Richebourg is a Grand Cru of Vosne-Romanée, and Domaine Leroy is its second-largest owner after Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The 2009 comes from a warm, generous year for red Burgundy and has had more than fifteen years to start opening up.
About This Wine
Leroy's Richebourg holding is roughly 0.78 hectares. The vineyard sits at the heart of the Vosne-Romanée Grands Crus, beside Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Romanée-Conti. 2009 was a sunny, ripe season, and its reds tend to be well structured with rich, luscious fruit. Leroy's version is concentrated and firmly built, aged in French oak. A recent re-tasting found some reduction on opening that cleared to a sweet core of fruit, lightly peppery, turning glossy and expressive with time in the glass.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Ripe cherry, blackberry and rose, with sweet spice, oak and hints of undergrowth coming through with age.
- Palate: Rich and rounded, with a sweet fruit core, a dash of white pepper and fine, firm tannin.
- Finish: Warm and lasting, with spice, earth and a stony note at the end.
Serving & Food
Now entering its drinking window and should hold well into the 2030s. Decant for about an hour, partly to let any early reduction lift, and serve at 16 to 17°C in a large Burgundy glass. Roast grouse, duck with cherries or a truffled mushroom risotto would all work.
How to Enjoy
Marking an occasion with a mature Vosne-Romanée Grand Cru, or adding a ripe-vintage Leroy to a Richebourg collection.
Product Details
Producer: Domaine Leroy
Appellation: Richebourg Grand Cru
Village: Vosne-Romanée, Côte de Nuits
Country: France
Vintage: 2009
Grape Variety: Pinot Noir
Volume: 750mL
About the Maison
Domaine Leroy is based in Vosne-Romanée, in the former Charles Noëllat estate that Lalou Bize-Leroy bought in 1988. That purchase brought vines in Richebourg and a string of Vosne-Romanée sites; Philippe Remy's old holdings in Gevrey were added soon after. Biodynamic farming here began long before most of Burgundy took it up, and yields are kept very low.
Alongside the domaine, Lalou runs the family négociant house Maison Leroy and her own small estate, Domaine d'Auvenay. From 1974 to 1992 she also shared the running of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti with Aubert de Villaine, and the Leroy family still co-owns that estate.