Auction update: AF Gros, a family affair

The genealogy may be complex, but there’s no doubting the appeal of the AF Gros Burgundies – at a wide variety of price points – which is proving a ‘safe bet’ at auction, according to iDealwine.

For those of you who have spent time delving into the Burgundian wine world, you’ll already know the minefield it can be when it comes to names. With each new generation, an estate’s name can be changed to reflect the new person at the helm – or even the vines can be split up between children, essentially creating new properties. In either instance, the wine enthusiast needs to be on the ball when searching for wines from this region.

Such is the case with the Gros family. Louis Gros split his vines between his children during the 1970s, creating three new properties. One of them was Jean Gros, who subsequently gave his vines to his daughter, Anne-Françoise Gros. She in turn created the estate Domaine AF Gros by combining these vines with those of her husband, François Parent, in 1988. Now wines from this estate should not be confused with those crafted by Anne Gros, Anne-Françoise’s cousin.

After looking into the genealogy of one of Burgundy’s esteemed families, let’s get back to the wine.

At Domaine AF Gros, François Parent worked as the winemaker, and the hard work of the winemaking couple paid off as their wines gained a reputation in France and around the world for their depth and the way they were perfect for ageing. The estate owns Pinot Noir vines in some of the most amazing Côte de Nuits appellations (Richebourg, Échezeaux, Clos de Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny), as well as on the Côte de Beaune, mostly located in Pommard. From the beginning of the 2010s, Anne-Françoise and François started slowly passing over the reins to two of their children, Caroline and Mathias Parent. These two have been in charge of the estate (with no name change, we should add) since 2013.

Mathias, who vinifies the estate’s wine, has spent time experimenting, most notably with maceration, aided by the time he spends vinifying wine from the 3.6 hectares he has in Beaujolais’ Moulin-à-Vent.

Since then, he has expanded the use of whole bunches from the Vosne-Romanée Les Réas and Échezeaux wines to the rest of the range. To limit extraction, he punches down the cap a few times to release the last of the sugar in the grapes. The quantity of new wood is kept to 20% so that the beautiful terroirs from which these wines come can shine through. And wine enthusiasts seem to appreciate this approach. A 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru sold for €238 earlier this year on iDealwine, the French online auction website. This is 10.47% more than its hammer price the year before.

More famed for its red wines, a 2018 Richebourg Grand Cru from the estate was auctioned for €739 in January 2025. Meanwhile, this same wine, produced by Mathias’ parents in 2002, fetched €726 when it went under the hammer during the same month on the auction website. Domaine AF Gros crafts wine with a range of price points, giving every wine enthusiast access to explore Burgundian wines from a renowned producer.

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For example, its 2019 Bourgogne has a price estimate of €43 on the secondary market and, higher up the scale, a 2010 Chambolle-Musigny sold for €81 at auction earlier this year, while a 2009 Vosne-Romanée Maizières went under the hammer for €113 in July 2025.

Further up the scale sit more mature vintages of the estate’s Chambolle-Musigny, with the 2002 vintage estimated to be worth €185 by iDealwine in 2025. The estate’s Échezeaux Grand Cru proves popular, no matter what the vintage. A bottle from the 2005 vintage was auctioned for €275 in April 2025. Meanwhile, a 2008 was sold in February for €250, which is a 119.86% increase on its value of 10 years ago. Finally, a bottle from the 2009 vintage went under the hammer in May 2025 for €275, which is 9.25% higher than its hammer price in 2022. And, for the curious ones among Burgundian wine lovers, AF Gros’ exploits in Beaujolais can also be found on the secondary market. A 2018 Moulin-à-Vent En Mortperay went under the hammer on iDealwine earlier this year for the attractive price of €31, which is a 7.93% increase on its price of three years ago.

Given the current, rather taut secondary market situation, the price of the estate’s wines have remained relatively reasonable – a far cry from the sharp increases witnessed for some estates in recent years. iDealwine classes this Burgundian property as an auction safe bet – one to keep a very close eye on.