A.F. Gros has been producing high quality wines from the Beaune area since 1998. Their winery can be found in the town of the same name, while the rest of the work is done at the office in Pommard. Last summer, we were invited to the domain in Beaune to taste the upcoming vintages. In this blog, you can read everything about the winery and our visit.
Domaine A.F. Gros
The original Gros domaine is divided between four family members. Domaine A.F. Gros is run by Anne-Françoise Gros and her husband François, who is a member of the Parent family. Parent, like Gros, is a well-known winemaking family in Burgundy. His share in Domaine Parent is now transferred to A.F. Gros. Yet, the wines are labeled under his own name, François Parent. The vineyards of A.F. Gros are spread over several appellations, the most important of which are Richebourg, Echézeaux, Chambolle Musigny and Vosne-Romanée.
Gros is one of the last wineries with a winery and cellar in the town of Beaune. The other wineries have left the city because the centuries-old buildings no longer fit the size of these domaines. Besides, its location in the city also makes quite a logistical feat of bringing the harvest in, since the yields from the various plots must be gathered into one place. Fortunately, this is no problem for A.F. Gros.
Mathias, the son of Anne-Françoise and François, is responsible for the vinification and winemaking process, but the cellar is still supervised by François himself. Together, they produce an extensive portfolio of beautiful premier and grand cru wines. Their daughter Caroline has also found her place in the family business. She takes care of the sales and marketing. These two are slowly becoming the new face of the winery.
Our visit
After many lockdowns, we were some of the first visitors to the domain. Anne-Françoise and Mathias gave us a warm welcome when we arrived. Since we were there just after the harvest, all sorting tables were still loaded with grapes, and we could still see steam rising up from the grapes. Mathias and François mainly work with Pinot Noir, but they also produce a small amount of white wine. The white wines are bottled under the name Beaune Montrevenots Premier Cru or as Corton-Charlemagne. The latter is only produced in exceptional years, and only one single barrel. Just our luck, 2020 was one of those years!
After a short tour, we went into the cellar and the tasting could begin. Here, we tasted the upcoming 2020 vintages straight from the barrel. To avoid cross-contamination, a new pipette was used each time to carefully take the samples from the vessel. Because 2020 is also the year of a Corton-Charlemagne, we got to taste this one too. The aging period is nearly finished and it’s almost time to bottle the wines. We can't wait for the new vintages to come in. Curious about our tasting notes? You can read them below the photo's!
