Henri Gouges is Vincent Ledy's Spirit Animal - Two Absolutely Stunning Red Burgundies Among the Best Values Year In and Year Out

After tasting multiple winemakers making wine from every region, you get a sense of what you think

is possible from a particular region.  And then once or twice in a decade, a winemaker comes along that blows through what you thought was possible.  A winemaker that makes miraculous wines from less vaunted terroir.  I told you all that Ledy was making stunning wines in Savigny and that if he ever got some better terroir, watch out. He did acquire a small slice of 1er Cru NSG "Clos des Porrets" in '12 and has made three vintages now and while even the 12 is young, those who have drunk it can see that Ledy is one of the best winemakers in all of Burgundy. He really is 100% focused on making wine and lives in the vineyard pretty much every day where there is work he can possibly do - it shows.  That's why his wines all taste like a class or two above what they are.

Ledy's wines are deep, all of them from Bourgogne Rouge to the NSG 1er Cru, have this wonderful earthy sweet fruit and also have imposing structures that make me think these might be some of the longest aging burgs in my book. I can open them at my apartment on a Monday night and they will be coming into their own by Thursday or Friday. And they will thrill at all times in between. I live for these wines. They all punch above their weight and will age for the long haul in each of their respective appellations.

Up first is the 2013 Vincent Ledy Hautes Cotes de Nuits Rouge for as little as $28.99 on a 4-pack. I just tasted this last month and this is some very serious wine. I see it easily aging 10-12 years. No problem.   Dark blackberry and black cherries are the first sniff. It really wafts and emanates from the glass. The palate has tiny, delicious and concentrated black fruits with some vivid red fruits in there as well. This is ridiculously dense for the appellation and has nice grippy and earthy tannins. Love how Vincent's talent as a winemaker is emerging as his tannin quality keeps on getting better and better. Just an outrageous QPR. This punches way way above its weight class. There is incredible palate presence and fruit here along with some serious structure. Just terrific. This could be a Vosne-Romanee village wine and no one would be the wiser.

Up next is the 2013 Vincent Ledy Savigny Les Beaune for as little as $33.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Through 3 tiers, this wine would cost $50 and it would be well worth it - it's best in class. Ledy's Savigny has a gorgeous nose of stoney, mineral dark berry fruits; beautiful aromas that have serious gusto.  Big, and I mean big palate, that needs 2-3 hours to aerate, but once it does you have a wine that is like, "What if Henri Gouges made Savigny Les Beaune?" It is incredibly muscular and dense with extraordinary body and intensity. The balance of all the parts is something to behold. This is exquisite wine with some serious raw power. The concentration, raw power, just this short of sweet earthy fruit and a haunting confectionary quality make this an astonishing wine. Buy as much as you can as it won't be enough. This is very limited as yields were extremely tiny due to hail and I have the last 70 bottles.

I love Vincent Ledy the person and I love his wines just as much. I cannot think of a more authentic person. He is so earnest and such a brilliant winemaker.  Vincent just released his terrific 13's, and if he had it his way he'd be releasing the 2010's now as he so wants his clients to drink the wines when they are ready to go. His wines are deep, all of them from Bourgogne Rouge to the NSG 1er Cru, and have this wonderful earthy sweet fruit and also have imposing structures that make me think these might be some of the longest aging burgs in my book. I can open them at my apartment on a Monday night and they will be coming into their own by Thursday or Friday. And they will thrill at all times in between. I live for these wines.

He is very welcoming to visitors in his cellar in Nuits St. Georges and if anybody is going let me know and I can put you in touch with Vincent. The truth will get out eventually. He gets every last ounce of terroir out of those parcels and you have simply, some of the most expressive wines I have ever tasted. He uses no new oak and he is obsessive about where he sources his old barrels from and they must be clean to avoid imparting off flavors. Also because there is no new oak to cover up mistakes (think lipstick on a pig) he has to make great wine or he will be exposed.

If there is a producer that he reminds me of it is Henri Gouges. Yes I said it. The wines are deep, dense, dark and thick like Gouges. The fruit fills your mouth in totality. Every salivary gland is used. And they are so delicious. You would think I'm talking about Vosne, Chambolle or Gevrey at this point but no.

Is he crazy?

Maybe.

But he's also a genius and is making wines like no one else in Burgundy.  These wines are great and ridiculous values, otherwise I wouldn't sell them.  But they are also some of the most interesting wines I've tasted this year and must buys for lovers of Burgundy.

Vincent Ledy is the definition of a small producer. We visited him in Nuits St Georges and getting around his cellar you had to be almost a trained acrobat or at least very skinny as there was almost no room. Climbing on barrels, spitting on people's shoes were the least of it. The wines. Oh these wines. They are STUNNING. They are exceptional wines of terroir as Mr. Ledy uses no new oak. He believes oak obfuscates the terroir imprint that he is trying to get. He also does not want oak tannins as he wants the pure tannins from the terroir and grapes. His barrels are also clean as a whistle as he gets them from the old Domaine he used to work at. He started with no new oak because he could not afford it but after a bit it became a conscious decision. The barrels in his cellar see minimum four different wines before Vincent uses them. After tasting his brilliant wines there are no two ways around it. The wines are so full of fruit it is ridiculous and the site character is just astonishing. There might be something to this no new oak thing.

I was BUTT freezing in his cellar as it was and will always be the coldest cellar I have ever tasted in. I mean brick diesel freezing like you could not believe. But, this is what I do and I loved every minute of it. The wines were astonishing and Vincent Ledy is a rising star. They almost remind me of the brilliant Burgundies of Catherine & Claude Marechal. Full of the most puppy-like friendly fruit you can imagine, although Vincent's is of the darker kind, while Marechal is the redder kind, but both have a lovely intensity and friendliness that, in my experience is unique to these two producers.

2013 Vincent Ledy Hautes Cotes de Nuits Rouge - $31.99 

($115.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)

2013 Vincent Ledy Savigny-Les-Beaune - $36.99 ($139.96 4-pack) 

(VERY LIMITED)