Domaine Leroy

Maison Leroy was created in 1868 by François Leroy and developed by his son Joseph and grandson Henri, who took charge in 1919. In 1942, when Jacques Chambon decided to sell his half of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Henri Leroy bought it. Henri's daughter Marcelle, known as Lalou, was born in Paris in 1932, and in 1955, at the age of 23, he gave her control of the négociant business. In 1974 she was named co-director of DRC upon her father's retirement, working alongside Aubert de Villaine. In 1988 she purchased Domaine Charles Noëllat in Vosne-Romanée, a 12-hectare estate, and Domaine Philippe Rémy in Gevrey-Chambertin with the backing of Japanese partners, combining the vineyards to form the nucleus of Domaine Leroy. She converted the entire domaine to biodynamics in 1988. In 1992 she left her role as co-director of DRC. In the summer of 1993 mildew spread rapidly through Burgundy; unwilling to use fungicides, Bize-Leroy lost much of her crop. The Leroy family still owns a 50% stake in DRC.

• 1868: Maison Leroy created by François Leroy; Henri Leroy took charge in 1919.
• 1942: Henri Leroy bought the half of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti that Jacques Chambon was selling.
• 1955: Lalou Bize-Leroy, aged 23, given control of Maison Leroy; 1974 to 1992: co-director of DRC.
• 1988: Domaine Charles Noëllat and Domaine Philippe Rémy purchased to form the nucleus of Domaine Leroy, converted to biodynamics the same year.

Lalou Bize-Leroy is the proprietor of Domaine Leroy. She also founded Domaine d'Auvenay, which she owns outright; d'Auvenay is the home in the hills above St-Romain that she shared with her husband Marcel Bize (1924-2004) and where she still lives. Gilles Desprez is her sales manager at Domaine Leroy. Her daughter Perrine Fenal (b. 1963) was the DRC's exclusive importer and distributor in the French-speaking part of Switzerland from 1992 to 2004; in 2004 she replaced her aunt Pauline Roch on the DRC supervisory board. The DRC shareholders' meeting of January 23, 2019 nominated her co-director of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, representing the Leroy family alongside Aubert de Villaine.

• Proprietor: Lalou Bize-Leroy, who also owns Domaine d'Auvenay outright.
• Sales manager at Domaine Leroy: Gilles Desprez.
• Perrine Fenal (b. 1963), Lalou Bize-Leroy's daughter: DRC co-director since January 2019.

Lalou Bize-Leroy put the estate in 2026 at 22 hectares, 19 ares and 85 centiares. The village-level holdings are Auxey-Duresses Les Lavières (white) and, in red, Pommard Les Trois Follots and Les Vignots, Nuits-Saint-Georges Au Bas de Combe, Aux Allots and Aux Lavières, Vosne-Romanée Aux Genevrières, Chambolle Les Fremières and Gevrey-Chambertin. The premiers crus, all red, are Volnay Santenots du Milieu, Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Narbantons, Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Vignerondes and Aux Boudots, Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées and Les Beaux Monts, Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes and Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes. The nine grands crus are Corton-Charlemagne (white) and, in red, Corton Renardes, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot, Musigny, Clos de la Roche, Latricières Chambertin and Chambertin. Richebourg, in Vosne-Romanée, covers just over 8 hectares, almost half owned by DRC; Leroy has the second-largest holding, with 0.78 hectares.

• 22 hectares, 19 ares and 85 centiares (2026).
• Eight red premiers crus across Volnay, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin.
• Nine grands crus, from Corton-Charlemagne and Corton Renardes to Musigny and Chambertin.
• Richebourg: 0.78 hectares, the second-largest holding in the grand cru.

From the beginning the vineyards have been cultivated organically and biodynamically, and the 1988 conversion to biodynamics was among the first in Burgundy. Among other treatments, the vines receive herbal teas and plant decoctions tailored to the season, weather and temperature. Bottling is done on biodynamic 'fruit days', when the moon is passing through the fire constellations of Aries, Sagittarius and Leo. When necessary, vines are replanted one by one using massal selection rather than replanting an entire block, a technique called repiquage, which preserves the older vines. The domaine led the way in introducing tressage to Burgundy: the vines are not hedged, and the vine tips are folded back over themselves; once the shoots are set, the canopy is not trimmed. Yields are controlled through strict pruning, with canes pruned to three or four buds; even in an optimal year this gives only 15-16 hl/ha, dipping to 10 hl/ha or less under problematic conditions.

• Organic and biodynamic cultivation from the beginning; biodynamic conversion in 1988.
• Herbal teas and plant decoctions; bottling on biodynamic fruit days.
• Repiquage: vines replanted one by one by massal selection.
• Tressage: vine tips folded back rather than hedged; the canopy is not trimmed.
• Yields of 15-16 hl/ha in an optimal year, 10 hl/ha or less in problematic ones.

After sorting at the end of the Pinot Noir harvest, the central stem (rachis) is removed with scissors, and the bunches are either left whole, re-shaped with scissors, or snipped and sorted berry by berry. The grapes are left whole to preserve the yeast and other microflora on their skins, and are gently trodden by foot as needed to release the juice. Chardonnay clusters are also kept whole until they are pressed in a pneumatic press. After a gentle fermentation in wood, the wines are racked by gravity into lightly toasted oak barrels from François Frères, made from wood air-dried for three years. The grands crus are aged in new oak for 18 months, with just a single racking, and the wines are bottled without filtration or fining.

• Rachis removed with scissors; bunches left whole, re-shaped, or sorted berry by berry.
• Whole grapes, trodden by foot as needed; Chardonnay pressed whole in a pneumatic press.
• Fermentation in wood; racking by gravity into François Frères barrels.
• Grands crus: 18 months in new oak, a single racking; bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Lalou Bize-Leroy received Decanter's Hall of Fame award for 2026. Wine Spectator wrote in 2016 that Domaine Leroy's wines, 'though difficult to find and expensive, are now considered benchmarks for Burgundy.' Decanter's Stephen Brook wrote in 2019 that 'the quality of her wines places the domaine among the very greatest properties in Burgundy,' and Decanter named the Richebourg 1999 a Wine Legend.

• Decanter Hall of Fame 2026: Lalou Bize-Leroy.
• Decanter Wine Legend: Domaine Leroy Richebourg 1999.

Tasting a vertical of mostly grands crus at the domaine in 2009, Decanter's Stephen Brook called them 'sumptuous wines, rich and velvety, and often very high in alcohol,' adding that 'the Leroy wines seem to have a more self-conscious weight of fruit, without showing any traces of heaviness.' Lalou Bize-Leroy's own aim, in her words: 'I am not making wine for myself, but to transmit to the future.'

No producer website could be authenticated for Domaine Leroy, so this article rests on independent press. Sources: Decanter (Charles Curtis MW, 2 October 2026, https://www.decanter.com/wine/lalou-bize-leroy-decanter-hall-of-fame-2026/; 2 October 2026, https://www.decanter.com/wine/decanter-hall-of-fame-and-rising-star-2026-winners-revealed/; Stephen Brook, 4 August 2019, https://www.decanter.com/learn/wine-legend-domaine-leroy-richebourg-1999-421343/; Stephen Brook, 2 July 2009, https://www.decanter.com/premium/lalou-bize-leroy-burgundys-grande-dame-246673/), Wine Spectator (https://www.winespectator.com/anniversary/leaders/id/lalou-bize-leroy; 7 February 2019, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/drc-appoints-new-co-director) and Burgundy Report (1 February 2019, https://www.burgundy-report.com/2019/02/changes-at-domaine-de-la-romanee-conti/). Last verified 2026-10-14.