2021 Benjamin Leroux Volnay

Such a pretty wine, perfumed and aromatic. The tannins are gentle and carefully enveloped in the voluptuous texture. Quite delicious. There’s no denying that Leroux is a master of this village, and once again this is a terrific release.

Natural cork. There is no La Gigotte this year, so the 2021 blend was drawn from younger vines in the 1er Cru Mitans, along with Les Grands Poisots, a village lieu-dit that borders Pommard. There was just a pinch of whole bunch this year, with Leroux again picking out the best-looking bunches at the sorting table. 

Benjamin Leroux is widely considered to be one of the most gifted and knowledgeable wine growers in all the Côte d’Or. Born and bred in Beaune, Leroux has always been considered a prodigy, studying at the Lycée Viticole in Beaune from age 15 and taking the reins at the esteemed Domaine Comte Armand when he was just 24. Leroux would stay at Comte Armand for fifteen vintages, while simultaneously launching his eponymous négociant operation in 2007.

In 2014 Leroux left Comte Armand—in great shape, we might add—to concentrate on his young venture. The first stage of his evolution allowed him to establish the winery (in the old Jaboulet-Vercherre premises off the Beaune périphérique) and refine his ideas and understanding of the terroirs with which he wanted to work. The way Leroux structured this side of his business was highly innovative. His aim was to create the same quality standards of the finest domaines, despite not owning most of the vineyards. He has long-term relationships with the growers he works with, some of which he pays by land area rather than the quantity of fruit harvested. This allows him to dictate lower yields, ripeness, date of harvest, and so on. He only works with high-quality growers who plough or do not use herbicides or pesticides. Most are organic or biodynamic. For those that are not, there is an understanding that they will move to organics over five years.

Leroux’s knowledge of the Côte is encyclopaedic, and he has unearthed some very exciting, previously less well-known terroirs for his portfolio. It’s important not to underestimate how close Leroux works with these growers, as that is one of the keys to his ability to coax the finest fruit quality from the vineyards. He never buys juice or finished wine, only fruit; he nominates the harvest dates and will pick himself if necessary.

“He certainly has the gift of touch that seems to elevate everything from village crus to grand crus.” Neal Martin, Vinous

In tandem with his excelling négociant business, Leroux has quietly been building up his family’s impressive domaine holdings, which now run to eight hectares. Though he worked these vineyards organically and biodynamically from the beginning, it took him several years to apply for organic certification, which came in 2016. Ben’s first vineyard purchase was a 0.16-hectare slice of Batard-Montrachet in 2009, though most of Leroux’s white vineyards lie in Meursault and include crown jewel parcels in Genevrières-Dessus and Charmes-Dessus. For the reds he farms his beloved Blagny 1er Cru La Pièce Sous le Bois, in Volnay Santenots and there are a number of small parcels in Vosne-Romanée.

In terms of winemaking, this has been one of the most dynamic cellars on the Côte for fifteen years. Leroux works with some 50 appellations, and every wine has its own bespoke treatment according to the conditions of each vintage. This makes it difficult—and sometimes misleading—to generalise about the winemaking. We can say that the cellar is using more and more 600-litre, 1200-litre, and even larger casks for the whites; and more 450-litre to 600-litre barrels for the reds. It is also becoming moot to talk of new oak, of which so little is now used (especially for the whites). Likewise, to generalise about Leroux’s winemaking decisions, such as using whole bunches, is like trying to hit a moving target: in any given year, Leroux works with between 0% and 90%! Since 2018, Leroux has used a cold room to preserve bunches overnight, at under 13°C, resulting in a cool, slow start to fermentation.

Every year this thoughtful and precise grower keeps hitting a higher bar, continually adapting to each vintage and the ever-changing climate. He remains one of the most talented and learned winegrowers in Burgundy, and although he can release as many as fifty different wines in any given year, they are all at an astonishingly high standard. Indeed, don’t be misled by the number of wines he offers. His smallest parcel is 0.06 hectares, and many of his sites are not much bigger: most wines are produced in the one-to-five-barrel range.