Terroir Insight: Domaine Leroy Musigny

While the Musigny from Domaine Leroy is very rare and elusive it’s somehow a bit under the collectors radar – as the Musignys from de Vogüé and Mugnier are much more visible in the marketplace.

Make no mistake however … the Musigny from Mme Bize-Leroy is just as exclusive as the other offerings from this fine Domaine.

So let’s take a closer look at the vineyards behind this wine.

The Domaine Leroy plots on Musigny

Domaine Leroy owns 4 plots of Musigny … two plots in the central part of Les Musigny, and 2 plots in the lower northern part of Les Musigny – see map below.

The history of these plots is a bit complex, as they were acquired separately. Whereas the northern plot has been in under Leroy ownership from before Domaine Leroy was established in 1988, the southern plots in the central part of Les Musigny were acquired in 1990 after the formation of the Domaine.

The southern plots

Domaine Leroy owns two plots in middle of Les Musigny – cadastre no 29 (0.0495 ha) and 30 (0.1405 ha). The plots are located in the middle of the de Vogüé holdings, and they originate from Domaine Moine Hudelot.

The Domaine Leroy plots are marked no 4 on the map below – click here for the full Musigny ownership overview.

The southern plots were acquired from the Moine-Hudelot family in 1990, as the family wanted to sell the plots, and Daniel Moine – the former mayor of Chambolle-Musigny – was not able to match the price offered by Domaine Leroy, and the plots therefore were sold off to Mme Bize-Leroy.

Domaine Moine-Hudelot kept one plot of Musigny – cadastre 27. This plot was later sold to Drouhin-Laroze, and is located just south of the two plots owned by Domaine Leroy.

The early history of the southern plots

Looking further back it seems like the Moine-Hudelot plots were owned by Léonce Bocquet of Savigny according to an old map from 1890 – see map below. The source of this map is currently unknown, but it can be seen in better condition and resolution on Bill Nanson’s Burgundy Report.

In Danguy & Aubertin³ a Léonce Bocquet is also mentioned as one of the owners of Musigny, so this seem to correspond well with the map from 1890. Léonce Bocquet was according to the 1890 map the second largest owner of Musigny at that time with more than 1.1 ha. I have seen some vintages of Léonce Bocquet Musigny in tasting notes that indicate that Léonce Bocquet could have owned a part of Musigny in the 1930s.