This text focuses on the philosophy of the woman behind some of Burgundy's most extraordinary wines, Lalou Bize-Leroy.
"I like to taste fast," says Lalou Bize-Leroy. "With wines, it's either yes or no. There's no middle ground. Just like with people."
"You have to trust your first impression," Lalou continues. "When you hesitate, when you go back and forth, that's when you make mistakes."
An advocate of terroir - the most important concept that defines Burgundy - and an unwavering believer in the principles of biodynamics, Lalou Bize-Leroy remains one of the most iconic figures in the wine world.
"There is no winemaking and no winemaker!" firmly states Madame Bize-Leroy. We are the caretakers. We watch, observe, and make some decisions, but the grapes come first - they lead us. Our job is to watch, observe, and try to understand. That's our job, our role. Yes, we make decisions, but we don't actually do anything. Yes, we follow the fermentation recipe, but we don't make wine. We just observe, watch, and let it make itself."
"Low yields are absolutely essential for Pinot Noir in Burgundy," Lalou believes. "It's not easy to do things the way we do. But I love my old vines and my countryside. It would be much easier to just produce 50 hectolitres per hectare, but it's not a job. People think Chardonnay can succeed at higher yields. I don't agree with that."
Despite all her achievements, Lalou Bize-Leroy remains a controversial figure in Burgundy. Some of her colleagues resent her resounding success and unconventional practices. Others shudder at the staggering prices of her wines, and at their scarcity, which means few people get to taste them. But everyone looks at what she does in the vineyards.
Madame Bize-Leroy creates wines unlike any other. Leroy is a transparent Burgundy wine that pulses with the energy and expression of place that Bize-Leroy values above all else. Wines from Leroy begin to drink well at 15-20 years of age and tend to evolve beautifully for decades afterward.
Wine critics have the daunting task of determining where to place these wines on the rating scale in a way that is consistent with the domain's internal hierarchy, but also puts them in context with the rest of the Côte d'Or. When writing about wines, not of the grand cru level, the scores are more than usually odious, and the wine market has clearly realized that Bize-Leroy's communal and premier cru bottlings put too many other producers' grand cru wines to shame.
In recent years, Leroy wines have become almost impossible to find and prices have soared to the stratosphere. It's impossible to ignore this. As for the wines themselves, they represent the pinnacle of expression of some of the world's greatest and most historic sites as interpreted by Lalou Bize-Leroy, who is still at the top of her game.
We have a limited number of bottles of Domaine Leroy Puligny Montrachet Premier Cru La Garenne 2011 available, to order please click on the link below or contact your account manager.
Leroy Puligny Montrachet La Garenne Premier Cru 2011
Text by François Dubois