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2005 Domaine Leroy Vosne Romanee Les Beaux Monts Premier Cru

Burgundy, FRANCE
$1650. 00
Bottle
$19800.00 Dozen
ABV: 13%
Closure: Cork
Other Reviews….

Producer note: Lalou Bize-Leroy calls 2005 an "excellent millésime in both colors. There is a harmony to this vintage that speaks of la grande classe and you can feel it in the quality of the tannins, which are refined and very ripe. The level of phenolic ripeness in this vintage is really something yet there is absolutely no sense of surmaturité or heaviness. Overall, including the Bourgogne, we brought in just under 20 hl/ha, which for us is a good yield. Sugars were excellent at between 13 and 13.5% as were the acidities and the post malo pHs were also terrific at around 3.4. Overall, the vintage really has no direct parallel but I suppose it reminds me somewhat of 1996 or perhaps 1999." In contrast to several recent vintages where the wines were bottled very early, Mme Bize told me that they would begin the bottling for the '05s at the end of November so I tasted them just before they were to be racked into 4 barrel groups for the mise.
The Leroy '05s are exceptional by any measure and several of the 1ers are simply incredible and while it's hard to call any wines that sell for the prices that these do bargains, if such a term can be applied to them then it applies to the best of these 1ers, in particular the Beaux Monts and Chambolle Charmes, which are quite simply mind bending. There is no additional review of the 2004s as they were reviewed from bottle in Issue 22. However, I wish to add that a number of subscribers who had tried them here in the US notified me that there was an extreme cloudiness to several of them. In this regard, I can report that I have had the range of Leroy '04s twice now and in neither case did I notice undue cloudiness or lack of commercially acceptable clarity. At the second tasting in November however I did notice that they had shut down substantially since February but again, there was no problem with clarity.

Tasting note: A step up in elegance and refinement with strikingly pure and airy ripe black fruit aromas redolent of the classic Asian spices that certainly can be found on the detailed, balanced and minerally flavors that are more refined and less robust than the Brulées yet the focus, harmony and transparency are truly stunning. This is reference standard quality and it's entirely possible that this will be the best Leroy Beaux Monts ever made. This is definitely one of those 'wow' wines. Highly recommended.
Tasted: Jan 01, 2007 Score: 93-96 Drink: 2017+.
Allen Meadows-Burghound issue #25