2015 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Rouge 750 ml

From DRC to Maison Leroy: The Grand Dame of Burgundy

There are certain names in wine that are just synonymous with greatness. Château Latour in Bordeaux comes to mind. Screaming Eagle in Napa Valley, certainly. Angelo Gaja in the Piedmont. Vega Sicilia in Ribera del Duero. In Burgundy, it would have to be Maison Leroy, though of course Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is up there, too. Lalou Bize-Leroy is the force behind Maison Leroy, and happens to own a quarter of DRC, as well.

In 1955, at just 23 years of age, Lalou established herself at the helm of her father’s negociant business. Between 1974 and 1992, she managed the most famous Burgundy domaine on the planet — Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Back in the 1980s, she championed the philosophy of biodynamics and low yields in the vineyards, and we remember well the scorn and ridicule she endured from her fellow Burgundians. Back then, Burgundy was a much more conservative wine region than it is today. Lalou Bize-Leroy shot across the bow of the winemakers of the region, calling them out for their overuse of fertilizers and pesticides and scolding them for their lazy winemaking and lackluster cellar work. Bize-Leroy led by example, too; her wines quickly rose to the highest echelon in quality — and price — in the Burgundian hierarchy.

Today, at 85 years of age, Lalou hasn’t missed a beat. Her once-unpopular ideas have now inspired a generation of winemakers not only in Burgundy, but also throughout the entire wine world. Countless are the men and women who have studied her conscientious work and tried to craft their own wines with a nod towards her.

Even though Bize-Leroy won’t speak of her fruit sources, this Grand Dame of Burgundy has access to some of the best Premier and Grand Cru plots on the negociant market — many of her contracts have been held for more than 50 years. One of the legal eccentricities of Burgundy, is that if you blend wine from two villages, the wine automatically becomes simple “Bourgogne” on the label. Even if you blended Le Chambertin with Romanée-Conti, it would legally have to be called “Bourgogne Rouge” — and so it is with the 2015 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Rouge. The likelihood that exceptional fruit from top sources among Burgundy's upper echelon of growers winds up in Leroy’s Bourgogne Rouge is very, very high.

World-renowned Burgundy expert and Master of Wine Clive Coates says, “The sheer concentration, depth and intensity Lalou Bize-Leroy manages to squeeze into her bottles is breathtaking.” Robert Parker says Maison Leroy “stands virtually alone at the top of Burgundy’s quality hierarchy,” producing wines of “the noblest and purest expressions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy.” Even Allen Meadows of Burghound agrees: “The descriptor ‘stunning’ isn't praise enough,” for Lalou’s wines, he says.

In 2015, Bize-Leroy released her first-ever current vintage Bourgogne Rouge, a nod to the vintage’s youthful charm and superior quality. She’s not the only one who sees such promise in the 2015s. Jancis Robinson, MW, has reported that 2015’s “quality is looking extremely fine, with some people whispering comparisons with the outstanding 2005 vintage.” Decanter gave the vintage a 5 out of 5, its top score, for “truly great” reds from the Côte d’Or. In February, we made the rounds in New York to taste a slew of 2015 pre-release wines, and we can only agree with the critical assessment that 2015 is one for the record books — especially today’s 2015 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Rouge.

Pale ruby in color, the 2015 Maison Leroy boasts intoxicatingly perfumed and delicate red-fruit aromas and heady rose and cherry blossom notes. Beautifully concentrated and supple on the attack, spooling out a rush of raspberry and strawberry fruit, followed by deep black truffle, hibiscus, and rhubarb. A riptide of refreshing acidity and soft tannin gives way to a powerful finish balanced by typical Burgundian earthiness, tinged with new-wood cedar and whispers of vanilla. Made from a blend of top estate grapes, this astounding red Burgundy drinks well above its Bourgogne label.