Domaine AF Gros Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Aux Échanges 2023

It’s a pretty mid-purple colour. It has another slightly reductive nose, though, with good fruit generosity behind and a pleasing floral touch. This has been racked twice to clear the reduction. It now offers a deliciously sweet fruit finish, quite persistent.

Aux Echanges is one of the lower vineyards in the band of Premier Cru climats that runs north to south across the Chambolle-Musigny appellation, following the lower section of the Côte d'Or escarpment and, here in Chambolle, across the ancient alluvial fan created by the wash that ran through the Combe Ambin valley and out into the Saône valley below.

Aux Echanges lies in the center of the appellation. The Premier Cru section of the vineyard lies at the upper, western end of the site and covers just under one hectare (2.2 acres). It is bookended by the similarly split Aux Beau Bruns to the north and Aux Combottes to the south.

The name Gros is one of the most famous in the Côte de Nuits, synonymous with great Vosne Romaneé. The original Gros domaine is now divided amongst four family members. Anne-Françoise, daughter of Jean Gros, married into another great Burgundy dynasty, the Parent family of Pommard. In 1998 François Parent and Anne Françoise combined their domaines to create a superb 10 hectare property comprising some of the finest terroirs in the Côte d’Or. 

Today their children Caroline and Mathias run the estate, with Mathias ever experimenting and pushing boundaries in both vineyard and cellar. The domaine has five parcels across the village and blends them to make a beautiful Chambolle Musigny.