Chateau Fourcas Hosten Listrac-Medoc 2012

Description

Quite possibly the finest property in Listrac, Fourcas Hosten can date it’s history back to the 18th Century and has 47 hectares of vines. The Merlot is mostly planted on the clay soils, whereas the gravel is favoured by the two Cabernets, Sauvignon and Franc. Up until 2010 the property used to produce very traditional, muscular styles of claret but has since been undergoing conversion to organic farming methods, eschewing the use of pesticides and carrying out as much of the work by hand as possible. The results are a softer, more fruit led and approachable style that offers superb value for money. There has also been much investment in the winery too which has led to the wines getting better and better.

The 2012 vintage saw lower yields at Fourcas Hosten which has in turn lead to a more concentrated style than the previous vintage. The wine is 53% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, aged in a mixture of new and old barrels (93% in total) with the remainder ageing in concrete tanks.

Rich colour, good depth of spicy cassis fruit, quite fleshy, new oak, much improved quality here. Decanter