Tasted in Beaune with Caroline Parent-Gros and Matthias Parent, 28 November, 2016.
Domaine AF Gros
16 Rue Pierre Joigneaux
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33 3 80 24 61 26
www.af-gros.com
Matthias on 2016:
“Made actually made more wine than we expected, after the very dry summer. We harvested a little later, looking for maturity, so started on the 28th. The rain helped with volume in the end. Still, we made 50% less than we should, but we harvested on the sun! It’s looking like it has very good balance – really the date of the harvest was the most important variable.”
Matthias on 2015:
“2015 is a very nice vintage – we are happy despite small yields in the Côte de Beaune – we also had lower yields in Chambolle and Echézeaux too as they are old vines, but the rest were ‘correct.’ The grapes had nice degrees and maturity. We started on the 5th of September and our last grapes were picked in the Hautes Côtes on the 25th.”
Caroline notes that there is quite some clamour for the wines of 2015, however, the domaine are allocating wines based on customers’ average purchases in 2013 and 2014. Except for the Chambolle and Echézeaux which was so frosted in 2016, the prices will remain constant for the 2015s, though those that buy for the first time in 2015 will have to buy earlier vintages too.
The wines…
They replanted a part of Richebourg, last year, and this year they’ve done Vosne Maizières too – so the 2015 will be that last vintage of the Maizières until at least 2020/2021.
A great range, really the oaked house style needs time – for my palate – but the 2005s currently tasting absolutely the best since release
Bottling will be in mid January – about 10% new oak – now racked.
Warm spicy, clean fruit. Silky, layered weight. Super balance, super bourgogne. Round and long. Excellent!
2015 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits
A little more oak yet aromatic tightness too. Fresher, brighter, juicier too. Much redder fruit, more acidity a longer line of flavour. Very nice, I’ve a little preference for the last though.
2015 Vosne-Romanée Clos de la Fontaine
Paler colour, smoky, spicy fruit. A hint of fat, a wave salinity and fine flavour. This will be super. Very long with a super line of flavour.
2015 Vosne-Romanée Les Maizières
After this harvest replanted so 2020/21 before more… the vines were old and ‘degenerated.’
Again spicy, less smoke, more depth but less weight of aroma. Bigger, more transparency, really an extra mid-palate weight of flavour too. Mineral and faintly wooded finish. A long, long finish, a little more width.
2015 Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas
The biggest parcel of the domaine – 1.7 hhectares – one part with 16 year-old vines, the other 8 year-old.
A little more floral and a more obvious depth of aroma. Mineral and wide, like the others, mouth-watering, and with good mid-palate weight too. Yum!
2015 Chambolle-Musigny
5 different parcels, one less than 200 square metres, all picked the same day. No new oak.
Deep and vibrant dark fruit. More mineral, transparent, a weight of saline flavour, long, long, with a suggestion of coffee. A wine that needs some more elevage to be fully ‘Chambolle’ but there’s lots of interest and really great potential.
2015 Matthias Parent, Gevrey-Chambertin
From the bottom of Gevrey – a blend of Parcels
A fine higher-toned nose mixed with salinity. Wide, melting across the palate. Classic style for this domaine, but excellent wine. It finishes really well.
This is a massalle selection. Planted in 1990, delivering very tiny berries
Smoky red fruit. Fresh, delicate flavour, but also more complex, this is delightful with a melting flavour, modest structure and excellent shape. Super length too…
Only 15 hl/ha
A little tighter, fine red fruit below. Fresh, with loveLy energy and transparency – this is really excellent, with faint salinity and mouth-watering flavour…
2015 Pommard 1er Pezerolles
The Beaune side of Pommard – ‘the skeleton of Pommard and the approachability of Beaune.’ 85% new oak.
Fine fruit, the oak seems rather modest. A base of fine tannin, never drying, sweet fruit, layered in delivery, slowly delivering waves of weighted flavour – excellent!
2015 Pommard 1er Chanlins
Mineral, fresh, dark red fruit. Muscle here, good weight, a little oak bitterness but offset by the sweetness of fruit, a big, big wine to wait for but it has really great material.
90 year-old domaine vines, 10% wc, the rest are destemmed.
A freshness over a smoky base. Sweetness of fruit, transparency in the middle, slowly melting flavours. A little oak complexity in the mid-palate. This is a long-term wine, but a great one. A great finish too!
100% new wood, like the last. 1/3 replanted this vineyard.
Deep, almost vibrant but certainly a tight aromatic. Larger in volume, growing intensity, small waves of flavour, tiny, tiny points of complexity. Quite the most complex finish – oh and length!
Les blancs…
Just bottled.
2015 Beaune 1er Montrevenots Blanc
The first vintage for this wine, it was red, but was replanted in 2010: nothing harvested in 2014, 2015 brought 3 barrels, 2016 nothing again. Bottled last week.
Bright fresh but quite tropical fruit. Layered, fine texture, unctuous, super flavour, mineral and saline. I’d like a little more acidity, but there is still fine energy here.
2015 Matthias Parent Corton-Charlemagne
Bought as must, 1 barrel.
Deep, weight, herbs and lots of aromatic interest. Lovely relaxed layers, with fine delivery of flavour, super mouth-watering, saline finishing flavour – the style is really the same as for the reds. Very tasty!