Clos Fourtet leaves nature to express itself, striving to keep its purity intact. We harvest carefully by hand, bringing in the grapes in small baskets so as to preserve their integrity. Then, we carry out the minimum, softest extraction necessary to reveal our terroir’s identity. Every year the ageing of the wine is different: we adapt the amount of new oak barrels that we use to reflect the structural potential of each vintage. Throughout this lengthy process, we limit handling of the wine and protect the fruit from oxidation.
The scarcity and low yields of Clos Fourtet reflect a wholehearted pledge to release only wines that meet our unwavering expectations. We ruthlessly snip away bunch after bunch of green grapes before they begin to ripen, reducing the quantity to leave the remaining grapes more concentrated with sugar and tannins. Only our most precious berries will complete the journey from garden to bottle, as they pass below the unforgiving gaze of those who select them.
The diversity of our terroir means that pieces of land just metres apart provide berries that are truly distinctive in character. At the highest points, a shallow limestone layer absorbs and re-diffuses the heat of the sun, yielding intensely concentrated berries bursting with minerals. Lower terrain holds dense clay and streaks of sand, bearing grapes rich in tannins, which reinforce the mid-palate of our wines. The fruits from individual plots mature in isolation until the final moment when they are brought together to give life to Clos Fourtet and our second wine 'La Closerie de Fourtet’. La Closerie de Fourtet is crafted with the same care as the grand vin, using plot-by-plot selection to give a wine that is immediately charming.
Tastings guide crucial choices that we must make throughout the year. They begin amongst the vines, as we pursue ideal levels of ripeness that align with Clos Fourtet’s identity. After the harvest we taste just as often, drawing samples from our vats and barrels, following and observing the mystical transformation. The remarkable complexity of wine eludes even the most advanced analysis, so the human palate remains the most reliable judge of future evolution and quality.