Wine Advisor
Anne Gros, Richebourg Grand Cru 2011
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
While the 2011 Richebourg Grand Cru is superior to the domaine's 2004, it does share some of that wine's defects: an incipient peppery herbaceous character that grows more pronounced with time in the glass, a medium body and a rather firm, pinched finish. Given the quality of the site and the price that this wine commands, it's hard to recommend.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Richebourg Grand Cru has fine transparency on the nose, more “stony” than fruit-driven, well-defined with scents of terracotta and wet clay emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry. The tannins are quite fine once again, nicely balanced with an unprepossessing finish that leaves a dash of white pepper in the mouth. Fine, but perhaps not a long-term Richebourg. Drink 2014-2020. I have long admired the wines of Anne Gros where I have been visiting since the late 1990s, before I ever put pen to paper, so to speak. She has always been a typical Burgundian, preferring to stay in and around Vosne with her husband, Jean-Paul Tollot, and their three children. Years ago, she spoke of her dislike of travelling abroad. But Burgundy has changed and become more international. Anne has changed too, since she was in Hong Kong when I came by, so it was her daughter Julie who guided me through the wines-having just started working with her mother in recent months. Some commentators have criticized Anne’s wines for leaning too far toward new oak, though I myself have found them to handle the wood and absorb it well once the wines are allowed to age. But I have to confess, I did find the use of 100% new oak suppressed and occasionally overwhelmed the fruit in these 2011s. The usual exuberance may have been diminished by bottle shock, but I worry that some of these wines did not show the requisite weight of fruit to handle that amount of oak. It is nothing to do with the winemaking, but rather the limitations imposed by the growing season. Importer: Atherton Wine Imports; www.awiwine.com
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.
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