Clos de Tart Grand Cru 2019 (750ML)

97 WA / 97 JM / 97 DE / 96-98 VM / 93-95 BH

The 2019 Clos de Tart Grand Cru has turned out brilliantly. Mingling notes of wild berries and cherries with hints of peonies, rose petal, orange rind, exotic spices and musk, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with a velvety attack that segues into a fleshy, textural mid-palate defined by depth and purity of fruit, concluding with a long and penetrating finish. –William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

Bottled at the end of March 2021. A rich deep purple but no black in the colour. Here there is a generous sensuality at first, then increasing precision as the bouquet develops. Absolutely on the cusp of red and black. The more you dig, the more layers of fruit emerge. There are some tannins, quite grainy in the old style, fighting with the generosity of fruit that the new team have added: an interesting interweaving of the relative austerity of Clos de Tart with the more sumptuous characteristics of vintage and vinification. This wine is still such a bay that it is almost harder to decipher with a few months in bottle than it was in barrel. Tasted: November 2021—Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy

The 2019 Clos de Tart is a triumph, and significantly more structured and complex than La Forge de Tarte, the Morey premier cru. The north-south training along the slope has helped ensure optimal ripeness while staying very fresh. The rich black cherry and plum flavours are complemented by a firm, saline minerality and pleasantly earthy, smoky notes. The wine shows a bit of wood now, but this will integrate in a few years to produce a wine of intensity and depth that should age for decades to come. Superb. 20,000 bottles made.--Charles Curtis MW, Decanter

The 2019 Clos de Tart Grand Cru is first vintage where winemaker Alessandro Noli has 100% responsibility and so the buck stops with him. Firstly that dialling down of new wood was the correct decision because already it is seamlesly entwined within the aromatics, allowing the quite plush Dorset plum, bilberry and light estuarine aromas to flourish from the glass. Impressive delineation here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, very well judged acidity, great harmony from the start. Good salinity, that saltiness leaving a residues on the tongue and leaves it tingling and it feels reassuringly persistent. I think this is a great success for Noli and doubtless it will age well over the next 25-30 years. Welcome to the new Clos de Tart.-- Neal Martin, Vinous Media

Note: from vines that average around 60+ years of age; <55% whole clusters
Tasting note: A much more floral suffused nose reflects notes of essence of plum, cassis, black raspberry liqueur, herbal tea and discreet wood influence. There is excellent volume and mid-palate density to the sappy, refined and tautly muscular larger-scaled flavors that coat the palate on the lingering and firmer finish that is shaped by relatively fine-grained tannins on the balanced finish where a subtle hint of warmth slowly emerges. This is still very compact and clearly evolving but it should be terrific in time. Don’t Miss. Allen Meadows, Burghound