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2011 Vosne les Brulees
By Domaine Leroy
2011 Vosne les Brulees from Domaine Leroy, Burgundy, France
The 2011 vintage in Burgundy was one of the more challenging vintages, navigated with deft precision by the storied Domaine Leroy. Renowned for their meticulous vineyard management and unwavering commitment to quality, the Domaine's 2011 Vosne les Brulees is a testament to their prowess in turning adversity into advantage.
Distinctive Vintage, Distinctive Wine
A vintage noted for its early bud-break and harvest, 2011 was fraught with unpredictable weather that required vignerons of substantial skill to succeed. Amid such capricious conditions, Domaine Leroy harnessed the essence of Vosne-Romanée to produce a wine of harmonious balance and complexity. The anticipated elegance of the domaine is on full display here; the 2011 iteration confidently showcases an integration of nuanced fruit and seasoned terroir influence.
An Expression of Patience and Precision
The 2011 Vosne les Brulees carries with it the signature spice and red berry fruit profile well-loved by Burgundy aficionados whilst delineating itself from other vintages through its vibrant acidity and structured tannins – markers of its unique growing season. With age, this wine has unfurled layers of earthy complexity mingling with the still-present fruit characteristics – a symphony peculiar to this specific year, managing to captivate as it matures.
As a fine wine investment, the 2011 vintage from Domaine Leroy presents a unique proposition. Its tale is one of triumph over climatic challenges, promising both an intriguing narrative for collectors and a deeply rewarding sensory experience for connoisseurs upon uncorking.
Investment-Worthy Elegance
Lavish yet never overbearing; this is a wine that whispers sophistication rather than shouting opulence. For investors seeking to diversify into vintages that encapsulate both rarity and resilience, the 2011 Vosne les Brulees is an engaging prospect – emblematic not only of Domaine Leroy's unrelenting commitment to excellence but also of Burgundy's capacity to enchant in even its most difficult years.
With its sophisticated poise and poised evolution in bottle, the 2011 Vosne les Brulees encapsulates a compelling chapter in Burgundian winemaking. It is an asset worth savoring personally and considering seriously within any cultivated portfolio.
Market price (GBP)
£99,970.00
12x75cl
Highest score
95
POP score
6664.67
Scores and tasting notes
The 2011 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Aux Brulee has another striking bouquet, quintessential Vosne-like breeding and sophistication with very pure, mineral-rich red and black fruit marrying beautifully together. It gains intensity in just two or three minutes. The palate is vibrant and quite spicy, almost exotic in terms of richness on the entry, perhaps one of Lalou’s more extravagant 2011s with a scintillating, silky smooth finish that fans across the mouth with hints of raspberry and pomegranate. There is enormous length and intensity present here – a superb Pinot Noir brimming over with vivacity and charm. The parcel of vines within Les Beaux Monts is basically a continuation of Aux Brulees. 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