2007 Vosne les Genaivrieres
By Domaine Leroy
2007 Vosne les Genaivrieres from Domaine Leroy, Burgundy, France
Gazing into the glass, the 2007 Vosne les Genaivrieres from Domaine Leroy is like beholding the liquid tapestry of Burgundy's storied past. In the esteemed realm of fine wine investment, this vintage stands as a testament to the precision and elegance that Burgundy can achieve, even in years that posed a challenge to many vintners.
A Vintage Reflecting Mastery
In Burgundy, 2007 was a year marked by an early start and a race against time to harvest before the autumn rains. This urgency has not gone unnoticed in the bottle; it translated into an intricate dance of structure and balance. The nerve and vigor in this wine are courtesy of a growing season that pushed the vines and their stewards to their limits. The resulting concentration ignites the palate with red and dark fruits layered seemingly endlessly with spice and earth—a hallmark of Vosne-Romanée terroir.
The deft hand of Lalou Bize-Leroy ensured that this nuanced vintage avoided the pitfalls of its challenging growing conditions. The wine reveals a juxtaposition of ripe aromatics and vibrant acidity not commonly seen in tandem—a feat that underscores Domaine Leroy's esteemed status amongst Burgundy aficionados.
An Investment Worthy of Contemplation
With fourteen years of maturity, the wine now radiates maturity while hinting at potential longevity yet to reveal fully its subtle depths. Wine investors would be wise to regard the 2007 Vosne les Genaivrieres from Domaine Leroy as a particularly astute addition to any portfolio. It epitomizes how even in vintages not hailed as legendary at onset, world-class winemaking can triumph, providing singular, captivating experiences for those patient enough to invest and indulge.
In sum, this vintage is an articulate narrative of both Domaine Leroy's reverence for tradition and the unpredictable temperament of nature—which only deepens its mystique and allure in the tapestry that is Burgundy's winemaking history.
Market price (HKD)
HK$301,110.00
12x75cl
Highest score
92
POP score
2625
Scores and tasting notes
The Leroy 2007 Vosne-Romanee Aux Genaivrieres is scented with red raspberry, rose hip, citrus oils, and discreet perfume of narcissus and faded lily. Refined and subtly creamy in texture, yet bright, and subtly decadent in its floral and forest floor intimations; this brings to bear a mouth-watering saline savor in a buoyant, billowing finish. Look for at least 12-15 years of pleasure from these fruits of Domaine Leroy’s “home” vineyard. The results Lalou Bize-Leroy achieved in 2006 – as I wrote in my previous red Burgundy report – were especially notable considering the misgivings she expressed early on about that vintage. She appeared more enthusiastic early on about 2007, but in this instance it’s far from merely notable – frankly, it’s utterly improbable – the richness and complexity that the Leroy team has achieved, especially considering that harvesting began here already on August 27! This collection is quite distinctive even from the very few others of its vintage that come even remotely close in quality. These 2007s display a sense of effortless effusiveness, primary juiciness, and – I don’t know how to put this less nebulously – elegance and in the best instances transparency, contrasting with the impressions of tumescent ripeness, coagulation, and new wood veneer that in some vintages accompany the profound richness of Leroy reds. As usual, the wines were all bottled in December, which at least in this vintage seems less difficult to reconcile with their exceptional quality than it does in vintages like 2005 or 2008, when so many of the other top practitioners of red Burgundy emphasize the need for longer elevage. Extremely low yields are of course also a common denominator among Bize-Leroy’s collections, although in the challenging 2007 vintage, she had somewhat more company than usual among fellow-vignerons in the roughly 20 hectoliter-per-hectare range. (And that was bounteous compared with the 13 hectoliters per hectare Bize-Leroy reports having managed in 2008, a vintage from which she did not want to show her bottled wines until June of this year, so that I shall publish notes on them in my follow-up to the present report.) Importer: Martine’s Wines. Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400
David Schildknecht - The Wine Advocate, 28 June 2010