Gros Frère et Soeur was created in 1963 when Domaine Gros-Renaudot was split up among various Gros family members. The estate’s vineyard holdings are, in a word, choice, including pieces of the Grand Crus Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot, Grand Echézeaux, and Echézeaux. As many of you know, Echézeaux is one of the “grander” Grand Crus in terms of dimensions—at 38 hectares, it’s the fourth-largest single vineyard in the entire Côte d’Or, with 84 different owners farming their own little slices. Gros Frère has become known for a richly textured, deeply colored Pinot Noir from this fabled site, fermenting the grapes in cement vats and aging the wines in 100% new oak.

 

The 2013 vintage was challenging for many, forcing most producers to cut yields sharply in order to deliver sufficient concentration. Many sources characterize 2013 as a “fresh” and “young-drinking” vintage, but I think Gros Frère—and Echézeaux—had something else in mind. There’s ample concentration and structure in this wine, enough, in fact, that my first inclination is to lay it down for a few years before revisiting it. In the glass it is a deep, reflective ruby extending all the way to the rim, with dense aromas of black cherry, mixed red and black berries, black tea, warm spice, forest floor, and a touch of toasty, smoky oak. With about 30 minutes in a decanter it offers a lot of dark-toned, lip-smacking pleasure now, but its best drinking years lay ahead of it, as it further integrates its oak and tannins. I’m going to revisit it in a few years, and I expect it’ll be peaking around 2022—not a marathon wine, but plenty there for medium-term aging. Whenever you choose to crack it, pair it with something hearty, gamey, woodsy…I love the looks of the attached roast squab with bacon and grapes, which may have me popping a bottle earlier than planned. Enjoy!