2020 Richebourg, Grand Cru, Domaine Anne Gros, Burgundy
Critics reviews
An even glowing purple colour. The bouquet is exquisite, perfect dark purple fruit, in balance, nothing heated here. Raspberry remains the principal fruit descriptor, both succulent and fine at the same time, a smooth wave across the palate, the oak entirely incorporated, just a point of acidity at the back, some peaches too, but only an iota. Almost a touch of youthful bitterness. Properly persistent.
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (November 2021)
Deft but perceptible wood sets off the ripe and fresh purple fruit and super-spicy nose. The supple and equally delicious but solidly concentrated mid-palate immediately tightens up while displaying excellent length on the youthfully austere, muscular and robust finish that makes clear that this is built to reward long-term cellaring.
Drink from 2038 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (January 2022)
The 2020 Richebourg Grand Cru has a beautifully-defined bouquet with predominately red berry mixed with a little blackcurrant, sous-bois and blood orange. This opens wonderfully with just a few swirls of the glass.
The palate is medium-bodied and shows exquisite balance, the archetypical iron fist in a velvet glove. That probably sums this Richebourg up completely.
Drink 2028 - 2060
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (November 2021)
A great Richebourg, undoubtedly, is also a wine that needs time. This is firmly extracted and reveals itself only on the palate with a substantial density and structure. The fruit is not lacking but takes time to develop and is strongly coloured by mineral, earth and spice notes.
Despite the tannic structure, it still shows a subtle, silky texture on the immensely long finish — a wine to last 50 years. Produced from the 0.6ha that Anne Gros owns (mainly in the lieu-dit Les Véroilles).
Drink 2025 - 2060
Charles Curtis MW, Decanter.com (November 2021)
About this WINE
Domaine Anne Gros
Situated in Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, the domaine was founded by Alphonse Gros in the early 20th century. Anne Gros took over the family estate in the late 1980s and has since earned a reputation for crafting outstanding wines.
The domaine benefited from prime vineyard holdings in some of the most prestigious appellations of Burgundy, including Vosne-Romanée, Échezeaux, Vougeot, and Richebourg. The diverse terroir of these vineyards contributes to the complexity and character of their wines.
Anne Gros emphasises sustainable and traditional winemaking practices, focusing on expressing the unique characteristics of each vineyard plot. The domaine practices organic viticulture and avoids the use of chemicals whenever possible.
Their portfolio primarily consists of red wines made from Pinot Noir, which have received critical acclaim. Anne Gros herself has been celebrated for her contributions to the Burgundy wine scene.
Vosne-Romanée
The small commune of Vosne-Romanée is the Côte de Nuits’ brightest star, producing the finest and most expensive Pinot Noir wines in the world.. Its wines have an extraordinary intensity of fruit which manages to combine power and finesse more magically than in any other part of the Côte d’Or. The best examples balance extraordinary depth and richness with elegance and breeding.
Situated just north of Nuits-St Georges, Vosne-Romanée boasts eight Grand Cru vineyards, three of which include the suffix Romanée, to which the village of Vosne appended its name in 1866. The famous La Romanée vineyard was formerly known as Le Cloux but was renamed in 1651, presumably after the Roman remains found nearby. In 1760 the property was bought by Prince de Conti, and subsequently became known as Romanée-Conti.Vosne is the home of the phenomenally fine wines of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; divine wines that are, as they say, not for everyone but for those who can afford them. The region also boasts some of the world’s most talented, quality-conscious and pioneering producers: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti of course, but also Henri Jayer, Lalou Bize-Leroy, René Engel, as well as the Grivot and Gros families, to name but a few.
Vosne-Romanée has the greatest concentration of top vineyards in the Côte d’Or, including the tiny Grand Crus of the astonishing La Romanée-Conti (a monopoly of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti producing about 600 cases a year), the classy, complex La Romanée (a monopoly of Vicomte Liger-Belair, but until 2002 bottled under Bouchard Père et Fils, producing a minuscule 300 cases or so a year) and the little-known La Grande Rue. As the name suggests, this runs up the side of the road out of Vosne. Originally a Premier Cru, it was rightly upgraded in 1992, although its rich, spicy, floral Pinots are yet to reach their real potential under Domaine Lamarche who hold it as a monopoly.
By convention the wines of neighbouring Flagey-Echézeaux are considered part of Vosne-Romanée. These include the large, very variable 30-hectare Echézeaux (divided between 84 different growers) and the more consistent, silky, intense, violet-scented Grands Echézeaux Grands Crus.
La Tâche is another monopoly of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. It is explosively seductive with a peerless finesse, and is almost as good as their legendary eponymous wine. Richebourg is one of Burgundy’s most voluptuous wines and is capable of challenging La Tâche in some years, while Romanée-St Vivant, which takes its name from the monastery of St Vivant built around 900AD in Vergy, has a lovely silky finesse but is slightly less powerful.
If that wasn’t enough, Vosne-Romanée also boasts some absolutely magnificent Premiers Crus headed by Clos des Réas, Les Malconsorts (just south of La Tâche, and arguably of Grand Cru quality) and Les Chaumes on the Nuits-St Georges side, Cros Parantoux (made famous by Henri Jayer), Les Beaux Monts and Les Suchots on the Flagey-Echézeaux border. The old maxim that ‘there are no common wines in Vosne-Romanée’ may not be strictly true, but it is not far off.
Drinking dates vary, but as a general rule of thumb Grand Crus are best drunk from at least 10 to 25 years, while Premier Crus can be enjoyed from 8 to 20 years, and village wines from 5 to 12 years.
There are no white wines produced in Vosne-Romanée.
- 99 hectares of village Vosne-Romanée.
- 56 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards (14 in all). Foremost vineyards include Les Gaudichots, Les Malconsorts, Cros Parentoux, Les Suchots, Les Beauxmonts, En Orveaux and Les Reignots.
- 75 hectares of Grand Cru vineyards: Romanée-Conti, La Romanée, La Tache, Richebourg, Romanée St Vivant, La Grande Rue, Grands Echézeaux, Echézeaux.
- Recommended producers: Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Leroy, Cathiard, Engel, Rouget, Grivot, Liger Belair.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
An even glowing purple colour. The bouquet is exquisite, perfect dark purple fruit, in balance, nothing heated here. Raspberry remains the principal fruit descriptor, both succulent and fine at the same time, a smooth wave across the palate, the oak entirely incorporated, just a point of acidity at the back, some peaches too, but only an iota. Almost a touch of youthful bitterness. Properly persistent.
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (November 2021)
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