vineyards. They practice sustainable, vine-growing methods. Grass is seeded between the rows to help reduce excess water. The soil between the vine plants is ploughed. The vines are pruned keeping two long canes, which are later de-budded to the required number of buds. De-leafing is done on the east-facing side at the end of June, and on the south-facing side at the end of August. Crop thinning is carried out at the beginning of the grape color change. As a result, the bunches are evenly spread out and well ventilated for good ripening. More of the Right Bank vineyard is being farmed on a sustainable, bio dynamic approach on a yearly basis, as that technique is proving to be quite favorable to the wines of Chateau Clos Fourtet.

The 20 hectare St. Emilion Bordeaux vineyard of Clos Fourtet, situated a stones throw from the village of St. Emilion right on top of the limestone plateau. The terroir is limestone and clay. The vines are planted to 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon with vines that average 30 years of age. The vineyard of Clos Fourtet is planted to a density of 6,000 vines per hectare. The wine of Chateau Clos Fourtet undergoes whole berry fermentation. Vinification of Chateau Clos Fourtet takes place in temperature controlled, stainless steel vats. Malolcatic fermentation is performed in barrel. The wine of Chateau Clos Fourtet is aged for 18 months in between 60% to 80% new, French oak barrels. Close to 4,500 cases per year are produced of Chateau Clos Fourtet in an average vintage. There is a second wine, Closerie de Fourtet.

Chateau Clos Fourtet is an exciting Bordeaux wine. Located just outside the villiage of St. Emilion, over a series of deep, limestone caves, this mineral driven, dark berried, fresh, ripe, opulent, flamboyant wine offers intense, pure flavors, rich textures and spicy aromatics with hints of licorice.

Clos Fourtet is consulted by Stephane Derenoncourt and Jean Claude Berrouet, who make an odd pair, as Derenoncourt is known for picking ripe fruit while Berrouet, who earned fame for his multiple decades as the wine maker for Petrus. Clos Fourtet is managed by Mathieu Cuvelier. Step by step, Clos Fourtet continues experimenting with biodynamic techniques and striving to be more natural in their Bordeaux wine making approach. According to Mathieu Cuvelier, they are impressed by the work and progress that Alfred Tesseron is employing at Chateau Pontet Canet and they want to use some of those methods at Clos Fourtet in St. Emilion.

www.closfourtet.com