No Relation:
Clos Saint-Martin 1964-2017

BY NEAL MARTIN | APRIL 28, 2020If small is beautiful, then Clos Saint-Martin is the fairest of
them all. Twenty years after first visiting this ideally located estate on the
Saint-Émilion, I return to visit proprietor Sophie Fourcade and re-taste recent
vintages.

Memories
of my primeur trip back in 2000 are vague; it was a bloomin’ long time ago. But
I do possess evidence of lunch at the
minuscule but well-regarded Saint-Émilion property Clos Saint-Martin, in the
form of a photograph, an old-fashioned one that you can hold that was developed
at Boots, date digitized in the bottom left-hand corner. Presumably the reason
for this visit was to meet proprietor Sophie Fourcade, who a few months earlier
had accepted the running of the estate. I was unfamiliar with the name, but a vivacious
1964 Clos Saint-Martin made an impression, proving that despite its diminutive
size, the estate could produce wines of impressive longevity. That’s no
surprise given its prime location on the limestone plateau wedged between Beau-Séjour
Bécot and Château Canon. Thereafter I regularly procured bottles, not only because
of their quality, but because of the novelty of sharing a surname. Despite
tasting every vintage over the last two decades and intermittently older ones,
I had never returned to Clos Saint-Martin...at least not until a blustery,
rain-sodden morning in February.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1587999527686-clos+saint+martin+sophie+fourcade.jpg"> Fortunately, the clouds briefly cleared so that I could take this photo of Sophie Fourcade, with the vineyard of Clos Saint-Martin behind her toward Beau-Séjour Bécot. 

History

As
implied by its name, Clos Saint-Martin was originally part of the namesake
Presbyterian Church. In 1850, the clergy amalgamated the diaspora of small
churches into one central église in Saint-Émilion, and consequently Saint-Martin
was deprived of its flock and its raison
d’être. “My great-great-grandfather, Monsieur Malen, bought the vineyard
and the house,” Sophie Fourcade told me. Given the small production, it might
have been tempting to sell the fruit to the local cooperative or another
estate, but Fourcade assured me that they have always bottled it themselves. Perusing
wine literature, it is very difficult to glean much information from older
editions of the Féret guide – nary a mention, in fact. Bernard Ginestet
included Clos Saint-Martin in his Saint-Émilion book in a brief entry that says
the vineyard blend included 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon,
indicating a shift toward Merlot in recent years.

“My
mother, Madame Rieffers, came from Luxembourg and was in charge of the family’s
three estates: Les Grandes Murailles, Côte de Baleau and Clos Saint-Martin. My
first vintage was in 1998, the same year that [winemaker] Benoît Turbet-Delof started.
I had worked as a lawyer for a bank and then took time off to raise my three
children. When I decided to return to work, my mother asked me to come to Clos Saint-Martin.”

Fourcade
has always been a congenial, personable proprietor with a welcoming smile. She
was a great ambassador for her three estates, to the extent that maybe a few
people did not realize how small was the size of production. Without first-hand
winemaking experience, she hired Michel Rolland, who in recent years has delegated
responsibility to one of the key members of his team, Julien Viaud. Under
Fourcade’s tenure, Clos Saint-Martin has become a more consistent performer
compared to its somewhat patchy track record in the 1980s and 1990s. Now it
often matches or surpasses some of the appellation’s higher-profile names. Ironically,
success in the 2012 Saint-Émilion classification prompted a tumultuous change.
“We had the classification and Côte de Baleau was promoted to Grand Cru Classé.
After this, [in 2013] the family decided to put the properties on the market. I
wanted to keep all three within the family. I had worked so hard over the years,
but I did not have a great deal of money.”

Clearly
she was at odds with her co-shareholders, her brother and sister. After
quitting her successful career in law, Fourcade had become devoted to her
vineyards, which were now sold off for a healthy sum. Obviously there was a
great deal of corporate interest, but to quote Fourcade in an interview at the
time: “I did not want to sell to a faceless insurance company.” The second-best
option was to find a kindred spirit, another winemaking family, and the three
properties were sold to the Cuvelier family of nearby Clos Fourtet and Poujeaux
in Moulis-en-Médoc. The only upside was that Fourcade initially continued to
direct the properties under Matthieu Cuvelier and was eventually able to buy
back Clos Saint-Martin, where she lives today, in one of the dwindling number
of Saint-Émilion properties that serve as both winery and home. Her granddaughter
was upstairs playing while I was conducting my tasting, and I thought how rare
it is to hear children’s laughter in a château these days.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1587999599310-clos+saint+martin+benoit.jpg"> Winemaker Benoît Turbet-Delof, who has been at the estate for over 20 years. 

Vineyard

“The
vineyard covers 1.36 hectares on clay-limestone soils,” Fourcade told me as we
surveyed the vines over toward Beau-Séjour Bécot. “There is a lot of limestone. The soil is around
50cm deep before it meets the bedrock, and in some places the rock is exposed
on the surface. It comprises 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet
Sauvignon with an average vine age of 35 years.” Benoît Turbet-Delof explained
that they use 5BB, 41B and Fercal rootstock, the latter on the higher part. There
is an organic approach to vineyard husbandry, though they reserve the right to
use chemical products as a last resort. A horse is used to work the vineyard in
order to minimize soil compaction, a much easier task for their equine worker
compared to the large estates on the Left Bank. &nbsp;

When
I ask whether the diminutive size of the holdings means that the harvest is rapid,
Fourcade immediately corrected me. “The harvest is not quick,” she insisted. “In
our minds we divide the vineyard into six parcels, each one harvested when we
want. It can be two hours one day and three hours another. We employ 10 pickers
and there can be 10 to 12 days’ difference between the young Merlot and the
Cabernet Franc.”

The
tiny size of the vineyard means that Clos Saint-Martin has applied a Burgundian
approach to vinification, not because it is fashionable but because it is
necessary. I was shown around the winery that lies below Fourcade’s house and consists
of just two or three adjoining rooms with thick whitewashed walls, similar to
what I commonly see in Burgundy rather than Bordeaux. Turbet-Delof explained
that they used to have two vats that would each contain around half of the total
production. It meant that the timing of picking was extremely difficult, since
you had to make sure the vats were filled, and even that cannot be guaranteed
since it is subject to yield.

“Since
2008 the grapes go directly into the barrels,” he explained. “It is much more
precise. The barrels rest on wheels to conduct the remontage [sometimes
known as the “OXO” system]. We have always used 100% new oak because it is
better for vertical integration. Because the temperature of the fermenting wine
is warm, around 27-28°C, osmosis between the wood and the wine is very
interesting in terms of formation of tannins that polymerize quickly.”

“We
use pigeage for the amphora. These were introduced with the 2015
vintage. We currently have three that were baked at 1,200°C, equivalent to
around 20% of production, though we are purchasing a fourth where the clay is
baked at 1,600°C. It will be interesting to compare them, as at higher baking
temperatures, the pores in the clay are more closed and reduce
micro-oxygenation. We want a soft vinification without too much extraction, as
the terroir is very strong. We use different cooperages: Demptos, Taransaud,
Raymond, Seguin, Radoux and, of course, Saint-Martin. The racking is done three
barrels at a time. We use a lot of vin de presse because we find that it
is very positive for the structure of the wine. It can represent around 30% of
the blend. The barrel maturation is between 18 and 20 months and we produce around
5,000 bottles each year, with no second wine – we’re too small. The three crescent
moons on the label are the family crest.”<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1587999613080-clos+saint+martin+barrel+cellar.jpg"> The Clos Saint-Martin barrel cellar. 

The Wines

Although
the quantity is very small, I have always felt that the quality of Clos
Saint-Martin merits its own article, however brief. I have only tasted three or
four bottles predating Fourcade, and to be honest, the aforementioned 1964
aside, the wines were adequate but nothing special. Fourcade and Michel Rolland
must be credited with providing much more consistency and realizing the
potential of this propitious location. The style has usually leaned more
fruit-driven and richer, while the use of 100% new wood results in an oakier
style that can discourage those seeking a more “classic” wine. However, the
bottles that I have tasted reward cellaring.

Recent
vintages have been well worth hunting down. The 2010 Clos Saint-Martin pips the
2009 in terms of superior definition and structure, underpinned by an
outstanding line of acidity, although the dark horse of the vertical at the
château is the excellent 2012 Clos Saint-Martin, which has improved
considerably since I last tasted it. The 2013 is the weak link in the pack,
although that applies to most properties in that lamentable growing season. The
2014 was not included in the lineup, as Fourcade told me they had no bottles
remaining in the cellar, but subsequent vintages have all been top-drawer,
including the 2017, which transcends the limitations of the growing season.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1587999659498-clos+saint+martin+bottles.jpg"> It
was a pleasure to return to Clos Saint-Martin after two decades. It might be
one of the smallest crus in the appellation, but since when did size matter? It
is a great pity that Fourcade had to relinquish her family’s other two
properties because they made an interesting trio. At least she was able to keep
one of them and remain part of the landscape, a bit of Burgundy in the
limestone heart of Saint-Émilion. Oh, and by the way, we are not related. <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?sort%5Bdirection%5D=desc&amp;sort%5Bname%5D=vintage&amp;wf_dirty=false&amp;wf_export_fields=&amp;wf_export_format=&amp;wf_id=&amp;wf_match=all&amp;wf_model=Wine&amp;wf_name=&amp;wf_order=vintage&amp;wf_order_type=desc&amp;wf_page=1&amp;wf_per_page=25&amp;wf_submitted=true&amp;wf_type=WillFilter%3A%3AFilter&amp;wine_filter%5Barticle_id%5D=2600&amp;wine_filter%5Bproducer_id%5D=14295">See the Wines from Youngest to Oldest</a><hr>You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/squares-circles-bordeaux-10-at-ten-apr-2020">Squares &amp; Circles: Bordeaux ‘10 At Ten</a>, Neal Martin, April 2020<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/in-good-taste-branaire-ducru-1928-2013-mar-2020">In Good Taste: Branaire-Ducru 1928-2013</a>, Neal Martin, March 2020 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vintage-seeks-home-bordeaux-2017-in-bottle-jan-2020">Vintage Seeks Home: Bordeaux 2017 In Bottle</a>, Neal Martin, February 2020 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/the-future-s-not-what-it-was-bordeaux-2018-nov-2019">The Future’s Not What It Was: Bordeaux 2018</a>, Neal Martin, November 2019 <div><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/a-century-not-out-talbot-1919-2010-oct-2019">A Century (Not Out): Talbot 1919-2010</a>, Neal Martin, October 2019</div>

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