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Wine Description
The Story
Of all the villages of the Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis is one of the most fruitful in terms of the number of its Grands Crus. The Clos de Tart, which remains a solely-held entity, was founded by the Cistercians of Tart in 1141. Since that date, it has been owned by only three families. The Clos Saint-Denis came on the scene in the 11th century, thanks to the fortress of Vergy. The Clos de la Roche and Clos des Lambrays are both semi-monopoles and both have long histories which have involved some adjustment of boundaries between Climats. The Clos de la Roche and Clos Saint-Denis were awarded their Grand Cru appellations on 8 December 1936, Clos de Tart on 4 January 1939, and Clos des Lambrays 27 April 1981.
Facing east or slightly south of east at around 250 metres above sea-level, these Climats may be seen as a southerly extension of the Grands Crus of Gevrey-Chambertin. First comes the Clos de la Roche, then Clos Saint-Denis followed by Clos des Lambrays, and finally Clos de Tart leading to Bonnes-Mares.
Limestone dominates in the Clos de la Roche where the soil is barely 30 cm deep with few pebbles but with large boulders which give the climat its name. In the Clos de Tart, scree-derived soils 40-120 cm thick cover the underlying limestone. The Upper part of the Clos des Lambrays is marly with claylimestone soil further down. The Clos Saint-Denis at the foot of the slope has pebble-free brown limestone soils which contain phosphorus (like Chambertin) and clay (like Musigny).
Diversity is to be expected as each Grand Cru has its own personality. To the eye, this wine is plain ruby, sometimes a bit darker. Veiled in strawberry and violet, the Clos de Tart offers both robustness and charm. Quite tannic when young, it softens with age while gaining in complexity. The Clos des Lambrays is a true aristocrat, fully rounded in youth and with added depth and gravity as the years go by. The Clos Saint-Denis impresses by its finely–tuned nuances – this wine is the Mozart of the Côte de Nuits. The Clos de la Roche is firmer, deeper and more serious, closely akin to Chambertin. Aromas of humus and truffle are often precursors to notes of small red or black fruits. A small part of the BONNES-MARES appellation lies in this commune, but the greater part is in Chambolle-Musigny. (See Fact-sheet No. 5).
Intense and full-bodied when fully mature, these wines have a densely tannic texture and an aromatic richness which makes them a fitting - and equal - partner for feathered game. They are perfect, too, with a rib steak and, for lovers of Asian cuisine, adapt well to the aromatic intensity of glazed poultry. Their supple but virile tannins go well with veal (braised or in sauce) and with roast or braised lamb. One must also not forget their invaluable affinity for strong-flavoured soft-centred cheeses.
Serving temperatures : 12 to 13 °C for young wines, 15 to 16 °C for older wines.
Wine Information
Tasting note
The generous wood this displayed from cask has begun to integrate and while not invisible, it is has now begun to integrate. An expressive and extremely ripe black fruit and plum suffused nose is nuanced by hints of torrefaction, earth and coffee are followed by supple, delicious, round and textured full-bodied flavors that are underpinned by firm tannins and loads of ripe extract. This is a powerful yet detailed wine that does seem to carry its alcohol well with only a trace of finishing warmth. In sum, this is a delicious and unbelievably long wine that bathes the palate in ripe pinot extract though note that it is also quite youthful and will require ample cellar time to arrive at its apogee. 93/2020+ (Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, January 2010).
Informations
In 2002 France was split in two as far as the weather was concerned, the southern zone was rainy, sometimes to the point of flooding while the north was sunny up to drought conditions. As a result of this the northern vinegrowing areas like Alsace, the Loire Valley, Champagne and all of Burgundy produced great wines. The main stages in the evolution of the vines in Burgundy were the following : early start to the growth cycle (15th - 20th March) with a rapid evolution of the vegetation up to the end of April, then development slowed noticeably in May; in mid-June flowering took place in good conditions a few days ahead of 2001. At this point the berries grew very quickly in size with colour change starting at the end of July. Finally the harvest date was a bit earlier than the previous year.
At the Clos de Tart we carried out a green harvest using a team of 17 people from 29th July to 2nd August. A good number of vines had grape bunches with "millerandage" (very small berries of varying sizes that often don't have any pips) that we retained due to their concentration; on other vines we only left a maximum of 5 bunches. We also removed leaves at the level of the grape bunches on the eastern or rising sun side of all our vines. In Burgundy there is an old adage which goes septembre fait la qualité' (September is the make or break time for quality), this was again proved true in 2002. Following a rainy spell at the end of August - beginning of September, ripening had slowed. But a return to dry weather from the 12th September meant that the grapes ended up ripening well.
The conditions for the harvest at the Clos de Tart were perfect. From Monday, September 23rd to Thursday, September 26th, the grapes were picked in record time due to the partial deleafing and the fact that the bunches were well spread out on each vine after our green harvest. There were 18 pickers and 3 grape basket carriers in the vines as well as 6 sorters, plus 2 winemakers in training and the head winemaker in the winery making up an effective and light hearted team of 30.
The main characteristics of this harvest were: cool, dry weather meaning that the grapes arrived in the vatroom at a good natural temperature; raw material that was perfectly healthy thanks to the work that had been carried out in the vines throughout the year; a limited yield of 28.4 hl/ha (= 1.5 t/acre); very ripe grapes giving a wine with a natural alcohol content of 14.3° to 14.8° (a record) depending on the cuvée; a low proportion of juice in the berries, thick skins and a natural pH of 3.20 which made vinification easier giving concentrated, well coloured wine.
The 17-month maturing in 100% new barrels didn't cause any particular problems. Malo-lactic fermentation was late as we wanted it. Two cuvées stayed on their lees throughout aging while the four others were racked only once. Three cuvées were fined with albumin (= egg white) to refine their gustatory qualities while the other three didn't undergo any treatments. After blending the different cuvées bottling took place in our cellars in the first week of March 2004, by gravity and without filtration.
Vintage 2002
2002 VINTAGE in Burgundy
A Great Year
The trade is unanimous: the harvest was exceptional and 2002 is destined to be a great vintage for Burgundy. A dry summer, a sunny September, splendid grapes with highly concentrated sugars - everything came together to produce structured and complex wines with outstanding aromatic potential.
As early as the beginning of September, the sugar content in the grapes was often at exceptionally high levels and they had attained a degree of maturity indicative of a good balance between sugar and acidity in both the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir, as well as in the Gamay and Aligoté.
Well-matured grapes have produced - on the evidence of early tastings - deeply-coloured red wines with a garnet tint, and with really well-structured tannins. Depending on degree of maturity, the wines evoke sustained aromas of red and black fruits. Thanks to yield control and careful harvesting, they present a wide diversity of expression.
The white wines are intense and heady, richly fragrant in their blend of fruit and mineral components. They are rounded, long in the mouth, balanced and harmonious.
Both reds and whites of the 2002 vintage fully express their respective terroirs and promise fine ageing potential.
As Hubert Camus, President of the Interprofession and himself a wine-grower at Gevrey-Chambertin, puts it: "In 2002, Burgundy's growers and négociants have every prospect of obtaining remarkable wines."
Growing conditions during the year were characterised by low rainfall. Maturation took place in warm and sunny weather punctuated by occasional rainstorms. These weather conditions aided concentration in the grapes and kept them healthy. The harvest period enjoyed an ideal combination of sunshine and cool temperatures.
