2018 Clos de Tart, Grand Cru, Clos de Tart, Burgundy

55% whole bunch. Cask sample.

Very dark crimson. Not the freshest nose—perhaps because of the slightly elevated serving temperature? But majestic in terms of build and really complex, with an array of wildflowers on the nose a biodynamic effect?). Really, pretty smart! There’s glamour and density here, as well as sweetness, digestive biscuits, and orange liqueur. Exciting wine.

Drink 2030 - 2053

The 2018 Clos de Tart demonstrates the superior nature of great terroir and mature vines. This is still a big year with very ripe fruit, but there is more elegance to the grand cru than La Forge de Tarte, the premier cru, and a sophistication that is lacking in the lesser wine. Ripe black cherry and plum fruit with a bit more oak, and some additional mineral nuance, lead gracefully to the powerful but fine-grained texture, impressive density and marvellously balanced finish. Although this does not have the elegance of 2019, it shows how great the '18s can be with a sensitive hand.

Drink 2027 - 2060

Jacques Devauges may have jumped the wall and moved to the Clos des Lambrays next door, but the wine he made at this historic property is still current. And what a wine it is: combining seven different parcels of the Grand Cru to make a fine, floral, complex, subtly reductive wine of considerable distinction and savoury grip, framed by 80% new wood. Let's hope the new team carries on the great work, which amounted to a radical change of style.

Drink 2026 - 2036

55% whole cluster

Absolutely bursting with blue and red fruits, the concentration is deceptive here, as it starts out juicy and full of air, but after a few minutes in the glass you start to feel the weight and the texture, and this turns into an extremely serious wine with real tannic hold. Gorgeous savoury finish, as you get so often in the best Burgundies, where weightlessness is such a brilliant veil to the power behind.

Drink 2020 - 2032

Dense purple. Succulent ripe fruit, rich cherries, seductive yet not quite too much of a good thing. More oak emerges but in harness with a hugely impressive weight of fruit. This is an absolute baby. A few stems support the profile and while they add a lightly drying touch, this is a monumental wine for the very long term future.

Drink from 2035.

Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting.

The 2018 Clos de Tart Grand Cru was wonderful from barrel, but now it seems to have gone up another level. It has an exquisite bouquet with wonderful mineralité infusing the brambly red fruit. Wonderful focus and quite profound complexity. You could nose this forever. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiselled tannins married with a killer line of natural acidity. Everything is perfectly proportioned in this wine. It is very persistent, with layers of dark berry fruit laced with white pepper and tea leaf on the finish. It is immense.

Drink 2030 - 2065