Clos Fourtet - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2023

Vinous

93

byNeal Martinthe2/1/2026

The 2023 Clos Fourtet is very well-defined on the nose, a mixture of red and black fruit, crushed stone, cedar and light, minty aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins. Quite citrus-fresh, tensile, a little lower in pH perhaps than its peers, which lends this palpable energy and brightness on the finish. Excellent.

Jamessuckling.com

98

byJames Sucklingthe1/27/2026

A real St. Emilion with such finesse and intensity. Aromas of blueberries, blackberries, graphite, subtle crushed limestone and dried and fresh flowers. Perfumed. Medium- to full-bodied with tight and polished tannins and a long, long finish. Such class. 87% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 6% cabernet sauvignon. A gorgeous red. Give it time. Drink or hold.

My Bettane + Desseauve

94-95

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/15/2024

Libre et épanoui dans sa palette aromatique sur un fruité plein de peps, dimension minérale en bouche, finale saline encore un peu compact. Il faudra l’attendre mais la promesse sera au rendez-vous.

Yvesbeck.wine

96-98

byYves Beckthe5/14/2024

Das Bouquet von Clos Fourtet kündigt einen großen Wein an, ohne Umwege und in einer sehr deutlichen Art und Weise. Die Symbiose zwischen der Frische des Kalksteins (und der Grandes Murailles) und den Düften von schwarzen Beeren, hellem Tabak und Teeblättern unterstreicht die Komplexität und die Reinheit. Der Wein kündigt sich mit Finesse im Auftakt an. Er betritt die Bühne auf Zehenspitzen, gewinnt aber schnell an Selbstvertrauen, um schließlich dank des wertvollen Beitrags seiner Tannine und seiner strukturierenden Säure an Fülle und Kraft zu gewinnen. Ein Wein der Spitzenklasse! Bravo an Mathieu Cuvelier und seine Teams.

Jeb DUNNUCK

94-96

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/13/2024

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.

The Wine Independent

95-97

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/7/2024

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.

The Drinks Business

95-97

byColin Haythe5/7/2024

Clos Fourtet (Saint Émilion; 87% Merlot; 7% Cabernet Franc; 6% Cabernet Sauvignon; a final yield of 46 hl/ha; pH 3.54; 14.5% alcohol; tasted with Matthieu Cuvelier at the property; made from whole berries with pigeage à la main). Gorgeous, even more so when tasted at the property. So elegant and floral, so pure and lifted aromatically. Restrained and tranquil. Enticing yet intimate. Introspective. A cornucopia of pounded fresh petals – above all, assorted rose petals. So gracious aromatically. Dark berry fruits all perfectly ripe and beautifully formed – a still life painting, highly pixilated with each hair of the raspberry so detailed. A little graphite, with a hint of the cedar to come. Incredibly soft and delicate tannins. Quite a broad frame. Saline and glistening, limpid and aerial. Some might want more fruit concentration (it’s there if you look for it, but it’s not in your face), but I find this a beautiful expression of the vintage that is deceptive in its beguiling aerial quality and its restrained power. Very tense. Really structured by the limestone tannins. The maturity arrived quite early here (third earliest harvest in recent decades). Profoundly expressive of its terroir and in its singular style (which here reminds me of the 2001 and 2004 in its harmony and completeness). A brilliant vintage for Clos Fourtet and such an eloquent homage to its terroir. 

The Wine Cellar Insider

95-97

byJeff Levethe5/6/2024

Floral in nature, with only a swirl you find black raspberries, red plums, cherries, spice, and crushed stones in the aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine is balanced between its sweet, bright, red pit fruits, and salty, oceanic influences. The fruits are clean, precise, and energetic. There is length, purity, and refinement, with a lingering sensation of minerality that adds to the sweetness of the berries. This is the second vintage where the parcels of Grandes Murailles were integrated into Clos Fourtet. The wine blends 87% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% ABV, 3.54 pH. The harvest took place, September 14 - October 3. Drink from 2028-2055. 95-97 Pts.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

95

byJane Ansonthe5/6/2024

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.

Vinous

94-96

byAntonio Gallonithe4/30/2024

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.

Vinous

92-94

byNeal Martinthe4/29/2024

The 2023 Clos Fourtet was picked from September 14 to October 3 and aged in 40% new oak. The nose is very attractive and quite sensual in style with red cherries, crushed strawberries and incense. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, fresh, focused, pure and quite linear on the finish. This is much more classically styled than the 2022, and it conveys tenderness and persistence. Superb.

Falstaff

93

byPeter Moserthe4/29/2024

Dark ruby, purple reflections. Delicate notes of candied orange zest, ripe cherry fruit, a hint of plums and nougat, fine savoury nuances, inviting bouquet. Medium body, red berries, fine tannins, fresh structure, salty and lemony, a lively, almost light-foot- ed style, delicately nutty, but only of medium length.

Alexandre Ma

97-98

byAlexandre Mathe4/28/2024

Wine Advocate

94-96

byWilliam Kelleythe4/26/2024

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.

Jamessuckling.com

97-98

byJames Sucklingthe4/25/2024

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.