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Wine Description
The Story
There are oenophiles who believe that Domaine Leroy produces the greatest wines in the world. The estate was founded in Burgundy in 1868 and today is owned and run by Lalou Bize-Leroy, a dynamo of a woman who represents the current generation of the founding family. Bize-Leroy is famous, among other reasons, for being an early adopter of biodynamic vineyard cultivation, meaning that there have been no chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides of any kind used in the Domaine Leroy production for many decades. The domaine, located in Vosne-Romanee, makes numerous wines, but is renowned for its Grand Crus and Premier Crus. Its Grand Crus are Corton-Charlemagne, Corton-Renardes, Richebourg, Romanee-St.-Vivant, Clos de Vougeot, Musigny, Clos de la Roche, Latricieres-Chambertin and Chambertin. The domaine has a total vineyard area of 56 acres which is planted in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Aligote. Production is extremely limited, usually between 10,000 to 20,000 bottles.
Vintage 1993
In Burgundy 1993, an early flowering in the month of June, was followed by a wet early July before a hot dry August. The reds of 1993 are outstanding. They are powerful and concentrated with a firm backbone of ripe tannins. The whites although austere to begin with and slow to evolve have developed into magnificent well structured, powerful wines. A vintage that produced wines built for ageing.
Once again, expectations were high in Burgundy for the 1993 harvest. The flowering was as early as that of 1990 (from 6-11 June) and August was very hot and dry . Despite the bad weather during the second half of June and first ten days of July, with rain and notably hail in the Meurault 1er Cru vineyards of Genevrères, Charmes and Perrières. Burgundy was looking forward to an early harvest of high quality.
The 'ban des vendanges' was set for the 15th September in the Côte de Beaune and 17th in the Côte de Nuits.
As has so often been the case, it was extremely important to undertake a crop thinning in 1993; for those domaines which did not, yields were high and sugar levels mediocre.
The intensity of colour in the red wine and a correct balance between acidity and tannins allow us to hope for wines of an above average quality. The vineyard which were harvested before the rains are particularly rich and elegant. Fortunately, the small berry size of the grapes meant a greater resistance to grey rot which could so easily have been a problem, with the wet weather.
For the whites, the deterioration of the weather in the Côte d'Or prevented the Chardonnay grape from reaching perfect maturity but the wines will nonetheless be pleasant.