Clos de Tart

It's hard to believe, given the fact that this renowned estate has had just four owners in more than 800 years, but Jacques Devauges, whose first vinification at Clos de Tart was 2015, has become an important source of continuity at this property, as long-time manager and technical director Sylvain Pitiot retired at the end of ’15 and the estate was just purchased by the holding group of billionaire businessman François Pinault, who also owns Château Latour, a few weeks before my November visit. (The Mommessin family had bought the property in 1932, seven years before the Clos de Tart AOC was created, and following nearly eight centuries under just two earlier owners: the Cistercian nuns and the French government.)

But it remains to be seen if the new owner will continue with the changes that Devauges has put in place in just the last two years. For example, two thousand sixteen was the first year in which the estate was farmed according to biodynamic principles, and just its second year working its vineyards organically. The estate has also put in place a long-term replanting program (scheduled to last until at least 2062!) under which it will replace 1.5% to 2% of its vines every year (about 0.5% to 1% of the vines die each year, notes Devauges), using a genetically diverse sélection massale that Sylvain Pitiot created from the estate's oldest parcels, based on his in-depth study of the subject between 1998 and 2003.

Devauges, it appears, also has a tendency to harvest earlier than Pitiot did. It was his decision to pick on September 5 in 2015 and, according to my tasting note, this strategy paid off. He then harvested on September 28 in 2016, which is the same date on which Pitiot started in 2010. There was only a bit of frost here (but considerable mildew pressure in May and June) and the clement July, August and September weather allowed the estate to bring in 35 hectoliters per hectare, the largest crop since 1999 (the ten-year average here is just 25). Potential alcohol levels ranged from 13.2% to 13.6% by lot (Devauges vinified eight separate lots) and no chaptalization was done. Devauges totally destemmed the youngest vines but vinified the rest of his lots with between 60% and 80% whole clusters. I tasted all eight of the components, plus an approximation of the final blend that did not include the young vines, at least part of which Devauges plans to use for the estate’s La Forge de Tart premier cru.

From Red Burgundy '16 & '15: Superb Vintages, Different Styles (Jan 2018) by Stephen Tanzer

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2016 Clos de Tart Grand Cru

Release Price: $623

Color: Red

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2015 Clos de Tart Grand Cru

Release Price: $623

Color: Red

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