Leroy : Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er cru "Les Vignerondes" Domaine 2011

Tasting characteristics and advice for the Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er cru "Les Vignerondes" Domaine 2011 from Leroy

Tasting

Color

The wine displays a deep garnet hue with ruby highlights, underscoring its concentration and aging potential.

Nose

The bouquet stands out for its striking minerality and remarkable definition. Red cherry aromas intertwine with notes of undergrowth and cool limestone. With aeration, hints of fresh herbs and redcurrant gradually emerge, accompanied by earthy nuances characteristic of a cool vintage.

Palate

The attack is marked by immediate vibrancy, driven by a precise acidity that structures the whole. The palate unveils layers of dark fruit, harmoniously balanced by a fine, elegant tannic framework. Gossamer tannins support flavors of blackcurrant and raspberry, while a remarkable tension runs through the tasting. The silky, velvety texture leads into a poised, persistent finish, punctuated by a lingering spicy note.

Food and wine pairings

This Nuits-Saint-Georges 2011 pairs beautifully with both feathered and furred game, whose wild character resonates with the wine’s earthy minerality. It also matches superbly with roasted meat preparations enhanced with truffles and forest mushrooms. Lacquered duck, with its crisp skin and sweet-and-salty sauce, makes a particularly successful contemporary pairing thanks to the wine’s structural density and natural acidity.

Serving and cellaring

This Nuits-Saint-Georges 2011 offers a structure and complexity that confer exceptional cellaring potential, promising positive evolution for an additional one to two decades under appropriate storage conditions.

A Nuits-Saint-Georges embodying the biodynamic excellence of Domaine Leroy

The estate

François Leroy, owner of vineyards in Auxey-Duresses and Musigny among others, founded the Leroy wine merchant house in 1868. His son Joseph and, a few years later, his grandson Henri gradually expanded the estate, notably by creating a branch dedicated to producing liqueurs and eaux-de-vie. In 1942, Henri Leroy acquired half of the prestigious terroir of Romanée-Conti. Following his death, his younger daughter Lalou Bize-Leroy joined Domaine Leroy in 1955 and became co-managing director of the domaine de la Romanée-Conti, alongside Aubert de Villaine, between 1974 and 1992.

The vineyard

This Nuits-Saint-Georges comes from the lieu-dit Aux Laviéres, located in the transition zone between the classic Nuits-Saint-Georges sector and the area influenced by proximity to Vosne-Romanée. This parcel rests on soils composed of stones, gravel, limestone, and fossilized oyster shells, giving the wine a distinctive mineral signature. The exposure faces east, ensuring optimal sunshine while preserving the freshness essential to the expression of Pinot Noir. The vineyard’s biodynamic approach includes manual soil work to avoid compaction, individual vine replacement by massal selection, and the application of biodynamic preparations according to the lunar calendar.

The vintage

The 2011 vintage in Bourgogne was marked by an early spring followed by a cool, humid summer, creating demanding conditions for winegrowers. The extended growing season required heightened vigilance against disease pressure while offering the opportunity to achieve full phenolic ripeness despite the cool temperatures. Weather conditions ultimately enabled the most rigorous estates to produce wines of remarkable freshness, endowed with vibrant acidity and exceptional mineral precision. For Domaine Leroy, the 2011 vintage revealed particularly brilliant village and premier cru expressions, capturing the essence of this climatically distinctive year through balanced, elegant wines.

Vinification and aging

The grapes for the 2011 Nuits-Saint-Georges were hand-harvested and sorted twice, first in the vineyards and then at the estate on large sorting tables. Whole clusters, left un-destemmed, were transferred into custom-made wooden vats, preserving the indigenous yeasts naturally present on the skins. Fermentation proceeded slowly at cool temperatures with long macerations, including punch-downs and pump-overs carried out as needed based on observation. After fermentation, the wine was gently pressed and then transferred to a first underground cellar for natural malolactic fermentation, before being racked and moved to a second, deep and cold cellar. Aging took place in 100% new French oak barrels from the François Frères cooperage, with a single racking before bottling without filtration or fining, all movements carried out by gravity.

Grape variety

100% Pinot Noir