Clos de Tart – the vineyard

The Clos de Tart Grand Cru monopole is wonderfully sited on an impeccable slope – perfect conditions for Pinot Noir. Geologically, Clos de Tart shows elements of its near neighbours Vougeot and Chambolle-Musigny, yet is also distinctive.

The soils within Clos de Tart are complex and varied but are mainly argilo-calcaire (clay-limestone). Very unusually, the vines are planted in a north/south direction, perpendicular to the slope. This has a threefold benefit: it guards against erosion, allows good drainage and maximises sun exposure.

The vines are densely planted with 11,000 plants per hectare (12,500 for younger vines) to inhibit growth, improving quality by encouraging the root system to dig deeply. The average age of the vines is a very high 60 years, with many up to 100. Replanting is effected using stock from the estate’s own nurseries.

The Clos exercises the viticultural disciplines of lutte intégrée. Essentially, they farm organically but have not sought certification, reserving the right to treat the vines in exceptional circumstances.

Nature has been kind to Clos de Tart but it took a little shaking up by man, in the form of Sylvain Pitiot, and well-directed investment by the Mommessin family over the past ten years for the Clos, in a near vertical ascent, to live up to its potential. From the outset Sylvain introduced dramatic and significant improvements in both the vineyard and cellar. It is a story of infinite detail in which the effect on the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Sylvain’s objective is to translate this very great terroir as accurately and sensitively as is humanly possible and to produce therefore a wine which is entirely faithful to its origins. Since 2005, Sylvain has been working closely with Claude Bourguignon, an agronomist of world renown. They have analysed the soils and sub-soils of the Clos. This work is continuous, the better to understand the Clos de Tart terroir. Six specific parcels have been identified, are now vinified separately and are then brought together just one month before bottling.

The vines are trained and pruned in such a way as to restrict production and enable even growth. This was one of Sylvain’s primary goals. Only the five best bunches per vine are retained during green harvesting in August. Production is very low at between 23 and 30 hectolitres per hectare (the appellation laws allow 42) and the impact on quality has been profound. Sylvain also favours harvesting rather late, generally picking ten days or so after his neighbours, seeking optimal ripeness allied to relatively low acidity.

Clos de Tart – the winery

Here too we witness the rewards of the Pitiot-Mommessin investment. A new state-of-the-art cuverie was built in 1999 which allows traditional practices to be exercised with all of the benefits of modern technology and hygiene.

Hand-harvested grapes are placed in small plastic containers to avoid crushing, then transported to the cuverie and placed, when necessary, on a sorting table. Much of the sorting is however achieved in the vineyard. Bunches are then transported to a de-stemmer after sorting, using a conveyor, again to avoid crushing. Sylvain has significantly raised the percentage of the crop which is de-stemmed. It varies in keeping with the vintage, but is generally around 85%.

The vinification process is traditional but never formulaic, adapted every year according to the vintage. There are normally three phases, each lasting around one week; a cold maceration pre-fermentation, fermentation itself and finally a maceration post-fermentation. During the fermentation process there are two pigeages per day (punching down the cap). No artificial yeasts are added. Once fermentation has finished, the free-run wine is drawn off and the residue of pips and skins is passed through a pneumatic press, producing the vin de presse. The two wines are kept and aged separately.

Clos de Tart – the cellar

The cellar is a magnificent space; dark, naturally cool and impeccably maintained. Air-conditioning has been installed to maintain this low temperature and to help in controlling the malolactic fermentation. The wine is matured in 100% new oak casks, mainly Tronçais oak, for around eighteen months. Fining is rarely required and there is never any filtering.

The ageing cellars are on two levels, hewn out of the rock. Good aeration, a constant temperature of 12°C and 75% humidity all allow a gentle, unhurried maturation of the wines. Both racking and bottling are done by gravity. Bottling is by hand, in the traditional way, and in the deepest cellar.

Clos de Tart – the wines

La Forge de Tart: In some years, part of the production is reclassified as Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru La Forge de Tart. A great wine in its own right, its name reflects the former name of the vineyard. When La Forge is produced, it tends to be from the younger vines, of less than 25 years old.

Clos de Tart: There has been something almost Arthurian about the transformation of this great vineyard since the middle 1990s. Now, once more, is revealed the wonderful, aromatic purity of this wine, a palate of density and liquid silkiness, allied to a profundity which combines power with finesse and elegance.