Clos de Tart

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Clos de Tart

The Clos de Tart is a wine location classified as Grand Cru on the Côte d'Or in French Burgundy . It is located in the municipality of Morey-Saint-Denis and has its own appellation . The 7.53 hectare vineyard is owned solely by the Mommessin trading company based in Mâcon . Only red wine is produced . The vineyard is actually enclosed by a wall, making it a real " Clos ".

Location, climate and soil

The Clos de Tart is located on a gently rising slope facing east-south-east at a height of 270 to 300 m above sea level. In the north it touches the Clos des Lambrays , to the south the Bonnes-Mares area adjoins. The Route des Grands Crus runs immediately to the east.

The climate is that of Burgundy - a transitional climate in which continental over maritime influences predominate. The mostly dry and hot summers allow the Pinot Noir to ripen, but great vintages are only created when there is no rain in autumn to impair the harvest. Due to the purely eastern location, the microclimate is relatively cool, but at the same time protected from late frosts. The harvest usually begins between September 20th and 30th.

The Clos de Tart rests on a base stone from the Bathonium . Above it lies a layer of weathered limestone rubble. Their thickness varies between 40 and 120 cm. Overall, the soil of the Clos de Tart is more homogeneous than that of the neighboring layers. A limestone vein runs through it, which is responsible for the elegance of the wine as well as for its velvety texture.

Wine

The Clos de Tart is made exclusively from Pinot Noir . As more varieties are Pinot Liébault and Pinot Beurot admitted. Theoretically, up to 15% white grapes ( Chardonnay , Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc ) can be used. The natural alcohol content must be at least 11.5% by volume, chaptalization is allowed - as everywhere in Burgundy. The basic yield is 35 hectoliters per hectare, this may be exceeded by a maximum of 20%. From 2000 to 2004, an average of 226 hectoliters were produced, i.e. around 30,000 bottles. The yield was 31 hl / ha.

The rows of vines are aligned across the slope in order to counteract erosion and make better use of the sunlight - morning and evening sun fall on the rows of vines. The density of plants is over 10,000 plants per hectare. The average age of the vines is over 50 years, the oldest vines were planted in 1918. Every three years, 33 acres are replanted, and individual dead vines are replaced. The grafted vines required for this are obtained from the Clos de Tart's own stock ( Sélection massale ). The principles of integrated cultivation are used in the vineyard . If necessary, a “green harvest” is carried out to limit the yield.

The harvest is done by hand, the grapes are re-sorted by hand. The fermentation takes place in since 1999 stainless steel tanks instead. Most of the grapes are destemmed and then macerated for several days at a low temperature for better extraction before the actual fermentation begins. Due to the high natural alcohol content, chaptalization is mostly avoided. The different plots are vinified separately, as is the pressed wine , which is added later. The expansion takes place exclusively in new oak barrels . The multi-storey construction of the cellar makes it possible to move the wine almost exclusively with the help of gravity. The barrel aging takes 18 to 24 months. The Clos de Tart is then assembled and bottled without fining or filtration. Today the assemblage takes place exclusively on the basis of a tasting , lots from younger vineyards are no longer excluded from the outset. What is not to be sold as Clos de Tart comes under the appellation “Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru” with the location name “La Forge” on the market.

Compared to other Grands Crus of Burgundy, the qualities of the Clos de Tart lie in its finesse, elegance and its velvety texture with great aromatic complexity. Its color is comparatively light and the body is less pronounced - despite the natural alcohol content, which is usually over 13% by volume. The changes made in winemaking since the mid-1990s put this observation into perspective, however, and the Clos de Tart has grown considerably in strength since then. Basically it is a very storable wine that needs at least a decade to fully develop. Its range of flavors changes as it matures. Initially dominated by cherries and raspberries, notes of spices, liquorice and forest soil are added in the ripe bouquet .

history

The origins of the Clos de Tart go back to the 12th century. The first owner of what was then known as La Forge was the Hôtel-Dieu in Brochon . From this, the St. Bernard Abbey (→ Cistercian ) Notre-Dame de Tart, founded in 1125 near Cîteaux , acquired the vineyard including the associated farm buildings and the wine press . In 1184 the Pope confirmed their possession. By 1240, the vineyards were rounded off by exchanging sites in Vosne , and the name “Clos de Tart” prevailed. The decline of the Cistercian order also gripped the monastery of Tart. In 1623 the remaining nuns went to Dijon and the monastery was abandoned. The Clos de Tart remained in the possession of the order until the French Revolution .

At the beginning of 1791, buildings and vineyards were auctioned off as Biens nationaux ("National Goods"). The price of 59,738 livres achieved for the 617 ares estate was significantly lower than that of Chambertin , Clos de Vougeot or Romanée-Saint-Vivant . The buyer was Charles Dumaine , but the property apparently passed directly to the wine merchant Nicolas-Joseph Marey (1760-1818) from Nuits-Saint-Georges . These two often worked together at the auctions. He was married to the daughter of the mathematician and temporary minister Gaspard Monge from Beaune , so this branch of the family was named Marey-Monge . Under the direction of Ferdinand Marey-Monge (1802–1869), the two-storey cellar was built in 1850 and is still in use today. In 1879 his daughter Louise , the canon "Mère Saint-Louis", inherited the property. She ran several monasteries and had the vineyards cultivated, first by the House of Champy from Beaune, then by Chauvenet from Nuits-Saint-Georges. In 1919 she sold the property to her sister Edith and her husband Hervé de Blic (1850-1924). The sales crisis at the beginning of the 1930s forced her daughter Guillemette Courcelle to sell the entire property. Since Chauvenet itself was in trouble, the wine merchant Joanny Mommessin from Macon was the only interested party to acquire the Clos de Tart for only 400,000 francs. The vineyards, however, were in poor condition. In 1935 2.5 hectares were replanted, in 1927 1.6 hectares had already been planted. The management of the estate remained in the hands of the Cyrot family from Pommard .

The Clos de Tart was already considered the best wine from Morey in the 19th century. In 1855 the author Jules Lavalle classified it as the only wine in the municipality as "Tête de Cuvée". On January 4, 1939, it was granted Grand Cru status by decree. Several small parcels within the wall built at the end of the 19th century were added to it, so that its area was 7.2170 hectares. In 1965, 27.8 ares of the Bonnes-Mares site and 7 ares of Villages sites, which were also located within the walls, were integrated. In 1969 Henri Perraud took over the management of the domain. Until his retirement in 1996, he prepared a storable and finesse-rich wine according to Burgundian tradition. The new head Sylvain Pitiot introduced some changes. The grapes delivered are re-sorted and the majority of the stems are removed. The cement fermentation tanks were replaced by stainless steel tanks. The Clos de Tart has a stronger body today and is accessible at a younger age.

References

  1. ↑ a b Clos de Tart ( French ) vinquebec.com. February 5, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved on July 7, 2010.
  2. ↑ Decree on the Clos de Tart appellation ( French , PDF). Accessed July 7, 2010.
  3. ↑ Igal Amsallem: '' Visite au Clos de Tart '' on '' ambiancevins.com '' (French; April 2005) . Ambiancevins.com. Retrieved July 7, 2010.

Literature and web links