Tasted in Morey St.Denis with Alessandro Noli, 09 November 2021. (Right, in his newly completed bottle storage.)
Clos de Tart
7 Route des Grands Crus
21220 Morey St.Denis
Tel: +33 3 80 34 30 91
www.clos-de-tart.com
More reports with Domaine Clos de Tart
Alessandro on 2021:
“Did well in 2021 – relatively! Approaching 30 hl/ha in barrel after triage etcetera – that’s thanks to extra-close spacing between the candles during the nights of frost – Not just frost – I was coming back from Beaune when it started to snow! In fact, it’s a yield that’s slightly better than in 2020.”
Alessandro on 2020:
“The 2020 volume was down because of the dryness of the vintage – it wasn’t a lack of grapes, it was simply the lack of juice. We needed 310 kg of grapes for a barrel of wine in 2021, it was between 380 and 390kg in 2020 – not much juice and thick skins. So it was also essential to extract very carefully as there could have been much less noble tannins… In the end we have a lovely concentration and I think it could take a couple of months longer of elevage vs the 2019 – but we will keep tasting and decide.”
The ‘wines’…
The wines are at different stages for sure so it’s a hard 2020-2019 comparison: There’s more weight and middle padding to the 19 and the finish of that wine shows the more impressively today – but the aromatics and the precision plus the sophistication of the texture and structure impress me even more in the 2020 – today – of course. The real test will be the same comparison in 25 years – I’d like to think that I’m still around for that… Clearly great wines, both…
Of course, plenty of colour. The nose is a little compact to start but slowly it offers up a nice accent of salinity. Hmm – mouth-filling, very modestly tannic – but with no visible grain. This is very sophisticated ‘Morey’ that waits until the middle and finishing flavours to really open out, widening with mouth-watering complexity – a contemplative wine – but what class for a ‘villages!’
Perhaps even deeper coloured. This nose has extra depth, though like the last, is not fully open today – air brings more width and a slowly augmenting mix of the floral spice – hmm, nice. Here The wine is more open, complex, with accents of perfume from the stems, more mobile flavours, touched with extra energy and sophistication. Contemplative, still, but great material to contemplate!
Like the last, here’s a proper step up in the clarity and width of aroma – here we see a blend of floral, spiced, fruit and a little more energy too. Yes – no longer a wine to contemplate, rather a wine to experience with dynamism to its energy and a form that’s more chiselled yet still supple. Finishing super-wide, the accent of tannin holding a complexity of bitters that pushes the finishing flavour longer, longer, but without any grain. Grand, grand vin in 2020…
And, now they are bottled:
2019 Morey St.Denis 1er Les Forges de Tart
Airy, a little saline – obviously concentrated yet still not aromatically open, perhaps a touch of green herb. I sense this wine a little more structural and young than its equivalent in 2020. Long finishing, more layered style too than the 2020. Different, so not easy to choose, but perhaps I prefer the slight extra freshness in the 2020 more(?)
Like the Forges, directly on opening there’s a subtle reduction but air swiftly removes this note. This is, aromatically, the more encompassing and brooding of the two vintages (with 2020) today. Again the extra freshness shown by the 2020 – but with more depth to the flavour. The grain is a little more apparent today but the finish is completely grandiose – such a great finish – sensual wine.