The 2018 Clos Fourtet is one of the most elegant, refined wines of the vintage. Silky and aromatically expressive, Clos Fourtet is all grace. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol and sage all lift from the glass. Even with all of the natural richness of the year, Clos Fourtet sizzles with tension and delineation. Then again, that is the magic of the Saint-Émilion plateau. Clos Fourtet is easy to look past in 2018. It is neither exuberant nor exotically ripe. Instead, everything is in reserve. The 2018 is a magical wine, that's all there is to it. Don't miss it.
98 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Mar 2021)
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Clos Fourtet (a blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Franc) opens with wonderfully pure, intense black fruit notes of ripe blackberries, crushed black cherries and warm plums, leading to suggestions of pencil lead, clove oil, black olives and aniseed. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock-full of muscular black fruits, delivering compelling vivacity and tension, framed by velvety tannins and finishing epically long and perfumed. The intense, bright, energetic fruit on this 2018 has been impeccably preserved. Stunning!
97 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (Mar 2021)
Beautiful all the way, the deep purple hued 2018 Château Clos Fourtet comes from one of the prized terroirs on the upper limestone plateau, just outside the village of Saint-Emilion. The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Cabernet Sauvignon, brought up in 60% new French oak. Gorgeous minerality as well as cassis and ripe black cherry fruits emerge from this full-bodied 2018 that has lots of tobacco and spice-driven aromatics, again, an almost searing minerality, beautiful overall balance, and ripe, building tannins. It benefits from air if opening bottles anytime soon, and it’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and cruise for two decades in cold cellars.
97 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Mar 2021)
This impressive estate has produced another fine wine. Structured, powered by tannins as much as by great fruit, this wine is set for a long aging process. The fruit shows massive concentration, enhanced by succulent acidity and bolstered by those tannins that show so strongly. It’s a wine for great patience, so wait to drink until 2027.
97 points, Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast (May 2021)
Beautiful blueberries and black cherries with crushed-stone and limestone notes. Juniper, too. It’s full-bodied, yet so linear and energetic with focused, fine tannins. Fresh acidity. Really fine-grained tannins here. Drink after 2025.
96 points, James Suckling (Mar 2021)
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