2012 Domaine A.F. Gros Richebourg Grand Cru

The 2012 Richebourg Grand Cru comes from the family’s 0.60-hectare parcel whose oldest vines are approaching retirement. It has a very refined, elegant bouquet that is actually more like a Romanee-Saint-Vivant at the moment. There are lovely scents of orange-blossom and quince emerging with time. The palate is well-balanced with a rounded, harmonious entry. It is silky smooth at the moment with a fine thread of acidity. It remains sedate, distant even but very sophisticated and the oak is very well assimilated towards the finish. Excellent. Anne-Francoise Gros’ winery is located in Beaune, just off of the ringroad. It was originally acquired from the Quancard negociants. Anne-Francoise is sister to Michel and Bernard Gros, the latter making wines under the Gros Frere & Soeur banner. Anne Gros is her cousin. Anne-Francoise is married to Francois Parent (stay with me). Francois Parent has been the winemaker here, although nowadays the name on the label signifies the negociant side of the business; “Domaine A.F. Gros” is the domaine side. Anne-Francoise has three children, the eldest Caroline Parent who has her own small negociant business from familial vines, Rosalie who is not involved in wine, and 23-year-old Mathias, who since 2010 has taken some of the winemaking duties from his father. I asked Caroline Parent for a summation of the growing season. “The spring was classic in March and April, with a regular start of the growing season and a good amount of future grapes. In May and June we had continual rain and as a result, a late flowering. The hail in Cote de Beaune on the July 23 impacted our vineyards in Savigny-les-Beaune, Beaune, Pommard and our parcels of Bourgogne located under Pommard. The average loss is about 80%. For Cote de Nuits we had some millerandage. Malic acidity was quite high. The grapes of Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits were all in a very good sanitary state at the time we harvested: Cool temperatures have prevented botrytis (we had only very few). Polyphenols have been extracted easily with a good color extraction as well, but the degrees were low.” If his 2012s are anything to go by then there is a very bright future for this domaine, for they were lessons in finesse and nervosite rather than intrinsic power. Their 0.60-hectare parcel of Richebourg planted in 1945, vinified by Michel Gros up until 1996, is certainly shoulder to shoulder with others that are much more expensive. The domaine started the picking around September 20, having lost approximately 20-25% of the crop from the two hailstorms, Pommard the hardest hit. Having not tasted A.F. Gros’ wines for a couple of years, I must confess that I had forgotten just how good these wines can be. Importer: Rochemere (NY), Horizon Beverage (MA), Peter Mesrobian – Chelsea Ventures (IL), Scott Paul Wines (OR), Veritas Imports (CA, CO, AR and Nevada) and Robert Panzer (DE)

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Richebourg Grand Cru from A.F. Gros has a very fine bouquet, very expressive with vibrant, shimmering red berry fruit, cherry liqueur, boysenberries and marmalade. This is both complex and involving. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, beautifully poised and supple, elegant and utterly harmonious on the finish. The terroir and winemaking here exude Grand Cru quality. It's probably the best wine I have ever tasted from the estate and in a different league to some older vintages that I tasted from the domaine just a few days later. Oct 2015, www.robertparker.com