Clos Fourtet 1947, St. Emilion

"Moden bordeauxsmaking" hos Øyvind 30.4.12:

Pen medium rød kjerne med tynnere kant. Balsamico, lær og solvarm stein. Fløyel i munnen med en god balansert og frisk munnfølelse. Balsamico`en går av etterhvert. Helt avslepne tanniner nå, men de er der. Fabelaktig vin som holder seg overraskende godt.  94 poeng.

Philippe Cuvelier (owner), Tony Ballu (Estate manager).

Vineyard20 ha, 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. The vines are about 25 years old and planted on clay and limestone soils. Manual harvesting, sorting (in the vineyard and after harvesting) and de-stemming (twice).

WinemakingThe grapes poured directly into small, parcel specific stainless steel and wooden vats, without crushing. 2 days of maceration (15-18°C) are followed by alcoholic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation of the first wine takes place in oak barrels (80% new) and that of the second wine in vats. The wine is aged 5 months in oak barrels in the ground floor cellar and thereafter blended. Barrel-aging thereafter continues for 10-12 months in the underground cellar. Before bottling, the wine is filtered but rarely fined. At the end of the aging process, the vin de presse, which is extracted with a vertical press after the malolactic fermentation and aged separately, is incorporated into the first wine about once every 5 years and into the second wine every year. Wines · Clos Fourtet (about 55,000 bottles/year) · Closerie de Fourtet (about 25,000 bottles/year)