Clos de Tart, Mommessin 2013

**Note: from vines that average around 60+ years of age**
This is quite floral with perfumed and very spicy aromas of violets, plum, black cherry and plum liqueur scents. There is a relatively refined mouth feel to the powerful, intense and solidly well-concentrated medium weight plus flavors that possess a subtle trace of minerality on the balanced and impressively long finish. In the context of recent vintages, 2013 is not a huge vintage for this wine but I like the subtle combination of power and refinement. Refined or not however note that plenty of patience will be required before this reaches its full apogee.

Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Clos de Tart Grand Cru has a well defined bouquet with fine mineralité, very pure and poised with gorgeous ripe black cherries, strawberry and almost flint-like scents. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, missing a little delineation on the entry but with good structure. There is plenty of ripe sappy red fruit here with firm tannins, linear at present but showing impressive breeding. A vin de garde that will require several years in bottle before it really struts its stuff. Tasted September 2016.

Tasted at the pre-dinner vertical to mark Sylvain Pitiot's retirement from the domaine, the 2013 Clos de Tart Grand Cru has similar intensity to the nascent 2014, but here there is more black fruit coming through. It is beautifully defined, floral and refined with hints of violet marrying with the fruit profile. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, a savory, digestif note on the entry, and the acidity finely tuned with a gentle crescendo in the mouth. This might turn out more structured and masculine than the 2014; there is a touch of meatiness lingering on the aftertaste. It is one of those intriguing Clos de Tart, medium rather than long-term potential.

The 2013 Clos de Tart has a succinct and perfumed bouquet: distant at first but warming to you with time. It is very well defined (as usual) with blackcurrant and cassis, a tangible mineral component courtesy of vines planted on wet limestone. The palate is medium-bodied with tensile tannins, symmetrical with a keen thread of acidity. The whole bunch component is barely tangible, but perhaps it renders it more backward than when I tasted the 2012 last year. It is linear and focused with a subtle brine influence toward the finish. There is an effortlessness about this Clos de Tart.