Maison Leroy Offers Leroy Investments At Spot Price

At Narbantons, one of the absolute best winemakers in history, Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy taps two different wines. One with Domaine Leroy on the label, the other with Maison Leroy. The only difference is whether Bize-Leroy owns the parcel on which the grapes are grown. The price of Maison Leroy is almost a tenth of the price of Domaine Leroy, but the potential is huge. In other words, we are talking about Maison Leroy's 2015 Narbantons Premier Cru.

Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy - Queen of Burgundy

Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy is widely known as the Queen of Burgundy and her qualities are not questioned - she is behind some of the most legendary Burgundy wines. Today Madame Bize-Leroy runs several domains, all with the same overall purpose: To produce excellent wines of high quality.

Lalou Bize-Leroy has been a pioneer of biodynamics throughout Burgundy and is still considered the best in the profession. The yield on her vineyards is usually much lower than her neighbours' and the prices are correspondingly high. When Leroy writes her name on a label, it is simply the quality stamp for the highly picky Burgundy lovers.

Leroy's Three Main Pillars

Today Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy runs three companies, all of which produce wine in the Fine & Rare segment.

Maison Leroy is a classic negociant, which is a "merchant" buying grapes from other producers/landowners and then produces and bottles wine under its own name. Here Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy manages things with a strong hand and only the best grapes are bought. Most wines are made from grapes from parcels of land where Bize-Leroy and her staff maintain the vines throughout the season. In this way, Leroy ensures grapes that meet the strict quality requirements. Maison Leroy is the Leroy family's own company, and Madame Bize-Leroy began here, when she was still working as director of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.

Domaine Leroy was created in 1988, when Madame Bize-Leroy had problems buying enough grapes for Maison Leroy. The acquisition of Domaine George Noellat led to the domain's first own vineyards, which have since been expanded through further acquisitions. Today, Domaine Leroy owns around 23 hectares of vineyards at some of the best addresses, including parcels on the legendary Musigny, where Domaine Leroy stands behind the world's most expensive wine in regular production.^*

Domaine d'Auvenay is situated in the hills behind the golden slope of Saint-Romain, and it is here Madame Bize-Leroy lives herself. Here Leroy also runs a domain according to biodynamic regulations. In total, the domain has about 4 hectares - in other words a microscopic production.

In all three organisations the biodynamic rules are core values and one of the main reasons why wines are considered as reference points in each of their segments. At the same time, the production only gives small quantities - something which is particularly relevant in the context of increasing demand.

*Domaine Leroys Musigny and Domaine de la Romanée-Contis Romanée-Conti are constantly battling being absolutely most expensive, depending on the vintage and the mood of the market.

Narbanton's Premier Cru - An Overlooked Treasure?

Narbantons is one of the most famous vineyards of Savigny-les-Beaune, just outside the regional capital of Beaune. The vineyard is situated on a beautiful hillside, directly next to the main road A2, just like many other classic vineyards in Burgundy. Here Domaine Leroy has a small parcel of 0.8 hectares, on which the probably most demanded wine from Savigny-les-Beaune is produced. In addition to Domaine Leroy's Narbantons, Bize-Leroy buys grapes from other parcels of land on the same vineyard from which Narbantons is produced under Maison Leroy. This wine is made with the same attention to detail and the same principles, but the price of the Maison Leroy version is a completely different story.

While a 2015 Maison Leroy Narbantons today only costs € 190^* per bottle, the Domaine Leroy Narbantons, from the same vintage and the same vineyard, costs more than € 1,700 per bottle. In terms of production costs and quality, it can be difficult to defend a 9x higher price when the premise is that both wines come from the same vineyard and Lalou Bize-Leroy is behind both wines. The difference in price is mainly due to the excellent quality and the great brand of Domaine Leroy, which has led to an enormous demand for the limited quantities. This has increased the price level and makes Maison Leroy's Narbantons look like a bargain today in a price range where even more wine lovers can and will play along. Moreover there is even less storage tradition for these wines, which makes the quantities of mature vintages even more limited - and who would not want to drink a mature wine from Bize-Leroy in the future?

* excl. customs, duties, and VAT, in whole cartons and in perfect condition

Rarewine Invest’s Opinion

Here you have the opportunity to invest in Leroy at a price that is far from the sky-high level at which the main domain operates, but which is produced under the same conditions and principles. Of course, there is a difference between Domaine Leroy or Maison Leroy's Narbantons, but there is certainly a difference in price!

The 2015 vintage is also one of the best Burgundy vintages of recent times and one of the greatest in the past 100 years. In other words, this is a vintage that you will remember in the future and to which wine lovers will return.

In addition, the hidden tradition of Maison Leroy wines is much more limited, as the price range allows for a high degree of buy-drink-and-forget mentality, which will contribute to high levels of consumption both now and in the future, which ultimately makes bottles even more attractive.

Add Maison Leroy from one of the greatest Burgundy vintages in history to your portfolio and secure a part of the heritage of one of the greatest Burgundy producers - Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy.