FEATURES ARCHIVE

The back roads of Burgundy were thankfully empty and we pulled up to our appointment with one minute to spare. It was 9:29am and Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy’s smiling face greeted a team of eager Christie’s specialists at the estuary of her home, Domaine Leroy. “You’re not late!” she exclaimed and I wondered how anyone could consider missing even a minute with the elegant first lady of Burgundy, whose wines breathe the rarified air of the very best of the Cote d’Or.

Madame, her charming right hand man, Frédéric Roemer, and her two constant canine companions guided us down to a small cuverie before entering the cellars, cold even by Burgundy standards. We were struck first by the stark size of the Domaine’s production: a mere 250 barrels murmured below ground, holding with silent authority the minuscule 2008 harvest. Domaine Leroy famously practices minimal intervention, which is not to say that they sit back and let the wines make themselves. Working with nature, the Domaine manages to monitor the wine and adjust without using invasive procedures; for example, if a wine is slow to begin malolactic fermentation, they will move the barrel to a warmer part of the cellar to encourage it to transition.

We tasted barrel samples from the 23 hectares Leroy farms, including the 2008 Volnay Santenots, Corton-Renardes, Vosne-Romanee Les Beaux Monts, and Richebourg, all of which had already undergone their malolactic fermentation naturally. As a whole, the wines displayed stunning precision, which Anthony Hanson MW immediately compared to the 1962 vintage. Even in the beginning stages of their maturation, we tasted tremendous expression of intensity and clarity. The raspberry fruit exploded from the Beaux Monts while the Richebourg was full of brooding, masculine richness. Despite the terrible summer weather that tortured every Burgundy estate, the warm, late September of 2008 was a white knight that ushered the grapes to ripeness and favored those producers who were diligent in using only ripe berries, as Domaine Leroy certainly did.

Madame Leroy spoke extensively and passionately about her mission to nurture the overall health of the vine, which extends far beyond her biodynamic farming methods. In her pruning and grape selection, Madame Leroy is undoubtedly a pioneer. She employs unique methods to produce less but better fruit, with careful handling and attaching of the vine-shoots, avoiding un-necessary clipping. Madame Bize-Leroy’s discussion on her pruning included anecdotes about consulting a “vine chiropractor” to assess the heath of plant, scoffing when he suggested the vine was sick, and sending a bottle afterwards with the note “could a sick vine produce this wine?”

The results of this painstaking work, along with rigorous selection both in the vineyards and cuverie, are minuscule yields and intense concentration of flavor in each grape. We tasted this first-hand when we were generously treated to a stunning selection of wines in bottle. The 2007 vintage, as seen through the Richebourg, is perhaps less distinct than 2008, but shows incredible charm. If Richebourg could be considered “refreshing” this was it, and the careful handling of the wine shows through in the voluptuous mouthfeel and intense purity of the flavors. A roll call of standouts followed, with Romanee St. Vivant 2006, Musigny 2005, Chambertin 2003, Clos de Vougeot 2002, Romanee St. Vivant 2001, Richebourg 2000, Volnay Santenots 1999 and Clos de la Roche 1999 all tasted.

Each was complete and fascinating in its own way, with the Clos de la Roche 1999 a unique tour de force. The wine that made particular impression, however, was the 2001 Romanee St. Vivant. 2001 was a challenging vintage in Burgundy, with many of the wines expressing vegetal and dilute flavors. This version, however, seemed the embodiment of the axiom that “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The wine embraced the difficulty of the vintage: it showcased not the flamboyant fruit, but rather a balanced structure and a spectrum of minerality, espresso, and sour raspberries, with a lingering, harmonious finish. This wine had a narrative.

The Leroy wines are intense, pure and undoubtedly alive, reflecting their precise origins, but somehow the person that makes them, too.