Domaine Leroy   Chambertin Grand Cru

2011 Chambertin Grand Cru

By Domaine Leroy

2011 Chambertin Grand Cru from Domaine Leroy, Burgundy, France

The sought-after 2011 Chambertin Grand Cru from Domaine Leroy stands as a testament to Burgundy's intrinsic understanding of terroir and vintage. Domaine Leroy's reputation for meticulous vineyard management and low intervention winemaking is nowhere more apparent than in this compelling vintage, dear to the hearts of fine wine investors and enthusiasts alike.

 

Refinement Amidst Rigor: The 2011 Narrative

Amidst the challenges that the 2011 season presented, with fluctuating climactic conditions, the Chambertin Grand Cru vineyards under the stewardship of Lalou Bize-Leroy emerged remarkably unscathed. A cool spring summoned a restrained vigour in the vines, followed by a warm summer that hastened ripening, leading to an early harvest. The resulting wine encapsulates an exquisite balance between maturity and acidity—an alliance that eludes many but finds a harmonious resolution within Domaine Leroy's masterful hands.

 

Investible Elegance: Tasting the 2011 Vintage

The glass brims with aromas of ripe cherry and blackcurrant, deftly interlaced with notes of spice and a whiff of earthy truffle—a distinctive reflection of its storied terroir. On the palate, tannins are assertively elegant, already softening yet promising decades of evolution ahead. What distinguishes the 2011 Chambertin Grand Cru is a rare freshness coupled with depth; it simultaneously presents both the warmth of the vintage and the enduring coolness of its limestone heritage.

For astute collectors and investors, this particular iteration by Domaine Leroy is meritorious of special attention. The nuance and structure herald not only immediate enjoyment but also significant potential for growth in both complexity and market value.

Connoisseurs will glean insights into Burgundian brilliance through this vintage: it is a wine strikingly representative of its year—unforgettable in character, layered in its narrative, and endlessly fascinating on both an intellectual and sensory level.

Current market price

£156,630.00

12x75cl

Highest score

96

POP score

9789.38

Scores and tasting notes

96

The 2011 Chambertin Grand Cru demonstrates more complexity and nuance than the Latricieres. The minerality here is immediately evident and the oak seamlessly integrated. The palate is very well-defined with fine tannins, some unresolved oak here to be subsumed, but very focused and intense toward the finish. There is a sense of confidence and brio here that was missing in the Latricieres. What a fabulous wine. Since I started visiting chateaux and growers in 1997, I have been fortunate to have ticked off most of my personal Holy Grails, yet a handful remain. One was to visit Domaine Leroy and taste with Lalou Bize-Leroy, who I have only met briefly on two occasions in London. Given the responsibility of covering Burgundy, I avowed to tick that one off as soon as possible. So, on a sultry Thursday morning, I finally pulled into the pebbled courtyard of her winery in the village of Vosne with maybe just a single butterfly fluttering around inside. Lalou was stepping out of her 4x4, beloved dogs yapping around their mother and perhaps warning her of an intruder in their midst. They are not exactly cut out to be guard dogs – no offence intended. Lalou was exactly how I remembered – with her wiry frame, like a titanium alloyed twig. Her piercing hawk-like blue eyes and angular cheekbones would give Kate Moss a run for her money. She was attired like a fashionable thirty-something and exuded the vivacity of a twenty-something with a penchant for the occasional rock climb. After pleasantries we discussed her belief in biodynamism and the ways in which the cosmos affects Mother Nature down to the Earth’s core. We toured the rudimentary winery occupied by the black-painted wooden vats and then down below to a vaulted tasting room, bottles lying hither and thither of what must constitute every wine she has made since acquiring Charles Noellat’s holdings in 1988 to establish Domaine Leroy. She was courteous to the point of occasionally scolding herself for vocally enthusing about the wines, mindful of not disturbing my perspicuity. Did the wines stand up to their reputations and let us face it, stratospheric price? The answer is “Yes.” Here was a master-class in terroir: the wines made in almost identical fashion in the winery, so that what is perceived in bottle is the interplay between Mother Nature and vine (under the guiding hand of Rudolph Steiner philosophy). Of course, one must always remain objective, and I have been around the block enough times to simply relate precisely what I find within the radius of a wineglass. And in 2011, it was clear that the wines of Lalou Bize-Leroy seemed to deliver a sensational level of quality that would make most winemakers curl up and weep, asking: “How does she do it?” I had to inquire at the end of the tasting whether they were all matured entirely in new oak, so seamlessly was the wood embroidered into each cuvee. Tasting through the entire range of 23 wines, before zooming down to Domaine d’Auvenay, the high points were scintillating Nuits-St-Georges Village Crus that transcended all my expectations and the sheer consistency of the Grand Crus, perhaps with the exception of the 2011 Latricieres-Chambertin, which I have always found wanting in the past. The Romanee-St-Vivant could be the apotheosis of the vintage, certainly one of the finest that I have tasted from the domaine and even dared “out-finesse” the Richebourg. What amazed me was the otherworldly precision, as if you could pick out each aroma or flavor from the air. Only the Chambolle-Musigny Charmes appeared unruly when compared to its peers, a little too feisty on the nose for my liking. Otherwise, this is just magic in a glass. Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400

Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate, 28 August 2013

Vintage performance