Clos de Tart is a Grand Cru monopole (ie. one owner) located in the village of Morey-St-Denis in Burgundy. The 7.5ha walled vineyard was founded by the Cistercian nuns of Tart Abbey in 1141, who held it until the French Revolution when it was sold to the Marey-Monge family. In 1932 it was acquired by Macon wine merchant Henri Mommessin who sold it to the Pinault family in 2018. Since his appointment as winemaker in the mid 90s, Sylvain Pitiot has brought significant improvements to the estate.
"The 2017 Clos de Tart Grand Cru was matured in around 80% new oak, the barrels toasted chauff blonde. Jacques Desvauges mentioned that the wine needed oxygen ingress during maturation that only new oak can give. I tasted the component parts (as usual) as well as the blend. This has a very detailed, delineated bouquet offering mainly black fruit mixed with sous-bois, tobacco, clove and bay leaf, the typicité of the appellation showing through nicely. It feels very succinct and yet so fresh. The palate is beautifully balanced on the entry with a killer line of acidity. Pure black cherry fruit is joined by bilberry, hints of black olive and a marine/oyster shell tincture that comes through quite strongly toward the persistent, saline finish, which fans out with confidence. This is a brilliant follow-up to the benchmark 2016 by Jacques Desvauges and his team."
96-98 points, Vinous.
"Despite what has been written about high yields in the Côte de Nuits in 2017, Jacques de Vauges made less Clos de Tart than he did in 2016. Picked much earlier than it used to be when Sylvain Pitiot was in charge, this is a fine, focussed, nuanced wine that expresses the complexity of this monopole grand cru. With deftly integrated 60% whole bunches and 80% new wood, it's elegant, floral and precise with chalky freshness. Drinking Window 2023 - 2032".
96 points, Decanter.
This wine was purchased directly from the importer on release and has been stored in temperature controlled conditions since that time.
