Leroy Dinner

Carlos - Highwood, IL
Tasted Monday, November 21, 2011 by Burgundy Al with 871 views

Introduction

Carlos, the renowned restaurant in Highwood IL, is closed at the end of 2011 so a few of my Burg friends got together for a last hurrah, and decided to focus on one of our favorite producers, Leroy, with wines from Maison Leroy, Domaine Leroy and Domaine d'Auvenay. Very good dinner with some truly great wines.

Flight 1 - Champagne on the Train to Highwood (1 Note)

  • 1998 Gosset Champagne Célebris 92 Points

    France, Champagne

    Lemon and lemon zest aromas with background floral tones. Same lemon and lemon zest flavors accompanied by tart green apple. Good acidity comes through towards middle and moderate finish.

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Flight 2 - Champagne to Start (1 Note)

  • 1996 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 96 Points

    France, Champagne

    Amazing aromas of lemon, lemon peel, orange peel with some background anise. Same citrus fruit profile on palate with a bit of ripe apple and pear, all extended by massive acidity and minerality. Slightly more accessible than when tasted near release, this will most likely continue to improve for at least another 5 years and be a great Champagne for at least twenty.

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Flight 3 - Blind Whites (3 Notes)

A couple of us knew what was in the flight, but none of us knew which wine was in each glass.

  • 1999 Maison Leroy Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières Flawed

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

    Not terrible but somewhat oxidized. Tasted 10 years older than a 1999. Unfortunate since it was served alongside the sensational Maison Leroy 1999 Meursault from both Charmes and Genevrieres.

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  • 1999 Maison Leroy Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

    Floral start with aromas of ripe apple. Flavor of apple and pear, very youthful, precise and lean. Good acidity and minerality, moderate intensity. Served alongside Maison Leroy 1999 Meursault Perrieres (somewhat oxidized) and Genevrieres (sensational).

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  • 1999 Maison Leroy Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

    Floral start with great ripe orchard fruit and strong spice elements with just a hint of nuttiness. Sensational flavors of ripe and powerful apple and pear, with some hints of peach in background. Still entirely primary. Great combination of lush and powerful fruit, lots of dry extract, great acidity and minerality. Most likely at its peak now, with probably another good decade ahead of it.

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Flight 4 - Old Maison Leroy Reds (3 Notes)

  • 1966 Maison Leroy Corton 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

    Not even close to the quality level of the two prior times I've had this wine, including another bottle from the same case I brought to La Paulee five years ago. Started with black fruit on nose with spice and some emerging earthiness. Some others thought this was slightly corked, but I found lots of Brett alongside the black fruit and mushroom flavors. Shortened precipitously after 20 minutes, going downhill quickly. Thankfully we popped and poured this.

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  • 1966 Hospices de Beaune Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Estienne Maison Leroy 87 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru

    Charming red and black fruit on nose with very charming spice and lots of forest floor. Palate was less exciting. Mostly tertiary flavors, also a hint shrill with quite prominent obtrusive acidity.

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  • 1969 Maison Leroy Clos Vougeot 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

    Big, mature black fruit on the nose with plenty of brown sugar and sweet spice. Some floral hints in background. Similar on palate with a good balance of primary and secondary flavors, plenty of spice and that same brown sugar element. Stayed consistent from start to finish. Popped and poured.

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Flight 5 - Leroy 1980 High-end Horizontal (3 Notes)

  • 1980 Maison Leroy Musigny 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

    Popped and poured. This started slowly, showing little aromatically at first, but in 10-15 minutes it started showing black fruit, forest floor and moderate spice level. Palate also opened up with some black fruit and earthy flavors, also some moderate background spice. Very good textures were the highlight for me. Served in a fascinated flight with the 1980 Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Beze, all library releases from last year.

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  • 1980 Maison Leroy Chambertin 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru

    Primary black fruit on nose. Palate was also still quite primary, but didn't show me more complexity or spice. Perhaps this just needs some more time in cellar or decanter (this was popped, decanted and poured), but I found this to be elegant and subtle without much nuance. Served in a flight alongside Maison Leroy's 1980 Chambertin Clos de Beze and Musigny, all library releases from last year. This Chambertin was probably my least favorite of the flight.

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  • 1980 Maison Leroy Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

    Popped, decanted and poured. Some black fruit on nose with meaty spice, but mostly good secondary aromas. Very good combination of primary and secondary flavors, nicely balanced today with good spice of long braised meat. Not a powerful example of Beze, but very good representation of the terroir. Tasted alongside the Maison Leroy 1980 Chambertin and Musigny. I believe this is the first time I've ever had a Beze from Leroy, given its rarity. I don't think it has been produced since Leroy purchased Noellat and Remy and started making the Domaine Leroy wines.

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Flight 6 - Domaine Leroy 1ers, the Early Years (4 Notes)

  • 1988 Domaine Leroy Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

    Massive black fruit on nose with dense, big spice. Black fruit on palate with great density and concentration, accompanied by meaty spices that I would typically associate with NSG, vs. the baking spice in the 1993 Boudots in the next glass that seemed more Vosne-like. Powerful in every way, this wine will continue to hold for a very long time.

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  • 1993 Domaine Leroy Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

    Black and red cherry aromas with wonderful baking spice. Leaning slightly towards red fruit on the palate, this Boudots came across as very Vosne-like, compared to the 1988 Boudots in the next glass that was more structured and classically "NSG." Very charming spice on finish.

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  • 1993 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    Open several hours before serving. Started with red fruit, seemingly lean, with moderate spice. Wine picked up a bit of intensity and weight with more time in glass, showing both red and black cherry by the end, with spice level also increasing with more time and air. I would strongly suggest a several hour decant based on this experience as well as another bottle opened in France last year.

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  • 1993 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    Black fruit on nose with a massive cabinet of baking spice. Very powerful black and red cherry flavors on palate, also with great spice, substantial and perfectly integrated tannins, and wonderful minerality. Really outstanding. Wine of the Flight for almost everybody in a great flight that also included Leroy 93 Beaux Monts, 93 Boudots and 88 Boudots.

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Flight 7 - Richebourg (2 Notes)

  • 1995 Domaine Leroy Richebourg 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

    Red fruit on nose with big, burly spice. Floral hints. Same red cherry on palate along with a bit of black cherry. Big Asian spice flavors, lots of tannins and acidity. Big power comes through on quite long finish.

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  • 1998 Domaine Leroy Richebourg 97 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

    Great nose with red cherry, wild strawberry, Asian five spice blend, and great floral notes. Palate brings out all the same components, with great minerality and acidity helping provide ever more length and texture. Wine of the Night in a night of great wines.

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Flight 8 - 1998 and 1999 (3 Notes)

  • 1998 Domaine d'Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Bonnes Mares 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

    Bottle showed slight signs of prior leakage but still a very good fill. Great spice on the nose with very nice floral notes in the background. Red fruit with very beautiful and integrated structure, this wine has great textures and a lacy mouth feel through to its long and elegant finish. Great spice comes through again on the end.

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  • 1999 Domaine d'Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Mazis-Chambertin 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru

    Huge black cherry and boysenberry on nose with meaty and intense spice and floral hints in background. Same massive fruit on palate but with lots of structure. entirely primary today, I think this is still improving and this bottle would suggest it will peak in perhaps another 5 or 10 years.

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  • 1998 Domaine Leroy Clos Vougeot 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

    Ripe, lush red fruit on nose with some violet and rose aromas. Very nice red and black cherry flavors on palate, with moderate spice level and good length. Perhaps I was unduly tough on this wine, but it suffered in comparison with other wine in the last three flights.

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