We like to judge a vigneron’s talent by his simplest wine. Great wines from great terroir of course involve a steady winemaker as guide, but the material undoubtedly provides a head start. With humble fruit from an unsung plot of regional-level vines, winemaking skill comes even more into play.
And nowhere is this more apparent than the Bourgogne rouge from Michel Gros. Gros makes delicious (and increasingly hard to get) red Burgundies from the most famous towns in the region – Vosne, Chambolle, Morey-St-Denis, etc. But his regional level wines are just as well made and polished as his Grand Cru, and so provide terrific value.
Many of the Gros cuvées sold out through Futures in this much-hyped and stellar 2019 vintage – but we were able to increase our allocation for the Bourgogne, and are thrilled to have some in stock. (For now.)
Michel’s 2019 Bourgogne rouge is delicious. From an outstanding vintage that provided excellent ripeness laid over well-built tannin, the wine shows both utterly pleasant youthful fruit and masterfully crafted underlying structure. The tannins are smooth and unobtrusive, but provide a perfect armature on which to display the fruit. Look for notes of red berries, earth, and chalk in the nose, with a clean, refreshing finish.
Burghound called the 2019 “fresh and bright,” “vibrant and well-detailed.” As always this requires no patience and is delicious today. But there’s extra density in this wine this vintage, and we anticipate this will also cellar nicely over a year or two. As entry level Burgundies go, they don’t get much better than this.
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Michel Gros Bourgogne Côte d’Or 2019
bottle price: $32
