Clos Fourtet: Vineyards
The vineyards are located just outside the town of St Emilion, to the west, and just to the north of those of Château Canon. For many years the estate has accounted for 19 hectares of the appellation, a figure little changed since the time of Rulleau and Leperche. With the absorption of the vines of Château Les Grandes Murailles this figure will climb to just shy of 20.5 hectares. The vineyards are divided into two sections, the first (pictured) squarely on the limestone plateau around the château, running away towards the first valleys which mark the descent down to the plain of clay, to the west.
On the limestone plateau the soils are meagre, with just 40 to 50 centimetres of organic material on the limestone bedrock, which acts as a sponge for water. The second parcel is slightly distant, closer to Château Fonroque, and so a little further off the plateau. The inclusion of the vines from Château Les Grandes Murailles therefore adds a valuable 1.46 hectares of vines, situated right on the appellation’s limestone heartland, to the first parcel.
The Clos Fourtet vines average 30 years of age, and are planted at a density of 5,500 vines per hectare on older vineyards, but up to 9,200 vines per hectare on newer plantings, New vines are carefully selected, using sélection massale, working with Kees van Leeuwen and Château Cheval Blanc. Although in the early 1990s there was a significant percentage of the vineyard devoted to Cabernet Franc this has today been reined in, falling from 20-25% to just 9% today.
