Community Tasting Note

derlinger Likes this wine:

Saturday, July 31, 2021 - I had the opportunity to taste several aged Burgundies at the Wine Merchant this Saturday. I’m a bit obsessed with the Gros family, so when I saw that they were showing A.-F. Gros, I decided to stop by, and adopt a couple. Most of my Burgundy collection comes from my honeymoon, and while I’ve had the opportunity to taste and buy some older vintages, my remaining cellar age largely starts in 2013, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to purchase some older burgs that are ready to drink.

Wines Tasted on Saturday by order (and my ranking in parenthesis):
• 2005 Domaine Mussy Beaune-Montrevenots 1er Cru (6)
• 2009 Domaine A.-F. Gros Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits (4)
• 2009 Domaine A.-F. Gros Savigny les Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Guettes (2)
• 2010 Domaine Serrigny Savigny les Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode (3)
• 2009 Domaine A.-F. Gros Pommard 1er Cru Les Pezerolles (5)
• 2009 Domaine Glantenay Volnay 1er Cru Les Broulliards (1)

I was honestly blown away by the Volnay from Glatenay, but also picked up the A.-F. Gros Haute Cote de Nuite and A.-F. Gros Savigny les Beaune 1er Cru. I also picked up several 2015 Glantenay Volnay 1er Cru Les Broulliards (that I didn’t get to taste) so I could do a later comparison, due to the stellar 2015 vintage.

We decided to share a 2009 Domaine A.-F. Gros Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits with my neighbors, and here are my tasting notes:
• Appearance: Bright, Opaque, Brick,
• Aroma/Bouquet: Primary – Raspberry and Cherry, Secondary – Clove, Tertiary – Licorice, Mushroom, Tobacco, Earth, Forest Floor, Oregano
• Structure: Acidity – Balanced and Crisp, Tannins – Low, Body – Light, Taste – Savory and Mineral, Texture – Soft Velvet
• Finish: Medium-long, Complex

Due to the age and quality of this wine, I only opened before pouring. No decant. It continued to evolve in the glass, but I wouldn’t expect this to hold up for several hours or days. Drink soon (within 6 months).

I thought that for a Bourgogne level wine, this was holding up beautifully considering its age. If I hadn’t had the opportunity to taste this before I bought, I normally would have avoided picking up something of this level from a producer of this quality. This wine had been held in storage in NJ until now, and I think the provenance allowed it to mature under ideal conditions. At $32.99 / bt I thought the QPR was high for an aged burg. I love savory earth flavors, so this rates highly for me. It did not have the structure, balance, or finesse of the other premier crus I tasted (especially the Volnay), but this was excellent. I’d rate this higher than other reviewers on CT or Vivino at a 4.5 / (or close to 90pts, but I don’t really rate against that scale). My review has some inherent biases due to the storage conditions, and that I had the opportunity to taste it against multiple other wines from 2009 so I knew from the tasting that it was showing well at this time. I may not expect the same results if you were to source this wine elsewhere today.

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