Clos Fourtet Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

After decanting it took about an hour for the funk to blow off and over 3 hours never did develop an attractive nose. At best it smelled of overripe fruit. On the palate, smooth, complex and very pleasant with a long finish. If I had any more I would push to consume them soon.

2005 vintage

This does suffer a bit from the general overripeness of most wines in St. Emilion in this vintage but it gets away with it. Rich and decadent but with chalky minerals evident and the finish is quite complex once it sat in the glass for a while.

2005 vintage

Elegant and smooth texture, secondary notes of leather, forest floor and cigar box. Perhaps I expected a little more, but overall a very good wine in a mature phase. 94

2005 vintage

Christmas dinner wine to go w duck. Pretty powerful combination that followed a CDP and champagne to open the night. Quite a lineup of winners.

2005 vintage

Corked

2005 vintage

Start of the Christmas dinner season. This Clos Fourtet had the task of accompanying the main course, essentially holding its own against the beef goulash. The Clos accomplished this task with flying colors! Wonderfully matured and balanced. One-fifth of the bottle “survived” the evening, so we had the opportunity to consume the rest the following evening. Here, I had the impression that the Clos should have been drunk completely on the day it was opened. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

2005 vintage

Smooth, velvet on the tongue. Deep dark berry aromas. Utterly spell binding. I have it an hour out of the cellar to warm up then an hour decant. Superb.

2005 vintage

#JesperHedegaardTasting

2005 vintage

I've always been fond of the 2012 vintage on the Right Bank to the point where I start wondering if I've been delusional and the next one will finally start showing me why they're supposed to suck. Well, not today. This is aging so slowly because it has so much packed into it, tastes barely older than a wine just released. The fruit is still dark and so rich it's practically gooey but the flavors themselves are not overripe. It …

2012 vintage

4 hour decant. A little reluctant but after some oxidation opened nicely. Black fruit on the nose, blackberry and cherry on the palate. Nice velvety mouthfeel as the Merlot comes to the fore. Tannins resolved and a medium to long finish. Tried a bottle of this vintage 3 years ago and it was either closed or not optimal. This is now right in its drinking window and showing well.

2012 vintage

Decanted for 2 hours.

2005 vintage

Blackberry, cranberry, cassis; lovely fragrant nose; fruitful, silky, long and expansive; showing some maturity and development; not especially dynamic but very good indeed

2005 vintage

Stored in one of my Liebherrs, PnP. I was a bit worried considering the latest comments here. Moreover, the cork broke, not really a good sign. However, after half an hour the wine was open, full bodied, even massive, fruit driven and rather hedonistic. Nevertheless, it is not the exceptional Clos Fourtet I would have expected.

2005 vintage

50x Bordeaux 2005 : All wines tasted blind, not decanted. Left bank is quite good, right bank is a disaster waiting to happen. A few observations: 1) Left bank 2005s are good to very good, with ripe yet fresh fruit, real substance, and the classic structure that defines the vintage. 2) Most are just entering their first drinking window but remain youthful, with no tertiary development yet. 3) Top wines were Lafite (98), Mouton (97), Margaux (96), and Branon (95). …

2005 vintage

Bordeaux 2005 horizontal; 6/1/2025-6/2/2025 (Fribourg) : Oxidized. Apart from Cognac no pure flavors discernible anymore.

2005 vintage

Stored climatized, this wine is fully mature, immediately ready after decanting, medium to full bodied and the slightly more elegant (and of course more expensive) sister (or brother) of the similarly awesome 2012 Fleur Cardinale. A clear candidate for our everyday house wine, but unfortunately not enough bottles!

2012 vintage

Neil's 2005 Bordeaux check-in (Piccolino) : A pleasingly plummy, truffley nose that I'd have placed as a Pomerol. Lovely depth of dark fruit, and a really tasty wine. 14.7% but the alcohol was not distracting (at least from a small glass). Finished a bit flat perhaps, but still a good wine, and my favourite of the Right Bankers. Having seen the market price for this, though... well, I think you could do a lot better.

2005 vintage

2005 Bordeaux at Piccolino (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London) : 2/6, double decanted about 3 hours. Opaque ruby, narrow rim. Rich, complex nose showing plum, touch of burnt earth, coffee, full bodied on the palate, creamy, rich fruit, some cedar notes, firm underlying tannins, fresh acids, finished well. Excellent, drinking but with time in hand.

2005 vintage

2005 Bordeaux Horizontal - London, May 2025 (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London) : 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Pencil lead, some bright red fruits, some green bell pepper and , with air, just a touch of tart cranberry. Palate is rich with lovely poise; acids are a point and some milk chocolate complements the smoky plum fruits.

2005 vintage

Neil’s 2005 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London) : Dense garnet to mid ruby. Dusty dark red fruited. A touch of cream. Serious attack, dense red fruited. Dusty and a little dry on the finish. Needs food or time. Really quite dry on the finish. ***1/2

2005 vintage

Subtle bouquet of ripe dark berries, jam, spices, slight funk, undergrowth. Full palate, rich, jam, some milk chocolate, spices, a touch of acidity, quite hedonistic on the second night with room temperature. Not incredibly elegant, but a pleasure to drink.

2012 vintage

Tl;dr It’s a nice wine missing complexity. Decanted one hour On the nose pretty much black fruits only. Super mild oaks, i.e not bothered by oak at all. On the palate strong semi-round tannins and getting a full body were easily noticeable. Low acidity. Alcohol content was slightly higher than what I enjoy. Strong tannins made the wine to pair beautifully with fatty steak. 20 ish second finish. I didn’t have long finish experience which other reviewers said. However on …

2005 vintage

While this was open for business still dark in colour with a tint of bricking and it’s still really primary lots of cedar, plum, tobacco, dark berry and spices. Similar plate which is quite generous showing lots of fruit, medium acidity, ripe well integrated harmonious tannins and a really long coating finish

2005 vintage

Bordeaux WIMPS #187 28th March 2025 (La Trompette, Chiswick) : 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. 12.5% ABV. Very St Émilion on the nose; pencil lead, leaf tobacco and some hints of cedar. Some tomato leaf / basil pungency like a summer greenhouse. Palate is a little short by comparison on first sampling but air helps it come out of its shell. There's a classicism to this that I really enjoyed compared with its 2010 flight mates …

1996 vintage

better than before after 2 hours decanting

2012 vintage

Below average. Hardly any signs of age, no finesse in the nose, no fruit, technically ok, but a disappointment. I expected more from it, especially as I've already had some great experiences with this wine.

2012 vintage

Académie des Cinquante Bordeaux 2005 tasting (Restaurant Het Roode Koper, Leuvenum, NL) : Firm and fresh, speaks eloquently of its prominent location on the Côtes, beautifully balances sweet red berries with freshness and perfectly integrated tannins, pure and precise, long finish with excellent drive. Needs a bit more time, but the concern about the tannic extraction which I voiced last time seems unfounded now.

2005 vintage

Mostly Merlot in the blend and it shows. Tannins fully integrated. Ripe fruit, licorice, mint, cedar and tobacco. Awesome wine. Good concentration, long finish. Everything you want from a St. Emilion. Perfect pairing to the surf and turf and beat the Napa option (although Kelly Fleming wasn’t a slouch either). I have 3 left and I wish I had more.

2005 vintage

Decanted ~ 2 hours before dinner. On opening this is tightly wound and intense. Big body, big tannins, dark fruit, cedar, etc. With time it opens nicely. Good menthol / pencil lead notes. Length is very good. Its not a stunner, but it is a very good Bordeaux that will likely continue to integrate and improve with a few more years

2005 vintage

delicious and in a great drinking window; poured from magnum and in great shape; vibrant fruit, medium bodied - very much a "claret" with elegance, tannins are there but on the pleasant chewy side. def crowd pleaser

2005 vintage

From the 2005 Bordeaux Wine Dinner I held. All 6 wines were truly excellent, but, of course, the tasting panel had specific opinions and favorites. The ranking for the blind tasting, as paired with Beef Bourguignon and medium hard cheese was: 1. Chateau d'Issan 2. Chateau Pape Clement 2. Chateau Montrose 4. Chateau Haut Bailly 5. Clos Fourtet 6. Chateau Lynch-Bages I agree with this order, but was somewhat surprised by Lynch-Bages being 6th (usually a favorite of mine) and …

2005 vintage

Evelien's birthday : Not had much experience with this producer since I always had the impression that they were modern, but this was a pleasant surprise. Reminded me of the terrific '11 VCC that I had a couple of months ago so I guessed a right-bank in that ballpark. Quite aristocratic with its lifted red fruit, rich and seamless texture. My favourite Bordeaux today.

2012 vintage

2nd bottle from a half case and very different and much improved from the one 3 years ago. Dark colour. Complex nose of barnyard, leather, raspberry, blackcurrant and more. Body has that soft merlot fruit that doesn't quite stand up to the medium weight tannins. Finish is long and flavoursome. This is a wine that has split opinion. I've gone from a detractor to a fan. As for the future I hope the fruit outlasts the tannins but I doubt …

2012 vintage

Chocolate, licorice, sea salt, smoke, roasted black cherries, spices, caramel, and dried flower aromatics take little effort to find. The palate is equal to the nose. It’s rich, concentrated, and packed with waves of salt-crusted berries, dark chocolate, chalk, and mint-leaf. The finish holds on with vibrancy, and a wealth of crushed stones that shine on the backend. One hour of decanting is a good idea. Drink from 2024-2050.

2005 vintage

Peak maturity and drinking phase right now. Red cherries and plums, graphite, leather and some tobacco, exudes elegance on the nose and finishes fine. Quite a classical expression, wouldn’t bother aging further

1996 vintage

Tannins remain fairly strong while the fruit is fading, unbalanced overall. Tasted over several hours of decanting. I did not like the tasting experience much. Should have enjoyed this last bottle a year ago.

2012 vintage

Bois trop présent.

2012 vintage

Amazing wine, deep purple red color, young and fruity some animal funk in the beginning after decanting for an hour, lots of black fuit, methol, cherries, dark chocolate, brown sugar, a hint of saddle leather on nose and palette, velvety perfectly integrated tannins highly distinguished and elegant gentlemen wine - like a classic jazz night - never ending - so good - just 1 bottle left unfortunately

2012 vintage

2 hour decant. Nose of dark plum, wet earth, a touch of dill, and a sharp barnyard aroma. Rich black currant, black fruit, and dark cherry coats the moth, adding minerals and tannins but it's a bit flabby without much complexity. Tannins continue on the finish, adding ash, barnyard, funky dark fruit, and lingering soil.

2012 vintage

Full and dense nose. Black fruit and plum. Liquorice and ink. Herbs and barnyard. After a while - too much Brett! Fullish, impeccably concentrated, harmonius, very right bank palate. Dense and deep. Round and ripe. Plum, gently oaky and generous. Very good length. But - after an hour or so, the wine is overwhelmed by Brett. If you like a healthy dose of that, this wine is probably 94 pts.

2012 vintage

Absolutely wonderful bottle, with a strip label saying it was in an off-license Est. in 1700 London, and then second strip label says it was sold by Christie's in London. The bottle looked exactly how one would expect after spending 3/4ths of a century in a damp London cellar. Fill was at base of neck (<2 cm ullage). Nose had some mustiness that rapidly evaporated and left with something that resembled a 1959 Bonnes Mares from a top producer. A …

1945 vintage

Nice fruit. Soft. Sweet palate. Lacks complexity. Ready to drink

1996 vintage

Generös, üppig, offen, balanciert, Ledersattel, Tabak, Menthol, dunkle Früchte, extrem lang, alles was man braucht. Für noch mehr Punkte könnte er noch etwas mehr Leichtigkeit und Frucht haben.

2012 vintage

Chocolate, vanilla, black cherry and sweet cassis, love the tannins and the acidity bringing everything in check. Noce one, will improve but slightly on the fruit side

2012 vintage

Purple/brown inky hue, soft nose. First taste was smooth, not complex - rose, leather, dark fruits moving into light tannins and soft finish, no earth or oak. Good not great. Expected more given now 10yrs

2012 vintage

Dark red, black currants, dark fruits, smooth tannins. Not particularly long finish, a classic Bordeaux, well-integrated tannins.

2007 vintage

Deep Garnet. Served in the glass for one hour aeration. For the next one hour it remained disappointing. Totally closed fruit. There were only earthy and tobacco notes on the nose. Furthemore, tanic, too intense, alcohol present. One hour later it started to show some fruit, mellowing out and minerality. Medium to full-bodied, medium to long finish. May be it needs a 5 hour decanting or a few more years. At this point is not so enjoyable and definitely NOT …

2012 vintage

Decanted an hour, with truffle brie and comte. Secondary flavours abounding shortly after the quick aeration. Still statuesque and reminding of a great pedigree.

2007 vintage

10 years Old and lots of life to come ( but not this bottle ) Typical Bordeaux blend with Merlot in front and very Dark color. Wonderfull nose and tast. Nice to have a star from St.Emilion , do not forget Bordeaux with some age…( note to myself )

2012 vintage

Très beau Bordeaux, tout en fruit et bien expressif. En bouche, tout est en rondeur, juteux et tannins soyeux, belle longueur. Difficile d y resister

2012 vintage

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Clos Fourtet Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

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