Lots of vibrant blue berries, black cherries, and violets followed by eucalyptus and vanilla beans with subtle black ink and stony mineral notes. Full-bodied, solid tannins with soft acidity. Wonderful frame and structure with density. Sophisticated. Try after 2026.

An improvement on its Primeurs score. Delicately fragranced on the nose with soft red berry and pink floral notes. Smells pretty and inviting with delicate accents of green peppercorns, vanilla and clove. Supple in a juicy, textured way with a finessed energy that definitely doesn't shout out of the glass but is quietly confident. Finessed and well put together, almost sinewy in the construction - fine tannins, acidity, pure red fruit and a long liquorice and wet stone finish. Really complete, just dialed down, very in keeping with the vintage. Nothing is out of place. A lovely wine with the delicate sweet juiciness that I love. May be too light for some, but this is great.

The 2021 Clos Fourtet is very clearly one of the wines of the vintage on the Right Bank. Towering in its stature, the 2021 is a regal wine endowed with tremendous energy and vibrancy. This classically austere Saint-Émilion oozes class from the very first taste. Blue/purplish fruit, spice, lavender and menthol are some of the aromas and flavors that build into the resonant, deeply pitched finish. What a wine.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous, May 2022

The skill and class of this estate has come through more strongly after ageing, and this is a single point upscore. Very much on the savoury sudued side at this point, but there is beautiful finesse and a kick of oyster shell salinity. Austere still, but the floral aromatics give extra depths. A reasonable yield of 40hl/h (normal for the property) as its location again protected from frost. Clay-limestone soils. 50% new oak, 2% amphoras, saignée (for added concentration) on 20% of the vats.

A blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Clos Fourtet offers up inviting aromas of wild berries and plums mingled with hints of black truffle, violets, potpourri and dark chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, it's lively and layered, with beautifully refined tannins, bright acids and a long, sapid finish. Harvest lasted until October 15, which shows in unusual depth and plenitude for the vintage. Tasted three times.
William Kelley, April 2022

A wine that needs air to show at its best, the 2021 Clos Fourtet is a Merlot-dominated blend that includes 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, all of which spent 14-18 months in 50% new oak. Its deep ruby/plum hue is followed by a solid yet inward bouquet of ripe black cherries, smoked earth, graphite, and chalky minerality. This carries to a medium-bodied Saint-Emilion offering plenty of tannins, good mid-palate density, and the straight, focused, linear, yet concentrated style of the top wines in the vintage.

In years like 2021, you look to estates at the level of Clos Fourtet as ports in a storm, and this delivers, if not entirely escaping the influence of the vintage - a real sign of the issues, as this is such a brilliant wine, able to circumnavigate so many obstacles. You are going to find finesse and mouth watering salinity, marks of limestone and skill in the cellar, along with cool blue fruits and pumice-scrape salinity. It will fill out further during ageing, and will go the distance, but there is austerity here, and not the smile-inducing brilliance of a usual Clos Fourtet vintage. Tasted three times. A reasonable yield of 40hl/h (normal for the property) as its location again protected from frost. Clay-limestone soils. 50% new oak, 2% amphoras, saignée (for added concentration) on 20% of the vats.
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, May 2022

The 2021 Clos Fourtet opens in the glass with notes of dark berries, plums, spices and subtle hints of smoked meats and toasty oak. Medium-bodied, fleshy and ample, with powdery tannins that assert themselves on the gently structured finish, this remains a strong effort, but it doesn't quite deliver the depth and plenitude it seemed to en primeur.

The 2021 Clos Fourtet was picked September 28 to October 15 and matured in 50% new oak. Around 20% of the vats underwent saignée. This has a powerful bouquet of dark cherries, red plum, mint and violets. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. A less concentrated Clos Fourtet, even with the bleeding, but it retains balance and displays salinity and precision on the finish. This is promising, though it might be eclipsed by the 2019 and the 2020 in the long term. Still, I can see this maturing in style. (13.5% alcohol)
Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2022

Quite a bit of charm aromatically. Floral notes – iris and dried rose. Fleshy but polished, the tannins very fine. Freshness and grip on the finish so some persistence. Elegance over power. (JL)
Drink 2028 – 2040
Jancisrobinson.com, May 2022