Benjamin Leroux – Beaune

Brimming with rich citrus fruits and excellent length at this level. Seamless and delicious.

Another well-crafted wine from young superstar Benjamin Leroux. Powerful and concentrated and a pure delight to drink.

An agreeably fresh nose features notes of white orchard fruit, herb and resin. There is an appealing mouth feel to the vibrant and punchy medium-bodied flavors that possess average depth and refinement though there is good persistence to the balanced finish. (86-89)/2014+

An exceptionally pretty nose of lemon zest, grapefruit, pear and floral nuances introduces attractively textured, sappy and vibrant middle weight flavors that terminate in a lightly mineral-inflected, balanced and solidly persistent, clean and dry finish. Again, there is not extraordinary depth but there appears to be the potential to develop it based on the quality of the underlying material. (88-90)/2015+

From declassified Santenay 1er Cru fruit, and superbly made. This is as good as Bourgogne gets!

Earthy & ripe, with dark berries and mouthfilling richness. A big Yum!

(Leroux indicated that there was 60% declassified 1er juice in the blend). A pretty and perfumed nose offers up notes of red berry fruit and dried floral nuances that give way to nicely rich yet well-detailed middle weight flavors that evidence a mineral hint on the solidly persistent, complex and balanced finish. The elevated presence of 1er juice clearly shows as this is an excellent villages. (89-91)/2016+

From my favorite village of the Côte de Nuits – elegance, finesse, and all the precision of 2010 in a beautiful package. Drink now or hold for 5-10+ years.

(mostly from Seuvrées and La Justice). A distinctly earthy and restrained nose of humus, underbrush, pungent Gevrey-style earth and cool wild red berry fruit aromas is followed by intense, pure and well-delineated flavors that are shaped by unusually fine-grained tannins and excellent length on the clean, dry and refreshing finish.    This is an excellent villages with a wonderful sense of energy. (89-91)/2017+

An intensely floral nose also features plenty of pungent earth to the otherwise perfumed red currant and plum suffused aromas. There is good density to the supple, round and relatively forward flavors that tighten up fast on the firm, intense and driving finish. This is blessed with plenty of mouth coating extract that does a good job of buffering the presently disguised tannic spine. This will also require plenty of cellar time. (91-93)/2022+

A ripe and faintly exotic nose speaks of yellow orchard fruit, mango and apricot aromas that give way to rich, generous and relatively concentrated middle weight flavors that possess good acid support on the balanced and acceptably long finish though again, there is limited complexity. 87/2013+

There is good richness though and plenty of punch to the noticeably finer middle weight flavors that possess good volume and an appealing touch of minerality on the solidly intense and lingering finish. This is also a lovely villages and worth a look. (89-91)/2014+

The 2009 Savigny-les-Beaune shows off lovely inner perfume in its crushed berries, flowers and minerals in a gracious, feminine style. It is a beauty at this level. This is a blend from three sites that encompass a range of exposures and soil types. Bottled in January 2011  89 – Antonio Galloni, WA

(about 20% of the blend is declassified 1er). A slightly more elegant nose of dark berry fruit and pungent Savigny-style earth where the latter component transfers to the rich, round and very supple middle weight flavors that are also already agreeable and while there is a trace of austerity on the finish, it should round out quickly. 87/2013+ Burghound