1999 Clos de Tart Grand Cru Domaine release 2018

Allen Meadows' Burghound: This is one of those wines that is frustratingly variable and while none of the bottles that I have had has been poor, my scores have ranged from 90 to 95 points, which is an enormous range and particularly so for such a (relatively speaking) young wine. At its best the overtly ripe and still relatively primary nose of spice and earth-inflected black currant offers excellent complexity. There is excellent richness and power to the big-bodied and concentrated flavors that coat the mouth with dry extract on the hugely long finish where about the only nit is a hint of warmth. At worst the finish is drying, woody and noticeably warm. In all cases though its seems clear that this is still very much on the way up and a wine that will require most of the next decade before it arrives at its peak. Tasted on multiple occasions with, as noted, wildly inconsistent results. - Allen Meadows, Apr. 2017

Vinous: The 1999 Clos de Tart Grand Cru was picked from September 22 until the morning of September 27, with alcohol degrees between 13.1° and 13.7°. It is a vintage that has not quite delivered as I was expecting it to. It is adorned with an attractive, rather ostentatious bouquet of the red plum and bergamot scents that I have observed on previous bottles, though not the mineralité I would anticipate as it approaches two decades in bottle. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, featuring a mélange of red and black fruit, and powerful and burly, with black pepper and Earl Grey toward the finish. It is a Clos de Tart determined to make an impression and yet it is beginning to fall short in terms of finesse and terroir expression. Tasted at a private Clos de Tart dinner in London. - Neil Martin, Feb. 2019