2006 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru
By Domaine Leroy
2006 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru from Domaine Leroy, Burgundy
With each vintage, there unfolds a unique narrative for the discerning collector and the 2006 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru from Domaine Leroy masterfully tells its tales of subtlety and strength. The year was one of contrasts and challenges in Burgundy, yet under the stewardship of Lalou Bize-Leroy, these obstacles transmuted into an expression of wine that seduces both the palate and the investor's acumen.
A Testament to Terroir and Tenacity
The challenging conditions of 2006 in Burgundy necessitated a tenacious approach to viticulture. The resulting yield from Domaine Leroy's choicest plots gifted us with a Grand Cru that resonates with finesse and complexity. A vivid testament to the domain's uncompromised standards and the unyielding potential of its terroir.
Intimate Appraisal of a Luminous Vintage
The Romanee-Saint-Vivant vineyard, known for its noble pedigree within the Vosne-Romanée appellation, has in 2006 endowed us with a wine of profound intimacy — a reflection of its precise cultivation. The palate is graced with an elegant ensemble of ripe red berries interwoven with echoes of earth and exquisitely fine tannins resulting from an impeccable harvest.
As we assess this vintage, it is not merely the robust notes of cherry and a hint of violet that captivate but also the underlying structure promising longevity. This intriguing combination rightly positions the 2006 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru as a judicious investment for connoisseurs seeking to diversify their portfolios with a wine that will continue to evolve with grace.
In Summary: Potential Encapsulated in a Bottle
An investor cleverly seeking diversification within their fine wine portfolio would find a worthy candidate in the 2006 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru from Domaine Leroy. The epitome of Burgundian complexity, refined by climatic adversity and rendered into a work of liquid artistry by Lalou Bize-Leroy's deft hand, it signifies promise — both within the glass and as an asset bound to appreciate. Let this bottle lie undisturbed in your cellar; time will only embolden its intrinsic splendour while garnering potential value amidst the circles that discern noble vintages.
Market price (HKD)
HK$798,100.00
12x75cl
Highest score
96
POP score
5218.13
Scores and tasting notes
Bize-Leroy's 2006 Romanee-St.-Vivant Leroy smells alluringly of fresh strawberry and cherry along with their spirituous stand-ins. Suggestions of quince and honey along with lily perfume give the aromas an exotically, almost white wine dimension. On the palate this is liquid floral perfume and silk along with the essence of red fruits and hints of nut oils. But the dark, decadent suggestions of humus, peat, game, and otherwise ineffable mineral notes one anticipates from the best exemplars of the site are hauntingly present as well. This epitomizes the refinement and buoyancy of which its vintage is capable, finishing with cycloramic scope and symphonic length. The results achieved by Lalou Bize-Leroy in 2006 are all the more notable in view of the misgivings she expressed early on about this vintage. (And, as her reaction to 2004 demonstrates, she will not shy away from declassifying even her entire production if she feels that the wines are not up to their terroir pedigrees.) As voluptuously rich as are Bize-Leroy's 2006 reds, they preserve the sense of buoyancy and elegance common to so many of the standouts of this vintage, and one's gums will not come away fatigued by the strength of underlying tannin or the near-hyper-concentration displayed by her – to be sure awesome – 2005s. As every year, these wines represent meticulous vine manicure; miniscule yields ("above all regulated by severe pruning, not triage," Bize-Leroy emphasizes); and fidelity to biodynamic methods and metaphysics; and were bottled in the second December following the harvest. Despite their winsomeness, they have long life expectancies. Since, however, I have very little experience of their predecessors as they have matured, I have confined my prognostication to a few isolated and very general comments in the tasting notes that follow. Note that I have included as well under the heading "Leroy" the wines of Madame Bize-Leroy's Domaine d'Auvenay – its cellars located outside Saint-Romain – which now encompass two appellations in red, since inevitably when information is being sought about these wines, and even often when they are described, it is under the name "Leroy." Importer: Martine’s Wines. Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-040
David Schildknecht - The Wine Advocate, 21 December 2009