There are few wines in Burgundy as prestigious as the Grand Crus from Domaine Leroy – they are rare, expensive and often magnificently good.
As always the Grand Crus of Vosne are getting much of the attention .. and many speak very enthusiastically about the Romanee Saint-Vivant from Leroy as perhaps the most refined and delicate Grand Cru effort from this fine estate.
In honesty I have only tasted few Grand Crus from Domaine Leroy …. and most were from the early 1990s … so the current Romanee Saint-Vivant is a quite elusive and mythic wine for me as a great fan of the Romanee Saint-Vivant terroir.
Since I can’t drink it … I have to make do with researching the terroir .. so here we go to the northern part of Romanee Saint-Vivant.
Current ownership overview for Romanee Saint-Vivant
Let’s start by looking at the current ownership structure of Romanee Saint-Vivant – last changed in 2005 when Dujac (Wilfred Jaeger) acquired the plot from the Thomas Moillard estate.:
- Domaine de la Romanee Conti – 5,28 ha
- Leroy – 0,99 ha
- Louis Latour – 0,80 ha
- Jean-Jacques Confuron – 0,50 ha
- The Poisot Family – 0.50 ha
- Hudelot-Noellat – 0,48 ha
- Robert Arnoux – 0,35 ha
- de l’Arlot (owned by Axa) – 0.25 ha
- Sylvain Cathiard – 0,17 ha
- Domaine Dujac (Owned by Wilfred Jaeger) – 0,17 ha
For more info on the ownership and ownership history on Romanee Saint-Vivant read my full overview on this vineyard here
The Leroy plots on Romanee Saint-Vivant
Domaine Leroy owns 0.9929 ha and is the second largest owner of Romanee Saint-Vivant. The holdings include two cadastre plots located just south of the road between Les Suchots and Romanee Saint-Vivant.
Domaine Leroy acquired the plot in 1988 when Mme Lalou Bize-Leroy took over the rest of the old Charles Nöellat estate and founded the Domaine Leroy estate with vineyards and buildings from Domaine Charles Nöellat and a few years later added futher vineyards Domaine Philippe Rémy.
The foundation of this new Domaine was a big step for Mme Lalou Bize-Leroy … and this deal have had big impact on the Burgundian history since 1988.
The history of the Leroy plots on Romanee Saint-Vivant (1925 – 1988)
As mentioned above the Leroy plots on RSV originates from the Charles Nöellat deal in 1988. Charles Noellat originally owned 1.97 ha on Romanee Saint-Vivant – the current Leroy section, the Hudelot-Nöellat holdings and the Jean-Jacques Confuron section.
The section between the Leroy section and DRC holdings on the map above is shared by Hudelot-Nöellat and Confuron.
Charles Nöellat passed away in 1939, but the heirs held on to the vineyards and the Charles Nöellat domaine – including the holdings on Romanee Saint-Vivant.
The first part of the RSV holdings were passed on to Domanie Hudelot-Nöellat – not sure when though. Alain Hudelot married the granddaughter of Charles Nöellat, Odile Nöellat, and they received after some legal battle a 0.48 ha plot of Romanee Saint Vivant, located in the southern part of the Noellat section, next to the holdings of Domaine de la Romanee Conti.
The rest of the Charles Nöellat Romanee Saint-Vivant holdings remained intact until 1987/88 where the heirs sold of the most of the vineyards and the estate buildings to Leroy.
The middle part of the Nöellat section on Romanee Saint-Vivant, just north of the Hudelot-Nöellat plot was however passed on to J.J. Confuron. Jean-Jacques Confuron was married to Andee Nöellat, and when the Charles Nöellat estate was sold in 1988, Confuron got the 0.5 ha plot as part of heritage from the Nöellat estate.
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