Our final Futures issue of the year comes out next week. It includes some of our most popular winemakers — Goubert, Boyer-Martenot, Desvignes, and more — but one favorite in particular: the Domaine Michel Gros. His entire lineup of 2016s will be available next Sunday, but today we’re focusing on one wine that is always in short supply.
The 2015 vintage was a hard act to follow, but Gros has a stellar lineup in 2016 as well. We were amazed at the clarity and consistent quality after such a difficult growing season. Gros himself, comparing the two vintages, called the 2016s “arguably classier, as the tannins are definitely finer.” Allen Meadows (Burghound) agreed: “Whether they are as good as his first-rate 2015s remains to be seen but if they’re not, it won’t be by much.”
And so with that in mind we’ll begin with Gros’s simplest wine — and the one that nearly always sells out through Futures: Bourgogne rouge 2016.
Great winemakers make excellent wines from even the humblest terroir. Gros is famous for his fine, high-end red Burgundies, and we can’t recommend them enough. But for everyday enjoyment, Gros’s simpler wines show the class of much fancier bottles.
His 2016 Bourgogne is refined, juicy, toasty, and polished. There’s far more complexity here than most reds at the Bourgogne level. Look for silky tannins, notes of raspberry and plum, and an earthy, complex palate. Burghound included Gros’s 2016 Bourgogne as one of the “top value wines of the vintage,” calling it “naturally vibrant” and noting its “sneaky long finale.”
We expect Gros’s 2016s to make lots of friends over the next few years. But this one, scheduled to arrive in late November, should be a treat by the holiday season. For a Burgundy lover, this is about as good a wine as $25 will ever buy.
____________________________
Michel Gros Bourgogne 2016
Ansonia Retail: $420
Futures price : $295/case
Email Tom to reserve this wine.
AVAILABLE BY THE CASE AND HALF-CASE
NOTE: This is an advance order, we anticipate a December arrival.
