As usual, I tasted Clos de Tart in its separate fermentations and then in an approximate blend. The late harvest produced a dark, brooding Clos de Tart endowed with fabulous depth. Dark and deeply spiced to the core, the 2013 is incredibly vivid in the glass, with gorgeous interplay between the old-vine fruit and aromatic nuances from the whole clusters. Cool, mineral and savory-inflected notes inform the bracing, invigorating finish. There is a lot to like in the 2013 Clos de Tart.

Deep red-ruby. Expressive aromas of black raspberry, spices, stone and pepper. Lush and ripe but with excellent sappy energy to the flavors of dark berries, licorice, flowers and curry powder. Very dense and sweet for the year without being heavy or over the top. Most impressive today on the very long, vibrant finish, which features broad, fine-grained tannins and lovely rising perfume. The thicker 2012 may surpass this wine in the long run, but I have a weakness for Clos de Tart in cooler vintages.

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.

Clear red in colour, with shy but clean, rooty scents: dry leaf, blood orange, beetroot.  On the palate, the wine is concentrated but not particularly round or fleshy, with a zesty, pithy, almost bracing style of fruit and enjoyably grippy tannins.  It’s eased away from youthful fruitiness relatively swiftly, but the birthright complexity is evident.