Drank it at dinner with friends in Brussels. The wine was bought at auction 10 years ago and has been store in temperature controlled conditions ever since. Fully mature, classic Burgundy stinky nose of tea, truffles, and burnt bacon fat. The colour was red, with only a little amber on the edges. On the mouth, the wine was seamless, fully mature, classic cherry tea smoke and truffles flavors with no signs of cracking up. It was almost monolithic, making me wonder if a village wine would need time? Classic 1996 - still a bit closed and making me wonder if they will ever open up fully. The finish left lingering notes of tea and truffles but ended somewhat abruptly. A great bottle for a village wine and clearly keeping well. You can see Lalou Bize's touch on the winemaking(and her signature on the label).
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Obvious maturity to color; really funky nose fresh from bottle. Settled down by time of tasting, depth of maturity to fruit on palate; nice complexity for village wine. Nice hint of celery salt on finish. Drink up.
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Popped and poured. This was a beautiful, clean bottle with an awesome nose (mushroom, earth, red cherry) and great taste (pure cherry fruit and great balance). I'd say this is the best bottle yet (and this is nearly the last bottle from ~3 cases).
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This wine was an interesting study. Upon opening, it smelled like something died in the bottle. Seriously funky, and a real hard, spanking acidity. I Was ready to dump it, but glad I didn't. With 30 minutes of air, it blossomed into textbook aged Beaune. Underbrush, meaty, and sweat, with creamy red fruit. Really impressed with the acid that is still here. Good wine.
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Nose shows some serious dank earth funkiness. Tannins have softened; the palate is mostly old leather and mushroom-y. Starting to dry out, but still nice aged Burgundy here. Good wine. Drink up.
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Popped and poured. Showed a bit of brett. Consistent with previous tasting notes, but maybe a bit more advanced. I'm thinking remaining bottles need to be consumed over the very near future.
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The first serious red shows a medium-minus intense core, which is at the cusp of turning garnet with a clearing and bricking rim. The nose is medium intense and shows dried herbs, but fresh fruits. This wine has a medium body, while the not quite pronounced –but certainly forceful– acidity is kept in check by dried red fruits on the mid-palate. The light tannins are largely integrated and overall this is a lean and lithe drink, which receives some added interest from stemmy dried herbs. Even the finish does an agreeable 15-20 seconds, so I’ll give 87 points and this can be drunk now or over the next few years. I guessed a villages level Côte de Beaune, but as it turned out it was ............... TN Mike de Lange
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Opaque red color with some browning near the rim. Initially showing a hefty dose of brett on the nose, but this seemed to dissipate to reveal a serious Burgundian nose with dark fruit, earth, leather and mushroom. Great weight on the palate with flavors that build throughout the taste. Not overly expansive. Great acidity. Nice lingering finish. Based on this bottle I would say this is drinking at peak right now. No need to hold these any longer.
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Multiple bottles tasted with consistent notes. I've gone through nearly three cases of this wine over the past few years, all from the same source, and while it is still aromatically interesting, the palate is clearly drying out. Now brick-red in color, with tinges of brown, this shows dusty earth, forest floor, and fading fruit, with a firm acidic spine that is growing more prominent with each passing year. While this once punched above its weight class, it is now well into its twilight years, IMO, and should be drunk up ASAP. Time to find a new QPR Burg.
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Family Reunion/Birthday Dinner: Very pale red with slight browning. Classic burgundy nose of mushroom, barnyard, red fruit and earth. In the mouth this is light and balanced with slight acidity noticeable. The taste is not as good as the nose but offers nice fruit and some complexity. Decent finish. A good sipper while cooking.
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The entire lot is clearly heat damaged but this is my go to wine when I want an affordable Burg fix. Used part of this for my Steak Diana sauce and drank the rest while cooking. Consistent with previous notes.
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Again, the cork was soaked and the capsule deteriorated and full of mold. Decanted and after more than one hour waiting. What an aroma: berries, smoky, sweet woods as sandal, pineapple and passion fruit even! Transparent cherry colour. In mouth the story was diferent: no more than water with a little acidity and silky tannins at the finish.
De nuevo elcorcho estaba empapado y perforado por el vino y la cápsula llena de moho. Decantado y después de más de una hora de espera. ¡Qué aroma: bayas, lleno de humo y maderas dulces como el sándalo, con piña y maracuyá incluso. Color transparente de cereza. En la boca la historia fue diferente: solamente agua con una acidez mínima y taninos sedosos al final
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The bottle was unpresentable (I will not buy again in Vilaviniteca of Barcelona, at least by internet) : dirty, with the label deteriorated, the sunken cork and soaked even. The wine, nevertheless, was very of value; a mature wine but not obsolete in any case. Of a precious brown, almost weave color. Meatty, liquor of cherries and peanuts; a wine very old but with something of fruit still and with sufficient acidity to endure drink after drink. A stupendous bottle to celebrate my birthday: half with an entrecotte and the other part by itself. Still one more bottle laying down in my cellar.
La botella estaba impresentable (no volveré a comprar en Vilaviniteca de Barcelona, al menos por internet): sucia, con la etiqueta deteriorada, el corcho hundido y empapado. El vino, sin embargo, era muy aprovechable; un vino maduro pero en ningún caso obsoleto. De un precioso color marrón claro, casi teja. Cárnico, licor de cerezas y cacahuetes; un vino muy maduro pero con algo de fruta todavía y con acidez suficiente para aguantar trago tras trago. Una estupenda botella para pasar mi cumpleaños: la mitad con un entrecotte y la otra para disfrutar sola. Todavía tengo una botella más.
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Winestreet Does Leroy (WA Frost, St. Paul): Consistent with my prior TNs. This is a fully mature, spicy, earthy wine with a terrific nose, and not much length or follow-through on the palate. I still think this is a good deal at $25, assuming you can cherry-pick bottles that aren't leaking.
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Winestreet Tastes an Abundance of Leroy: Very pale red with slight browning. This is an awesome nose for the price -- mushroom, barnyard, red fruit and earth -- true Burgundy. The wine is light in the mouth but well balanced, with slight acidity noticeable. The taste is not nearly as good as the nose offering a mild blend of red fruit, earth, and cola. Decent lenght but no real intensity on the finish. Overall an interesting and very good quality wine. I must say, this bottle seemed much cleaner (not necessarily better) than ones I have had at home.
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Ugly cork soaked through past the top. Brick red with browning at the edge; translucent rim. Soaring nose of cherries, mushrooms, and earth. The palate is mid-weight and well-evolved, yet still nicely sappy and dense. There is a muscular, rustic, meaty/savory flavor streak running through from start to finish that I really enjoyed. A notch better than the previous bottle I opened (from the same retail source). Rumor has it that this is actually declassified juice from a single, well-known 1er Cru vineyard. No wonder it's so good, and no wonder it has lasted so long. It doesn't show the minerality or perfume of a Volnay... the meaty, "masculine" character of this wine reminds me of a Pommard. So that's my guess.
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Ruby red color with brown hues that seem like cause for concern. The nose is exhuberent in a classic burgundy style giving an interesting melange of cherrfy fruit -- deep red cherry, sour cherry, and cherry cough syrup -- intermingled with a lovely forest floor/earthiness and strong minerality. The nose evolved constantly over the night. Really impressive. On the palate this has an awesome blend of red and sour cherry with earth and mineral. Just barely mid-weight with some flavor drop-out mid-palate. However this finishes strong with a flourish of flavor, vibrant acidity, and a long, satisfying finish. The taste isn't quite as good as the nose but both are pretty darn good. It's possible I would score this higher if served blind, but the color and the mid-palate cause me some concern that this may be at peak now or even in decline. Without this it would be at least two points higher (one for color, one for overall quality). I may have to pick up a few more given the price and learn for myself.
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Purchased off the shelf from a local retailer. Cork soaked through, with signs of minor past seepage under the capsule. Evolved brick red/amber color. On the palate, nice high-toned red fruit, tobacco/tea leaf, forest floor, mushroom, and some nice Pinot funk. Good concentration, with a decent amount of minerality and structure, and bright acidity that turns a touch pronounced on the finish. While this doesn't have the complexity, finesse, or mouthfeel of Leroy's higher-end offerings (obviously), it is a surprisingly complex wine and a good QPR at ~$25. Definitely ready to drink, but there is enough grip and tannin on the finish to suggest that there is still plenty of time left.
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Wow, what an exciting wine. A very clear, light wine with a burnt orange color. Amazing nose. Mushroom, barnyard, currant and earth. The nose is perceptible well above the rim of the glass. The wine is light in the mouth but well balanced, with slight acidity noticeable. The taste is a very pleasant combination of cherry and roasted tomato. There is slight mineral taste during the relatively short finish. Overall an interesting and very good quality wine.
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12/25/2017 - Lsqrd1964 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank it at dinner with friends in Brussels. The wine was bought at auction 10 years ago and has been store in temperature controlled conditions ever since. Fully mature, classic Burgundy stinky nose of tea, truffles, and burnt bacon fat. The colour was red, with only a little amber on the edges. On the mouth, the wine was seamless, fully mature, classic cherry tea smoke and truffles flavors with no signs of cracking up. It was almost monolithic, making me wonder if a village wine would need time? Classic 1996 - still a bit closed and making me wonder if they will ever open up fully. The finish left lingering notes of tea and truffles but ended somewhat abruptly. A great bottle for a village wine and clearly keeping well. You can see Lalou Bize's touch on the winemaking(and her signature on the label).
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9/16/2015 - jmoore431 wrote: 91 Points
Obvious maturity to color; really funky nose fresh from bottle. Settled down by time of tasting, depth of maturity to fruit on palate; nice complexity for village wine. Nice hint of celery salt on finish. Drink up.
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8/23/2012 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. This was a beautiful, clean bottle with an awesome nose (mushroom, earth, red cherry) and great taste (pure cherry fruit and great balance). I'd say this is the best bottle yet (and this is nearly the last bottle from ~3 cases).
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1/6/2012 - decaturwinedude wrote: 90 Points
This wine was an interesting study. Upon opening, it smelled like something died in the bottle. Seriously funky, and a real hard, spanking acidity. I Was ready to dump it, but glad I didn't. With 30 minutes of air, it blossomed into textbook aged Beaune. Underbrush, meaty, and sweat, with creamy red fruit. Really impressed with the acid that is still here. Good wine.
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10/7/2011 - decaturwinedude wrote: 89 Points
Nose shows some serious dank earth funkiness. Tannins have softened; the palate is mostly old leather and mushroom-y. Starting to dry out, but still nice aged Burgundy here. Good wine. Drink up.
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6/2/2011 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Popped and poured. Showed a bit of brett. Consistent with previous tasting notes, but maybe a bit more advanced. I'm thinking remaining bottles need to be consumed over the very near future.
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4/22/2011 - Barry Rothof wrote: 87 Points
The first serious red shows a medium-minus intense core, which is at the cusp of turning garnet with a clearing and bricking rim. The nose is medium intense and shows dried herbs, but fresh fruits.
This wine has a medium body, while the not quite pronounced –but certainly forceful– acidity is kept in check by dried red fruits on the mid-palate. The light tannins are largely integrated and overall this is a lean and lithe drink, which receives some added interest from stemmy dried herbs. Even the finish does an agreeable 15-20 seconds, so I’ll give 87 points and this can be drunk now or over the next few years. I guessed a villages level Côte de Beaune, but as it turned out it was ............... TN Mike de Lange
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11/7/2010 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
No notes taken, but this bottle showed no signs of decline.
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8/28/2010 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 90 Points
Still holding on, but these need to be consumed over the next few years.
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5/1/2010 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 90 Points
Opaque red color with some browning near the rim. Initially showing a hefty dose of brett on the nose, but this seemed to dissipate to reveal a serious Burgundian nose with dark fruit, earth, leather and mushroom. Great weight on the palate with flavors that build throughout the taste. Not overly expansive. Great acidity. Nice lingering finish. Based on this bottle I would say this is drinking at peak right now. No need to hold these any longer.
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9/28/2009 - Siggy wrote: 82 Points
Multiple bottles tasted with consistent notes. I've gone through nearly three cases of this wine over the past few years, all from the same source, and while it is still aromatically interesting, the palate is clearly drying out. Now brick-red in color, with tinges of brown, this shows dusty earth, forest floor, and fading fruit, with a firm acidic spine that is growing more prominent with each passing year. While this once punched above its weight class, it is now well into its twilight years, IMO, and should be drunk up ASAP. Time to find a new QPR Burg.
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8/2/2009 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Nice wine. Consistent with previous notes.
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7/12/2008 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Family Reunion/Birthday Dinner: Very pale red with slight browning. Classic burgundy nose of mushroom, barnyard, red fruit and earth. In the mouth this is light and balanced with slight acidity noticeable. The taste is not as good as the nose but offers nice fruit and some complexity. Decent finish. A good sipper while cooking.
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6/18/2008 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
The entire lot is clearly heat damaged but this is my go to wine when I want an affordable Burg fix. Used part of this for my Steak Diana sauce and drank the rest while cooking. Consistent with previous notes.
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6/1/2008 - Harley1199 wrote:
Again, the cork was soaked and the capsule deteriorated and full of mold. Decanted and after more than one hour waiting. What an aroma: berries, smoky, sweet woods as sandal, pineapple and passion fruit even! Transparent cherry colour. In mouth the story was diferent: no more than water with a little acidity and silky tannins at the finish.
De nuevo elcorcho estaba empapado y perforado por el vino y la cápsula llena de moho. Decantado y después de más de una hora de espera. ¡Qué aroma: bayas, lleno de humo y maderas dulces como el sándalo, con piña y maracuyá incluso. Color transparente de cereza. En la boca la historia fue diferente: solamente agua con una acidez mínima y taninos sedosos al final
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5/9/2008 - Harley1199 wrote:
The bottle was unpresentable (I will not buy again in Vilaviniteca of Barcelona, at least by internet) : dirty, with the label deteriorated, the sunken cork and soaked even. The wine, nevertheless, was very of value; a mature wine but not obsolete in any case. Of a precious brown, almost weave color. Meatty, liquor of cherries and peanuts; a wine very old but with something of fruit still and with sufficient acidity to endure drink after drink. A stupendous bottle to celebrate my birthday: half with an entrecotte and the other part by itself. Still one more bottle laying down in my cellar.
La botella estaba impresentable (no volveré a comprar en Vilaviniteca de Barcelona, al menos por internet): sucia, con la etiqueta deteriorada, el corcho hundido y empapado. El vino, sin embargo, era muy aprovechable; un vino maduro pero en ningún caso obsoleto. De un precioso color marrón claro, casi teja. Cárnico, licor de cerezas y cacahuetes; un vino muy maduro pero con algo de fruta todavía y con acidez suficiente para aguantar trago tras trago. Una estupenda botella para pasar mi cumpleaños: la mitad con un entrecotte y la otra para disfrutar sola. Todavía tengo una botella más.
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4/5/2008 - BradE wrote:
Spring comes to Minneapolis.: Used as cooking wine, and discovered about 5 hours later. Cooking was its best use.
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1/19/2008 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
No notes taken. Popped and poured. This was consistent with the best of previous bottles consumed. A good but not great low end Burgundy.
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10/11/2007 - Siggy wrote: 89 Points
Winestreet Does Leroy (WA Frost, St. Paul): Consistent with my prior TNs. This is a fully mature, spicy, earthy wine with a terrific nose, and not much length or follow-through on the palate. I still think this is a good deal at $25, assuming you can cherry-pick bottles that aren't leaking.
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10/11/2007 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 90 Points
Winestreet Tastes an Abundance of Leroy: Very pale red with slight browning. This is an awesome nose for the price -- mushroom, barnyard, red fruit and earth -- true Burgundy. The wine is light in the mouth but well balanced, with slight acidity noticeable. The taste is not nearly as good as the nose offering a mild blend of red fruit, earth, and cola. Decent lenght but no real intensity on the finish. Overall an interesting and very good quality wine. I must say, this bottle seemed much cleaner (not necessarily better) than ones I have had at home.
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8/27/2007 - Siggy wrote: 90 Points
Ugly cork soaked through past the top. Brick red with browning at the edge; translucent rim. Soaring nose of cherries, mushrooms, and earth. The palate is mid-weight and well-evolved, yet still nicely sappy and dense. There is a muscular, rustic, meaty/savory flavor streak running through from start to finish that I really enjoyed. A notch better than the previous bottle I opened (from the same retail source). Rumor has it that this is actually declassified juice from a single, well-known 1er Cru vineyard. No wonder it's so good, and no wonder it has lasted so long. It doesn't show the minerality or perfume of a Volnay... the meaty, "masculine" character of this wine reminds me of a Pommard. So that's my guess.
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8/17/2007 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 90 Points
Ruby red color with brown hues that seem like cause for concern. The nose is exhuberent in a classic burgundy style giving an interesting melange of cherrfy fruit -- deep red cherry, sour cherry, and cherry cough syrup -- intermingled with a lovely forest floor/earthiness and strong minerality. The nose evolved constantly over the night. Really impressive. On the palate this has an awesome blend of red and sour cherry with earth and mineral. Just barely mid-weight with some flavor drop-out mid-palate. However this finishes strong with a flourish of flavor, vibrant acidity, and a long, satisfying finish. The taste isn't quite as good as the nose but both are pretty darn good. It's possible I would score this higher if served blind, but the color and the mid-palate cause me some concern that this may be at peak now or even in decline. Without this it would be at least two points higher (one for color, one for overall quality). I may have to pick up a few more given the price and learn for myself.
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12/11/2006 - Siggy wrote: 89 Points
Purchased off the shelf from a local retailer. Cork soaked through, with signs of minor past seepage under the capsule. Evolved brick red/amber color. On the palate, nice high-toned red fruit, tobacco/tea leaf, forest floor, mushroom, and some nice Pinot funk. Good concentration, with a decent amount of minerality and structure, and bright acidity that turns a touch pronounced on the finish. While this doesn't have the complexity, finesse, or mouthfeel of Leroy's higher-end offerings (obviously), it is a surprisingly complex wine and a good QPR at ~$25. Definitely ready to drink, but there is enough grip and tannin on the finish to suggest that there is still plenty of time left.
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12/31/2005 - wood wrote:
Fruit forward and stronger tannin on the finish.
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3/17/2005 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 89 Points
Wow, what an exciting wine. A very clear, light wine with a burnt orange color. Amazing nose. Mushroom, barnyard, currant and earth. The nose is perceptible well above the rim of the glass. The wine is light in the mouth but well balanced, with slight acidity noticeable. The taste is a very pleasant combination of cherry and roasted tomato. There is slight mineral taste during the relatively short finish. Overall an interesting and very good quality wine.
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