Michel Gros

History of Domaine Michel Gros

The history of Domaine Michel Gros has its roots in 1830, when the first member of the Gros family settled in Vosne-Romanée and founded their domaine. In 1860, Alphonse Gros acquired the celebrated Clos des Réas, a Premier Cru monopole in Vosne-Romanée, which would thereafter become the emblematic jewel of the estate. Successive generations continued to enrich the parcel holdings, gradually expanding the domaine to its current 23 hectares, spread across the most prestigious villages of the Côte de Nuits.

Michel Gros, the eldest of the celebrated Gros siblings (along with Anne-Françoise and Bernard, who each manage their own domaine), took over the estate in 1979 with two hectares in Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, of which he would become one of the pioneers of the modern renaissance. Under his stewardship, the domaine developed and regularly earned recognition in specialist guides. In 2019, Pierre Gros, Michel's son, chose to devote himself fully to the family domaine and took the reins of the estate. Representing the seventh generation of this dynasty of winemakers, he continues with rigour and passion the work undertaken by his ancestors, overseeing every stage of production, from the vines to the bottling.

Terroirs and Vineyards of Domaine Michel Gros

The vineyard of Domaine Michel Gros covers 23 hectares located exclusively on the Côte de Nuits, within the most prestigious appellations of Burgundy: Vosne-Romanée, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru (Clos des Réas as a monopole and Aux Brûlées), Nuits-Saint-Georges, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Bourgogne Côte d'Or and Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, with in particular the lieu-dit Fontaine Saint-Martin across seven hectares.

The jewel of the domaine remains the Clos des Réas, a family monopole of 2.12 hectares that the Gros family has owned exclusively since 1860. The climat is distinguished by a particular soil of salmon-veined Oligocene marl with an unusual presence of limestone blocks, ensuring excellent drainage. The parcel encompasses a great diversity of soils, ranging from classic clay-limestone terrains to deep marls, through filtering sandy soils on the Nuits-Saint-Georges side and oolitic limestone at the top of the hillsides. The vines, tended with rigour, are cultivated in keeping with Burgundian traditions and respect for the environment.

Winemaking at Domaine Michel Gros

In the cellar, Domaine Michel Gros applies a rigorous and consistent winemaking approach across all of its cuvées, from the regional Bourgogne to the Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, ensuring a high degree of stylistic coherence. The harvests are entirely manual, followed by strict parcel-by-parcel sorting at the winery. Fermentations take place in temperature-controlled tanks, with temperatures capped at around 30°C, in order to preserve aromatic finesse and purity of fruit.

Oak barrel ageing extends over eighteen months, with a measured proportion of new wood — around 20% on average — rising to 50% for the Clos des Réas and the Clos de Vougeot. The Bourgogne and the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits benefit from a particular feature: they spend the first six months in large foudres, which provide ideal oxygenation without marking the wines. The blending of the entry-level cuvées takes place in April. The constant objective is to let the terroir speak, in a classic, elegant style that is both juicy and mineral, built for the cellar.

The Cuvées of Domaine Michel Gros

Bourgogne Côte d'Or: the domaine's entry-level wine, this red Bourgogne offers ripe strawberry, a silky and crunchy palate — a perfect reflection of the house style.

Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Rouge: Pinot Noir from hillside vineyards on the plateau above the Côte de Nuits. More concentrated and fleshy, it reveals aromas of raspberry, ripe tannins and a generous texture.

Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Fontaine Saint-Martin Rouge: a monopole cuvée from a magnificent parcel of seven hectares on the lieu-dit Fontaine Saint-Martin. Deep colour, nose of cherry, cinnamon and gentle spices, full and structured palate with a saline finish.

Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Fontaine Saint-Martin Blanc: the domaine's only white wine, this Chardonnay from the Fontaine Saint-Martin monopole captivates with its freshness, notes of citrus and white flowers, and its refined balance. A technical particularity: one day of skin maceration prior to fermentation to gain in colour and palate volume.

Morey-Saint-Denis En la Rue de Vergy: Pinot Noir from a village parcel situated just upstream from three Grands Crus of Morey. A confidential production, this wine offers a precise, clear, delicate and elegant Pinot Noir.

Chambolle-Musigny: Village Pinot Noir from a parcel bordering the Grand Cru Le Musigny. The wine stands out for its depth and intensity, closer to a Premier Cru than a village wine. Floral aromatics, refined palate, best enjoyed after a few more years of ageing.

Nuits-Saint-Georges (village): a blended cuvée from four parcels located to the north of Nuits, on the Vosne side. The wine achieves a synthesis between the typical structure of Nuits and the elegance characteristic of Vosne-Romanée, in a style that is at once structured, rounded and refined, marked by raspberry and toasted oak.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Chaliots: a single-parcel cuvée from a climat at the heart of the appellation. More classic in its Nuits profile, this wine displays a powerful texture, deep notes of black fruit, firm tannins and a young, ample palate built for the cellar.

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru: Premier Cru produced in very small quantities from very old vines. This wine is distinguished by its natural millerandage, which yields berries of rare density, and offers remarkable aromatic intensity and longevity.

Vosne-Romanée (village): a blend of four parcels on the Vosne-Romanée side, whose finest climats extend the Premier Crus Les Lavières and Bas de Combe. Deep colour, smoky and lightly oaky nose, taut and fresh palate, present minerality, tannins in place yet silky, beautiful length.

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées: Premier Cru neighbouring the Grand Cru Richebourg. This muscular cuvée captivates with aromas of bramble, flowers and intense red fruits, a concentrated and powerful texture, and a thoroughbred elegance. A great signature wine of the domaine.

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Clos des Réas: the domaine's emblematic monopole since 1860, neighbouring the legendary La Tâche. Across 2.12 hectares enclosed by stone walls, this wine unfolds a chiselled and tender nose, with notes of red cherry, minerality and floral nuances. The palate is fresh, taut and mineral on the finish, underpinned by refined tannins and subtle oak (50% new barrels). A cuvée built to age 10 to 20 years — an aristocratic signature of the domaine.

Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru: Grand Cru from the upper part of the Clos, on the climat known as Grand Maupertuis, along the western wall — one of the most qualitative sectors of the appellation. Replanted in the 1980s, the vines yield a confidential production of just three barrels. The wine is distinguished by its muscular structure, its aromatic complexity of undergrowth, its tight tannins and its superb ageing potential.