With much anticipation, the day finally came for the Burgundy night to never forget: our Leroy Wine Dinner! We were honored to host special guest Eric Espuny of Maison Leroy for this exquisite night as we discussed and tasted through the beautiful wines made by the queen of Burgundy, Madame Lalou Bize Leroy. We brought in Royal Chef Darren McGrady to prepare the fabulous dinner and the wines were incredible, as we wouldn’t expect anything less, but it was the company that really made the night as each guest explored and shared their own Burgundy and Leroy experiences while creating and bonding in this wine experience together. Needless to say, the night was epic, the wines were mind-blowing and the overall experience is unforgettable.
It’s always a very special treat when a bottle of Leroy gets opened at Graileys but to have multiple Domaine (wax top) wines tasted in one grand lineup is a Burgundy lover’s dream come true! You could really taste each vintage and each vineyard in this lineup as the terroir truly speaks through in each bottle!
We started the night with a bottle of 2004 Salon Le Mesnil Brut Champagne ($399/btl) and it was absolutely stunning! All of the signature notes of Salon were there; this is as omnipotent as Champagne gets with multidimensional layers of insane minerality. Towards the end of the night, we also opened a bottle of 1999 Salon and what a beauty it was with rich texture, rounded tones and beautiful, deep minerals that seems like it permanently stays on the tongue, which I would be completely ok with if it had.
Not a single bad bottle in the bunch! It was difficult to pick out a favorite in a killer lineup like this, but there were a few that spoke to me a little more than the rest. From the reds the 1996 Leroy Nuits St Georges Aux Allots and the 2005 Leroy Gevrey Chambertin Les Combottes 1er Cru were gorgeous! (they all were but these really shined.) Both had beautiful red berry fruit that was fresh, bright and alive. The ’96 NSG Aux Allots was tremendously youthful and had this wonderful seamless, velvety near-Vosne-like texture with notes of wild rose, hints of mint, pomegranate, and warm baking spice with underlying layers of forest floor, aged leather and rich soil. The 2005 Les Combettes was a slight surprise. The table was just talking about 2005 Burgundy and how they need so much more time in the cellar to truly show the vintage’s power but when the 2005 Gevrey Chambertin Les Combettes came around, the wine was expressive with seductive red and black cherry, red plums, bright spice, potting soil, nutmeg, wild herbs and a touch of smoke.
The white wines were the stars of the night! The 2002 D’Auvenay Auxey Duresses Les Boutonniers was mind-boggling with rich mouthcoating texture, deep flavors of sweet cream, toasted almonds, buttered popcorn kernel, creamed corn, golden apples, baked pear and crushed river rocks. Our most beloved Burghead member MJ also graciously opened a bottle of 1990 Leroy Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru and the 1996 Leroy Meursault Les Narvaux! For a 27 and 21 year old white wine, how incredibly and magically fresh and youthful these wines were! This is perfectly aged, white Burgundy at its finest! The 90 Corton Charlie was stunning with still very much bright and crunchy minerals, preserved meyer lemons and white blossoms. The ’96 Les Narvaux was on point!! Rich lemon, honeysuckle, honeycomb, bees wax, honeydew melon, wild yellow flowers, preserved pear, warm spice, I can go on and on and on and the finish was nearly infinite.
The 2002 D’ Auvenay Auxey Duresses Les Boutonnières was absolutely perfect with the first course!
2011 Leroy Savigny les Beaune Les Narbontons 1er Cru and the 2005 Leroy Gevrey Chambertin Les Combottes 1er Cru were perfect with the steak!
One of our top Burgheads also opened a bottle of 2005 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues Batard Montrachet that was simply lovely! Rich, loud and round, the Leflaive Bienvenue Batard Montrachet was showing at its perfect spot on this epic Burgundy night.
2004 Salon Le Mesnil Brut Champagne
2014 Leroy Bourgogne Blanc
2014 Leroy Montagny
2002 Domaine d’Auvenay Auxey Duresses Les Boutonniers
1990 Leroy Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru
1996 Leroy Meursault Les Narvaux
2004 Leroy Vosne Romanee
2011 Leroy Savigny les Beaune Les Narbontons 1er Cru
2005 Leroy Gevrey Chambertin Les Combottes 1er Cru
1995 Leroy Gevrey Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru
1996 Leroy Nuits St Georges Aux Allots
2005 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues Batard Montrachet Grand Cru
1999 Salon Le Mesnil Brut Champagne