20 vintages of Leroy Clos de Vougeot

Tasters at work around 20 bottles of Clos de Vougeot

November 2016: It was a tasting of 20 vintages of Leroy Clos de Vougeot that took place at our dear friends' farmhouse after the superlative weekend of Les Trois Glorieuses in typical Bourgogne style. I had taken a while to write this up, as I was afraid that some of my comments might reflect an inadequacy in describing the wines and might even suggest that some of the wines were less than exceptional.

Domaine Leroy's Clos de Vougeot is a blend that could come from 3 separate parcels totalling an area of just over 1.9 hectares. One of the parcels is situated at the top of the Clos, between 255 and 260 metres above sea level, at the northern end, east-facing, with thin topsoil over Bajocian limestone, adjacent to the parcels owned by Méo-Camuzet and Gros Frère et Soeur. Another parcel is between mid and lower slope of the Clos, between 250 and 240 metres above sea level, with more presence of clay. The most notable neighbour here is the parcel owned by Henri Rebourseau, but other neighbours include Philippe Charlopin-Parizot and de la Vougeraie. The third and smallest strip is more towards lower slope at the southern end, with deeper alluvial on marlstone, joining neighbours with Coquard-Loison-Fleurot and Gérard Raphet. 

On the rare occasions when I was able to appreciate the esoteric wines by the venerable Madame Bize-Leroy, I had always been impressed by a timeless sublime elegance and restrained power that crafted such distinguished wines, irrespective of appellations. A number of the bottles in this line-up were purchased upon release, while others were purchased at recent auctions (to fill in the gaps to make this tasting possible!).

Some people chose to start from young to old, while others would go about it in the reverse order. I had decided to go from old to young.  Here are my brief notes:

Vintages 1976 to 1999

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1976: The bottle had succumbed to volatile acidity. There was hardly any trace of fruit character. Despite the fragile structure, it still retained a certain poise about it and made an interesting post-dinner sip.

1981: This was a beautifully aged example from the domaine. Seamlessly integrated, with a balanced and elegant structure. A very 'altogether' wine!

1989: It was a very enticing waft of tertiary aromas. On the palate, vibrant acidity and complex layers, still boasting a generous showing of fruit character, with silky texture. This was a winner!

1990: There was a less appealing note of burnt sugar/caramelised fruit. The acidity was less than adequate to make this a mouthwatering example.

1992: This was my pick for the best surprise of the tasting.  Well-knit, with bright acidity and lashings of ripe fruit. The finish was long and balanced, leaving the impression of a harmonious wine, totally unpretentious.  A superb example.

1995: Characters of mushroom and earthy notes. A muscular wine, still showing firm tannins that may have just started to yield.  Difficult to tell how this wine would develop but there seemed not sufficient complexity/generosity to support significant upside development.

1996: More developed bouquet, more redolent of truffle.  There was more acidity than the 1995.  I found it slightly better balanced than the 1995, but both bottles would fall short of excellence.

1997: There was an initial whiff of volatile acidity. After this subsided for me, it revealed a wine of graceful elegance, with some resemblance to a well-aged Musigny, if short of the persistence and power were it to be a product of the top houses.  It was generally regarded as a wine at its pinnacle by the tasters present and drinking very well now.  I was keen to try this at home again.  We expectantly opened it on Christmas Day, only to find that it was corked. So the entire bottle made it into the Boeuf Bourguignon on 29th December.  Richard said that was the best Boeuf Bourguignon I had attempted!   (Incidentally, we recently opened a 1997 Leroy Vosne-Romanée Les Genaivrières to keep up the festive spirits and it still retained its elegance, though much weakened in structure, despite it being a village appellation. A perfect accompaniment with Richard's thyme-infused slow-cooked duck breast!)

1998: I detected a whiff or two of brettanomyces. The palate seemed rather dull, lacking in fruit character. Perhaps this deserves a revisit at some point.  Richard's note was more favourable towards this bottle.

1999: A very tight example of the vintage.  One could sense the brilliant and perfect structure underneath, but it was simply relentless at this tasting, determined to endow little pleasure to its eager admirers. 

2000: Moderate acidity.  Perfect for drinking now. Ripe fruit but it lacked excitement.

2001: This was a gorgeous presentation of Clos de Vougeot. Very well-assembled, complete with bright acidity and velvety tannins and fleshy layers of ripe fruit and developing nuances.

2002:  There was a hint of brettamoyces in this bottle. However, this did not detract from the enjoyment of the fleshy, ripe fruit, vibrant acidity while the firm tannins could do with more time to soften. A very stylish Clos de Vougeot.

2005: Again, a hint of brettanomyces. As expected, a muscular Clos de Vougeot, but exceptional quality of tannins and a depth of complexities waiting to reveal themselves. A very distinguished wine.  

2006: There was more than a nuance of brettanomyces for me to enjoy this.  Need to revisit.

2008: The nose was reductive, with savoury and meaty nuances, as well as still eminent toasty and smokey notes. Beautiful balance. Long finish. A very classy wine.

2009: I did not find this so memorable. The marriage with ripe fruit did not seem a harmonious one, though the acidity was admirable for the vintage.

2010: The nose was quite reductive. Tannins were still to be integrated. Oak notes of smoke and toast were still dominant. This would take some years to become better integrated.

2011: This seemed much more overt than 2010, but did not have the structure of 2010.  A lovely wine but not a long runner.

2013: The nose was still very primary. Very admirable structure. A suave example of Clos de Vougeot. 

It would be a good idea to revisit some of the bottles again, in particular the 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2009. My top picks from this tasting would be 1981, 1989, 1992, followed by 1997 , 2001 and 2002, and from the younger vintages, 2005 and 2013.

My overall impression was that while I identified some very fine wines, I did not find any great wines. The hallmark of the winemaker was evident in all the bottles but some of the bottles lacked that inspired excitement associated with a substantial price tag and a prestigious label. Perhaps that could be attributed to the inevitable bottle variation!

20 vintages of Leroy Clos de Vougeot