Château Fourcas Hosten 2012

Château Fourcas Hosten is one of the leading producers out of the Listrac village of the Haut Médoc appellation.  There is a lot of promise for this appellation on the left bank.  Its limestone terroir proves increasingly beneficial as growing seasons become warmer and is considered by critics as one of the appellations within the Haut Médoc with the most potential to produce fine Bordeaux.  This Crus Bourgeois Supérieur estate has experienced quite the turnaround of late, especially after it was acquired by Laurent and Renaud Mommeja of the Hermès fashion empire in 2006.  Since then, a series of sweeping changes have been made to both the vineyard and the vat room – including the new addition of a white wine.  The grand vin of Château Fourcas Hosten is supple, with plenty of concentration and elegantly integrated tannins.  With its relatively affordable price point, the wine is without a doubt a terrific value for the money.

Château Fourcas Hosten has a long history and was initially founded in the 18^th Century.  Though not much is written about it in the history books, the property was owned by Monsieur Hostein – who gave it its namesake – until 1810.   It was owned by Schröder and Schÿler - the négociant who owns the classified estate Château Kirwan -from 1971 to 2006.  Renaud and Laurent Mommeja were immediately captivated by the immense sense of history at the property, coupled with the potential of its unique terroir.  They were very interested in the two distinct plots – the clay limestone soils on Listrac with high elevation coupled with the Pyrenean gravel on the Fourcas plateau.  Since the property was acquired by the Mommeja brothers, they spent a significant period of time investing in the property and the results are speaking for themselves.  

Unlike the majority of new châteaux owners, the Mommeja brothers spent a significant amount of money investing in the winery first.  Usually, property owners first make changes to the vineyard.  The rationale behind this was the equipment dated to the 1990s and needed to be reupdated.  Once they invested in 40 new tanks, they were able to understand which plots were having issues and needed to be reconfigured.  The Mommeja brothers made the switch to Organic viticulture, focusing on sustainability and making the transition to go completely biodynamic.  In addition to reconfiguring the vineyard, they wanted to produce a white wine – Fourcas Hostein Blanc.  The reasoning? They wanted a break from producing red wine.   The inaugural vintage of this wine was in 2012, and it is a mixture of Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Semillon.  Both the red and white wine of this estate is vinified in a gravity flow operation, leading to a fresh aromatically rich wine.

Château Fourcas Hosten has a very talented viticultural team, with Caroline Artaud managing the estate and Eric Boissenot stepping in as a consultant at the property.  Since these changes have been implemented, Château Fourcas Hosten has taken on a significantly more fashionable, restrained and sophisticated style going forward.

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