2018 Clos de Tart

The 2018 Clos de Tart Grand Cru opens in the glass with rich aromas of raspberries, plum preserve, ripe berries, warm spices and rose petals, framed by a generous touch of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's rich, muscular and extracted, with a brooding, introverted profile that will require—and, one hopes, reward—patience. As I wrote last year, this is a powerful, broad-shouldered Clos de Tart that has more in common with the wines of the Pitiot era than it does with what the domaine produced in 2015, 2016, 2017 or 2019.

The 2018 Clos de Tart Grand Cru is a transitional wine in terms of the changeover from Jacques Desvauges to former Château Grillet winemaker Alessandro Noli following its acquisition by Groupe Artémis. It has a mélange of red and black fruit on the nose, the 55% whole bunch imparting scents of black pepper, damp undergrowth and a shavings of black truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with good grip on the entry. Quite compact at the moment, this obviously requires several years in bottle. But there is admirable freshness and tension; peppery towards the finish that feels just a touch austere and stern at the moment due to the robust, assertive tannins. That should soften with time, though comparing the two vintages side-by-side, I feel that the 2019 is endowed with more sophistication.