Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru "La Forge de Tart" - 2018 - Jacques Devauges

Pinot Noir from vines around twenty years old, cultivated biodynamically and planted on clay-limestone soils, facing east/southeast. Early vintage, the grapes were harvested by hand between the 30th of August and the 3rd of September 2018, with yields of 32 hl/ha, and sorting in both the vineyard and on the sorting table. Vinification: the grapes are 100% destemmed, followed by fermentation in temperature-controlled wooden vats, and 18 months of maturation in barrels, of which 50% are new. Bottled in April 2020. The maturation process is divided into two main stages: the first 9 months correspond to the maturation of each individual parcel, then the following 9 months are devoted to maturing the blend which will become La Forge de Tart.

The Clos de Tart was founded in 1141 by the Bernardine nuns of the Tart Abbey, a dependency of the Cîteaux Abbey. Nearly nine centuries later, this mythical Clos has never been broken up once in its entire history, making it the largest Monopole classified as a Grand Cru, spanning 7.53 hectares in a single, continuous block around the estate. The Clos de Tart climat is immensely rich, boasting a terroir of uncommon diversity. In fact, when Sylvain Pitiot arrived at the estate in 1996, he carried out a detailed study of the soils and sub-soils and identified a dozen sous-climats (previously unrecognized climats within the larger climat), which are now vinified separately in order to create the purest possible expression of the Clos. Another pioneering figure at the estate of recent years was Jacques Devauges. During his period managing the Clos de Tart, ending in 2019 with his departure for Clos des Lambrays, Devauges revolutionised the viticultural approach at the estate, converting the vineyard to organic and then biodynamic agriculture. Clos de Tart – a mythic estate of Morey-Saint-Denis, devoted to excellence, and to making Pinot Noirs so scintillating as to be revered the world over.