2021, Domaine Clos de Tart, Grand Cru, 'MONOPOLE'

The 2021 Clos de Tart Grand Cru was bottled in July 2023. It has much more intensity than the La Forge, though there remains a bit of new oak to be subsumed at the moment. The medium-bodied palate has fine depth and freshness, considering the growing season. It offers soft red berry fruit and touches of sous-bois - not complex but feels long and tender on the finish. Perhaps not quite matching my expectations from barrel, yet it is still a commendable showing, given the season. 94 Neal Martin, Vinous (2023).

Unwinding in the glass to reveal notions of sweet red berries and plums mingled with orange zest, rose petals and sweet spices, the 2021 Clos de Tart Grand Cru is full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a textural attack that segues into a layered, enveloping mid-palate, framed by sweet, powdery tannins and ripe acids. This combines all the inherent charm of the vintage with rare depth and seriousness. 94-96 William Kelley, Wine Advocate (2023).

"Classic Pinot Noir" according to winemaker Alessandro Noli. He has spared no expense to produce a superb wine, declassifying to premier cru swaths of the Clos that didn't meet his expectations. The result has a lovely ripe, expressive mulberry and pomegranate fruit with accents of earth and sweet oak spice and a silky precision to the texture that is firm if less powerful than in recent years. The overall result is a beautiful expression of the Morey terroir. 96 Charles Curtis MW, Decanter (2022).

Just a little more depth of colour than Forges, but not by much. The bouquet suggests a greater depth of classy red fruit, all about subtlety rather than power. This is about the tensile strength rather than overt power. A redcurrant and raspberry fruit, all red berries, fine boned tannins and a good balance with the acidity. Everything in its place, a fine long finish, but absolutely not the more monolithic style of an earlier period. **** 95 Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy (2023).

This also flirts with reduction though aggressive swirling eventually coaxes notes of various red berries and herbal tea nuances. There is excellent underlying tension to the super-sleek bigger-bodied flavours that also possess a refined, even sophisticated, texture thanks to the fine-grained tannins shaping the beautifully balanced, persistent and harmonious finish. This is lovely and a wine that should easily be capable of rewarding mid to longer-term keeping yet is not so compact and backward that it couldn't be approached after 7 to 8 years. 92 Allen Meadows, Burghound (2024).

Drinking Window: 2026 - 2044