2012 Chambolle Les Fremieres
By Domaine Leroy
2012 Chambolle Les Fremières from Domaine Leroy, Burgundy, France
In the constellation of Burgundian stars, the meteoric 2012 Chambolle Les Fremières from Domaine Leroy shines with particular brilliance. This vintage resonates with the tenacity of its growing season – a narrative of Burgundy's resilience in the face of challenging climatic hurdles. Domaine Leroy's meticulous custodianship translating this resilience into a wine of profound complexity and grace.
A Vintage Distinction
The year 2012 was marked by vicissitudes that tested the very sinews of Burgundy's vineyards. Frost in winter, a wet spring followed by a tempestuous summer culminated in reduced yields; yet what transpired as a result was a vintage acclaimed for concentrated flavours. The meticulous nurturance provided by Lalou Bize-Leroy led to an exquisitely balanced Chambolle Les Fremières – an epitome of the particularities that rendered 2012 unique.
Precise Provenance, Peerless Presentation
This specific terroir, nestled in the heart of Chambolle-Musigny, imparted upon the 2012 Chambolle Les Fremières an ethereal finesse. The wine unfurls with a bouquet rich in dark cherry and violet with an undercurrent of earthy minerality. On the palate, one is immediately enthralled by its elegant structure, with poised tannins interlacing a vivid core of berry fruit and refined spice; an homage to its artisanal heritage.
The mastery in vinification, renowned to Domaine Leroy, is clear; allowing each bottle of 2012 Chambolle Les Fremières to encapsulate not just the characterful essence of its vintage but also the domain's unerring fidelity to quality. An age-worthy acquisition, it remains an astute addition for any fine wine investor seeking representation from an illustrious year.
Investment in Measure and Pleasure
The confluence of intricate subtleties and robust vitality renders the 2012 Chambolle Les Fremières a striking candidate for both oenophiles and investors. It presents a dual prospect: destined to evolve gloriously within the cellar and certain to embellish portfolios with its scarcity and revered provenance. To sip on this elixir is not merely to taste wine but to partake in Burgundian history; each glass a toast to perseverance through adversity distilled into liquid elegance.
Current market price
N/A
12x75cl
Highest score
94
POP score
N/A
Scores and tasting notes
The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fremieres contains a mixture of red and black fruit on the nose, that mineralite surfacing with several swirls of the glass. The palate is very pure, almost viscous on the entry with a huge amount of concentration. Blueberry and raspberry jam on the entry segue into mulberry and even fresh prune. It displays divine concentration on the elegant, refined finish. Bon vin! Lalou Bize-Leroy’s domaine wines are not the easiest to procure, but given that in 2012 the average rendement was a paltry 9hl/ha then I am envisaging a few lively “discussions” on the touchy subject of allocations. Lalou, suffering the sniffles when I visited but as energetic as always, was ecstatic about her 2012s, regaling them for their mineralite and terroir expression. She started picking on 17 September, a little earlier than others, and told me that the malo-lactics were a little tardier than usual because of the fresh acidity levels. Certainly some of the samples demonstrated a lot of reduction, more than Lalou was care to admit, but peering through them, there really were some quite astonishing wines in her midst. I speculate that the better Lalou’s wines, the more excited her two dogs behave during the tasting, and our two hour degustation was interspersed by manic tail wagging, the occasion tussle and one growling stand-off at the precise moment I had her magisterial Musigny in my glass. The journey through the grand crus was exhilarating, each suffused with untrammeled energy and tension, more expressive of their terroirs than the 2011s that I tasted back in July. There is a part of me that wants to by cynical given the stratospheric prices demanded, as if to say to Lalou: “Prove it.” And that’s the thing – they go ahead and prove that these are some of the finest Pinot Noirs produced on Earth. Readers should not that Lalou invited me to taste her 2012s either from barrel or later in bottle, whichever I prefer but not both due to miniscule quantities that are often just a single barrel, a position I completely respect and support. I would have chose the latter if I was being selfish, but the former to offer some guidance and some juxtaposition with other vignerons. Also, I did not taste the wines from Domaine d’Auvenay simply because the quantities are so depleted in 2012. Importer: Martine’s Wines. Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-040 and through Justerini & Brooks (UK)
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate, 29 December 2013