The nose is frankly extra-ordinary; gorgeous fruit in the middle, a depth of soil supporting it and a majestic floral perfume above – I don’t care about the label, it can’t get better than this. Round and full, with exquisite balance. For it’s age, close to perfect wine…
The cork is soaked through with wine and splits in half while trying to extract. A medium, medium-plus young colour. The nose starts quite oaky, though slowly it fades to leave heavier and heavier young fruit notes. In the mouth it starts with grainy tannin and a little spritz but it’s followed by a lovely impression of damson/plum fruit and a super length. The fruit continues to blossom, becoming cleaner and fresher though this is clearly a Leroy wine rather than a wine of Savigny. Over time there’s a little mushroom and mineral on the nose, though a quick swirl reveals perfect berry notes.
Deep cherry-red – only slighty paler than the 03 Dugat-Py. The nose is rounder and more forward than the D-P, just a little reduced at the start but there’s lots of disparate complexity. Somehow the palate is also less ‘together’ than the D-P; it’s fresher, got more tannin and lots of coffee-bean in the mouth – significantly more apparent complexity but like the nose, little apparent cohesion. Longer than the D-P; if all the parts come together this could be a very, very good wine.
Medium, medium-plus ruby-red. That characteristic Leroy nose (how do they do that?) of well integrated oak set against wild red fruit, almost confiture and rose petals. The fruit is red-coloured and like the other 2000’s quite tannin-forward. It’s as long as the JM Boillot Jarollières 1er cru, riper but less complex. You are left with a smooth coating on your teeth as a reminder.
It’s not really possible to criticise such an accomplished villages wine – really excellent.
Deep colour. The nose shows more than a passing resemblance to the Combottes but is more tightly wound – it does take on a more musky and heavy impression with time but never opens out to the level of that wine. Über-concentration, achingly intense in the mid-palate and super-long. Behind is (almost) hidden tannin with just an edge of grain. This is Combottes’ bigger brother, seems less mineral and focused but then that could the masking effect of the extra concentration. Leave the glass still for a while and it fills with toasty oak aromas. Very expensive, but very impressive too.
Medium-pale colour – surprisingly pale considering it contains (lots of) Grand Cru juice. The nose is fantasticly penetrating and floral, eventually turning very smoky from a high percentage of stems. The palate is lithe and athletic, perhaps a little thin for the forward acidity. I really expected more intensity given the provenance of this wine. A fantastic nose, in the end it really reminded me of Dujac’s ‘95 Clos de la Roche, but for this bottle the palate has a lot of catching up to do. The nose compelled me to buy a couple of bottles but I’m still not convinced of the value.
Medium colour. A smokey and wide though less intense nose than the Bourgogne; it does deepen with time and shows real (if understated) complexity. Versus the Bourgogne there is a perceptible extra density and length, the acidity is more fully covered. There is just a hint of bitterness though no astringency to the tannin. Long, long, long. It is a seriously interesting and complex wine but I find it hard to reconcile that it should contain Richebourg and Romanée St.Vivant – at least Leroy’s! There is some value here I think, though like the Bourgogne, it is the aromatics that excel today.
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