Domaine Leroy – The Bottled 2016s

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | JUNE 14, 2019“Am I going too fast?” Lalou Bize-Leroy asks as she takes me
through her bottled 2016s. Not a chance. One of the first things I observed
when I started visiting the domaine years ago was Lalou’s intense pace, which
remains pretty much the same today. “I like to taste quickly,” she adds. “With
wines its either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. There is no middle ground. Just like people.” That
insight is one of many that emerge&nbsp;over the course of this remarkable survey of the 2016s.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1560528342500-LeroyCellar_copy.jpg"> 

The cellar at Domaine Leroy,&nbsp;Vosne-Romanée“It is a tiny, tiny crop, even smaller than 2012,” Lalou&nbsp;Bize-Leroy explained. “We had frost, and then some mildew in certain sites that
required considerable work in the field.” As always, the 2016s were done with
100% whole clusters and aged in 100% new French oak. The wines were bottled
between the end of 2017 and early 2018, which, is on the
earlier side of things by present-day standards in Burgundy, especially at the
Grand Cru level.

Given the tiny production, I expected the 2016s to be even
richer than they typically are. Instead, I was completely blown away by the
elegance and finesse of the wines. The Leroy 2016s are striking, transparent
Burgundies that pulse with energy and the expression of site that Bize-Leroy
cherishes above all else.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1560528399484-Bottles2_copy.jpg"> 

The complete lineup of bottled 2016s at Domaine LeroyThe village level wines are, frankly, magnificent. Leroy’s Pommard
Les Vignots, the first wine in the tasting, shows the pedigree of 2016 to grand
effect. The Vosne-Romanée Les Genaivrières is superb, while the
Chambolle-Musigny Les Fremières is a Burgundy of pure and total seduction.
Moving into the 1er Crus, the Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Narbantons is another wine
that shows the extra dimension of finesse of the vintage. What a gorgeous wine
it is. The pair of Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vignerondes and Boudots, make for a
fascinating exploration of terroir. The same is true of the two Vosne 1er Crus,
the Brulées and the Beaux Monts, which Chez Leroy emerge from adjacent parcels.
Like the village Chambolle, the 1er Cru Les Charmes is magnificent. It is one
of my favorite wines of the tasting. The Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux
Combottes is another wine that is especially finessed in 2016.

“Now we move to the serious things,” Lalou says with her
characteristic mix of irony and wit as longtime colleague Frédéric Roemer prepares
a mind-boggling array of Grand Crus. The wines are off the charts. I have a
personal connection to the Corton-Renardes because it is the first Domaine Leroy
wine I ever tasted. But the Grand Crus I find most compelling are the Romanée Saint-Vivant,
Musigny, Latricières-Chambertin and Chambertin because to me they embody
one of the most essential qualities of top-flight Burgundy, and that is a
feeling that the wines have a certain dimension of mystery and complexity that is&nbsp;not fully comprehensible or easily captured with words - an attraction that is
never ending, and that always invites another taste.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1560528416357-Lalou_copy.jpg"> 

Yes,&nbsp;the&nbsp;photo is a&nbsp;bit blurry, but it is&nbsp;hard to keep up&nbsp;with&nbsp;Lalou Bize-Leroy We return to the topic of tasting through wines at a brisk
pace. “You have to trust your first impression,” Lalou continues. “When you
waffle, when you go back and forth, that’s when you make mistakes.” Of the Romanée
Saint-Vivant, Lalou adds “she is nothing next to what she will be…complex, just
like a woman.” Of the Musigny she says, “well, it's certainly not &nbsp;a&nbsp;Viennese
waltz, that’s for sure. More like Bach,” an interesting comparison, to be sure.
I see more of the dramatic sweep, scale and dramatic intensity of Mahler. No
matter, the wine is tremendous. Lalou is probably the only producer in Burgundy
who would refer to Clos de La Roche as “an&nbsp;easy wine,” but she is never one to mince
words.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1560528519368-Corks_copy.jpg"> A stunning edition of the Corton-Charlemagne wraps up the
tasting. “Low yields are
absolutely essential for Pinot Noir in Burgundy,” Lalou opines. “It is not easy to do
things the way we do. But I love my old vines and my countryside. It would be
far simpler to just produce 50 hectoliters per hectare, but that is not work. People think Chardonnay can do well with
higher yields. I disagree.” Well, it's hard to argue with a grower whose
whites start to drink well at 15-20 years of age and typically develop graciously for
decades beyond that. I think back to all of the older whites I have had a chance to taste
here over the years, including a breathtaking 1964 Maison Leroy Meursault Genevrières Lalou showed me&nbsp;in 2014. “The 1964 is just starting to drink well now,” she commented matter of factly&nbsp;back then. The track records of both Domaine Leroy and Domaine d'Auvenay are shorter, but thus far&nbsp;just as impressive.&nbsp;

In recent years, the Leroy wines have become virtually
impossible to find, while prices have rocketed into the stratosphere. There is
no way to ignore that. As for the wines themselves, they represent the pinnacle
of expression from some of the world’s greatest and most historic sites, as
interpreted by Lalou Bize-Leroy, who remains very much at the top of her game.You Might Also Enjoy <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/eternal-leroy-1937-2010-oct-2018">Eternal Leroy: 1937-2010</a>, Antonio Galloni, October 2018<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/domaine-leroy-the-2015s-from-bottle-mar-2018">Domaine Leroy: The 2015s From Bottle</a>, Antonio Galloni, March 2018<a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/domaine-leroy-the-2014s-from-bottle-mar-2017">Domaine Leroy: The 2014s from Bottle</a>, Antonio Galloni, March 2017<div><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/lalou-bize-leroy-celebrating-sixty-years-at-maison-leroy-may-2015">Lalou Bize-Leroy: Celebrating Sixty Years at Maison Leroy</a>, Antonio Galloni, May 2015 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/1964-leroy-simply-timeless-jul-2014">1964 Leroy: Simply Timeless</a>, Antonio Galloni, July 2014</div>

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