Wine Advisor
Anne Gros, Richebourg Grand Cru 1995
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Pierre Rovani
(FORMERLY KNOWN AS DOMAINE ANNE ET FRANCOIS GROS) Just as dark as the Clos Vougeot, but even more prodigiously concentrated, the Richebourg is among the blackest and inkiest (both in color and taste) Pinot Noirs I have tasted. Exhibiting sweet Asian spices and grilled black fruits on the nose, this behemoth is a rich, chewy, rugged, silky-textured wine packed with super-ripe, highly-concentrated ripe berries. Possessing impressive depth and structure, this wine may well deserve a higher rating when it has had time to soften out. Drink 2005-2015+. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy between January 7 and January 29. The wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Pinot Noir, a fragile varietal, reacts poorly to fining, filtration, and careless bottling techniques, I recommend caution when considering buying a red burgundy based on cask samples. I called it as I tasted it, and hope the bottled wine reflects the quality of the samples I was provided. Anne Gros has bought out her father Francois' interest in this estate and is making super-extracted, black, deeply layered, intense wines. Lightly filtered but not fined, she uses between 80-90% new oak on her two grand crus. I consider it impossible to produce an inkier wine from Pinot Noir than she did in 1995. Readers who search out Pinot Noir with refined notes of strawberries, raspberries and tangy cherries should be aware that these wines are the antithesis. A Peter Vezan Selection (Paris Fax # 011-33-1-42-65-42-93), importers include : North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel (510) 848-8910.
About the Producer
Subtle, harmonious, supple—Burgundy from Domaine Anne Gros is intimately tied with the elegant and poised character of wines from Vosne-Romanée. While each cru faithfully reflects its terroir, it is terroir as translated through Gros’ expert touch, offering richer aromatics, rounder curves, silkier tannins. The combination is irresistible, so much so that Gros’ very limited production is snapped up by global collectors faster and faster each vintage. Anne Gros simply is one of the top winemakers in Burgundy today, which explains why her wines have inspired such a cult-like following. Importantly for us, Gros personifies the sort of winemaker with whom we have always sought to work: an artisan with a clear vision of her terroir and talents, and the grace to be humble despite the weight of Burgundian tradition and family history. Anne Gros took over her father’s winery (Domaine François Gros) in the late 1980s. Yet there have been Gros family members in Vosne since the 1830s; land holdings have split among family members for generations. Today, there are four separate wineries in Vosne owned by the extended Gros family, including Domaine Anne Gros: Gros Frere et Soeur, Anne-Francoise Gros and Michel Gros, all of whom are Anne’s cousins.
1978(1)1990(1)
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