AF Gros – 2013

29.12.2014billn

DSC05570Tasted in Beaune with Catherine and Matthias, 27th November, 2014.

Domaine AF Gros
16 Rue Pierre Joigneaux
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33 3 80 24 61 26
www.af-gros.com

It’s the first time I’ve got brother and sister in one place, even father (François Parent) was flitting between the barrels.

It’s great fun to listen to Caroline as she explains (attempts to!) the complexities of the Gros family tree and ownerships. My brain struggled to cope with the detail – and I can’t write fast enough – but it seems that whatever the various Gros domaines sell, its not really a true indication of ownership – for instance the Vosne Clos de la Fontaine Monopole of AF-Gros, actually belongs to Bernard, but the Clos Vougeot ‘Musigni’ is part owned by AF-Gros – so in the next years, Gros F&S may have less CV ‘Musigni’ but gain Clos to de Fontaine – and vice-versa. Trop compliqué!

Caroline on 2013:
“Regarding quantities it was hard. We expected more maturity but really had to wait longer, having to balance ripeness against the amount of rot. We didn’t do too much extraction, preferring to keep the fruit aromas. There is less structure than, for instance, 2012, so accordingly we won’t age this vintage as long.”

The wines…

I’m not sure if it was a root or a flower day, but probably it was the pressure change that came with bucketing rain that morning, but most of the wines refused to easily give up their aromas – which was a shame. For all that a good set of wines despite the very tight aromatics, though today I see them as having an intensity more like the 2011s. There is no Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits in this vintage, as it has been replanted.

2013 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
A round nose with pretty, warm red fruit. Also round in the mouth, faintly salty and absolutely pretty. Lovely BPN…

2013 Vosne-Romanée Clos de la Fontaine
The vieilles vignes delivered lots of millerandes in 13 (& 14), otherwise the quantities were correct.
A wide, slightly spicy and smoky nose. In the mouth it’s sweeter, wider and with a clear extra dimension of flavour – almost a toffee note in the mid-palate. Lovely.

2013 Vosne-Romanée Les Maizières
Here is a very tight nose. The flavour is more direct than the ‘Fontaine’ and perhaps more intense too. Good flavour dimension again but seemingly more modest than the ‘Fontaine.’ Once more with a little saltiness in the finishing flavour.

2013 Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas
A cushioned nose that’s rather pretty. Fuller in the mouth and with fine balance but despite some padding, the flavour is nicely lithe. This finishes on a good wide note. Good!

2013 Chambolle-Musigny
A blend of fruit from 5 different parcels.
Again there seems some cushioning to the aromatic, but this is very tight. Fine attack and intensity in the mouth – lovely – bright and fresh character. Very lovely wine…

2013 Beaune 1er Boucherottes
Here is some high-toned aroma, augmented with flowers. Direct, lithe and faintly salted. Nice enough!

2013 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Clos des Guettes
The nose has a nice, textured depth. Wide in the mouth with very nice intensity, slightly plush texture and really good complexity. This is very, very nice.

2013 Volnay 1er Cru (François Parent)
Rather tight aromas with and undertow of faint oak. This is very lovely in the mouth, and has a very distinguished mid-palate flavour of bright and airy fruit. This should be excellent.

2013 Pommard 1er Pezerolles
Just a little faint conserve fruit on an otherwise tight nose. Lithe with reasonable intensity of fruit and a faint drag from the tannin. A fine finishing length with just a little oaking…

2013 Pommard 1er Chanlins
A parcel bought in 2004.
Again we have very tight aromas – eventually a nice floral note lifts from the glass, but little else. Fuller in the mouth with good intensity and a grippy tannin. Nice in the finish too – Tasty!

2013 Echézeaux
At 90 years, the oldest vines of the domaine.
Here is a wine with lots of aromatic depth – texture even. A wide panorama of flavour with good intensity. Also a very good mid-palate flavour. This is lovely wine but I question if it’s really a GC wine this year(?)

2013 Richebourg
Here is a little aromatic complexity but the nose remains stubbornly discreet. Another wine of fine flavour-width and this time with quite beautiful texture. Very long finishing flavour, yet a wine that is overly modest today…

Les blancs…

2013 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
This will be bottled next week.
A forward nose with a little pear-drops aroma and a faint herb too. Fresh in the mouth and with nice texture – plush and silky. There’s a good growth of flavour in the mid-palate, yet the best part of this wine is its finish which is wide and extended. Lovely!

2013 Corton Blanc (François Parent)
A fresh and complex nose that is both pretty and inviting. Fuller in the mouth, more concentrated too. Here is very fine texture. A wine of weight and balance. Rather like the Richebourg today, a wine for contemplation, not bravado…

Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?

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