2017 Domaine du Clos de Tart Cote de Nuits

VIN96-98 80% new oak, the barrels toasted chauff blonde. Jacques Desvauges mentioned that the wine needed oxygen ingress during maturation that only new oak can give. I tasted the component parts (as usual) as well as the blend. This has a very detailed, delineated bouquet offering mainly black fruit mixed with sous-bois, tobacco, clove and bay leaf, the typicité of the appellation showing through nicely. It feels very succinct and yet so fresh. The palate is beautifully balanced on the entry with a killer line of acidity. Pure black cherry fruit is joined by bilberry, hints of black olive and a marine/oyster shell tincture that comes through quite strongly toward the persistent, saline finish, which fans out with confidence. This is a brilliant follow-up to the benchmark 2016 by Jacques Desvauges and his team.
Estate Notes: The profile of the 2017 vintage shows a great level of elegance and freshness, compared to the 2016 which was more defined by structure and concentration.  The 2017 Clos de Tart shows beautiful depth, with complex aromas which transition from red fruits to black as the wine aerates.  Ethereal floral notes of violets and rose carry with the long palate of silky, delicate tannins. The wine is supported by the terroir’s signature frame of great precision, in line with the best years produced at the Domaine. 
Sixty percent of the 2017 Clos de Tart was fermented in whole-clusters; the average vine age is 60 years.  The wine was aged in 80% new oak barrels.