The Undiscovered Superstar of Burgundy: Vincent Ledy
- His 2015 Chorey Les Beaune "Les Beaumonts" was first place for 3 people over 2 different Corton Grand Crus and a Beaune 1er Cru in a Recent Tasting
- Only La Revue de Vin de France Has Reviewed Him (And Most Americans Have ever Heard of It)
2017 Vincent Ledy Chorey Les Beaune "Les Beaumonts"
- By Far the Best Chorey in Burgundy
- Gorgeous aromas: Raspberry Cake, Dank, Dark Cherries
- Earth, Animal, Spice and Loads of Complexity
- Complex and Fragrant Nose of Raspberry Coulis
- Palate: Ripe and so Juicy
- Stunning Precision and Dazzling Purity
- Bright Mid Season Cherries and Amazing Balance
- Concentrated and so, so Sappy with Amazing Purity
- Fantastic Balance and Purity
- Terrific Concentration and Power
2018 Vincent Ledy Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits "La Vacherotte Jeunes Vignes"
- Drinks like a Brilliant NSG Village Wine
- The Greatest Value from Ledy I've Ever Sold
- Drop Dead Nose
- Big, Ripe, Dense Cherry Skin and Macerated Mid Season Cherries
- So Detailed and Full of Fruit and Character
- An Insane Value and Should be Bought by the Case
- $21.99 on 12 bottle case
This email is going to be a rant. The first time I walked out of Vincent Ledy's cellar in Nuits St. Georges I said to him you're going to be a star. I had tasted the 2011's in bottle and the 2012's in barrel at that time and the stuff was all there. He had some of the best raw materials I had ever tasted in Burgundy. He is as passionate about wine as I am. He lives, breathes and thinks about wines, vineyards, rootstock, pruning, soil types, wind and whatever else one can think about wine, 24/7/365. But he has encountered a few problems along the way. Sometimes when the wines are brilliant, like Vincent's are, there are other factors, beyond his and my control that have not yet made him a star like I thought he'd be.
First of all he has a mish mosh of appellations that only the real adventurous and passionate Burgundy lover will gravitate towards. Each plot of land that has a name can be maxed out into something interesting and great. Obviously there are rankings and a hierarchy of quality in Burgundy. But as we know sometimes, in many cases, great winemakers will max out their appellations and make them so much better than they should be.
- The old Hautes Cotes de Beaune and Hautes Cotes de Nuits from Jayer-Gilles in the 90's.
- Michel Lafarge Bourgogne Rouge.
- Les Mons Helios Monthelie from Florent Garaudet.
All these wines bat much higher than the average for that appellations. Ledy does that with all his wines. He did get a 1er Cru Nuits St. Georges in 2013 and wisely split it into a young vines and old vines cuvee, his other appellations, Hautes Cotes de Nuits Rouge, Savigny Les Beaune and Chorey Les Beaune you'd think were just solid, like a .285 baseball hitter. But you'd be wrong. Every one of his wines that are from not the swanky zip codes is a .350 hitter.
Since that first visit, Vincent has only gotten better as a winemaker. He's a force to be reckoned with now. The wines are deep and powerful and take hours and days to unfurl but most of all need tears to truly express themselves. And when they do, watch out as the first wine today can compete with even Burgundy Grand Crus. A client emailed that he did a blind tasting with some friends of his and the 2015 Vincent Ledy Chorey Les Beaune "Les Beaumonts" was first place for 3 people over 2 different Corton Grand Crus and a Beaune 1er Cru. He emailed me about it as he could not believe it. He was obviously very happy and it's nice to have my .350 validations about Vincent Ledy confirmed. One other reason Vincent is not a superstar is because the only critic that has tasted his wine is La Revue de Vin de France which is a like a French Wine Spectator.
...but Jasper Morris, British Burgundy legendary critic just posted about a visit with him in
Burgundy and I was thrilled about it. He said he makes "promising powerful reds." And yes he does.
Up first I have by far the best Chorey-Le-Beaune in Burgundy. The Grand Cru beater. The 2017 Vincent Ledy Chorey Les Beaune "Les Beaumonts" for $36.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Terrific vintage for by far the best Chorey in Burgundy.
Gorgeous aromas of raspberry cake, dank dark cherries, some earth, some animal, spice and loads of complexity. Will open more with air and it did as I always spend so much time in Vincent's cellar. Complex and fragrant nose of raspberry coulis after 45 minutes with smoke, tin, leather, more smoke and minerals. So complex. Amazing raspberry cake. Stunning aroma.
Palate is ripe and so juicy with just stunning precision and dazzling purity. Big bright mid season cherries and amazing balance. Finish never ends. This is easily 1er Cru quality. Closed as Vincent's wines are super powerful and need time to unfurl but having said that in ripe vintages such as 18, 17 and 15 his wines shine like no other. Concentrated and so so sappy with amazing purity. Terrific inner mouth aromas that are floral and fruity with a fantastic mineral spine. Amazing texture and such impressive high quality ripe tannins. Clean as a whistle. This is so so impressive. The purity of the fruit on the finish. Stunning. After an hour of air the palate is ripe and sweet with slippery fruit but firm tannins on the back end. Long finish and great quality tannins but firm tannins. Really long and raspberry hits along the way. Fantastic balance and purity. Age is key for Ledy and I see this improving a lot over the next 10 years. Terrific concentration and power. Also shows great finesse despite being a big bodied wine.
Up next I have the 2018 Vincent Ledy Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits La Vacherotte Jeunes Vignes " for $22.99 a bottle on a 4-pack and special $21.99 Case Pricing! No tariff on this wine as it clocked in a littler over 14% and it is a stunning value. I tasted this out of barrel in Feb 2019 and was floored how insane it was. Vincent usually releases his wines late but due to tariffs and other nonsense he has adjusted. If it were normal times I'd be selling the 2016 but wait! We had discussed viaemail recently that he should split up his Haut Cote de Nuits bottlings into a young vines and an old vines cuvee as the young vines could be released earlier and the old vine cuvee can be a centerpiece wine of his non 1er Cru range. The 2018 is the first time he did it and the new "jeunes Vignes" cuvee is the greatest value of Ledy I've ever sold.
The wine is sick. Awesome. Vincent killed this wine and killed 18. Vaporized it. Big, ripe, dense cherry skin and macerated mid season cherries on the super aromatic Loads of earth and stoney minerals. Floral. This is a drop dead nose. So detailed and full of fruit and character. Has a stony NSG character for sure.
Palate is deep and so juicy. Toothsome with sweet cherry fruit that is vibrant and sour cherry as well. Amazing amplitude here on the mid palate and such refinement for the category. It drinks like a brilliant NSG village wine. This is truly unreal. Vincent is a genius. This will unfurl and get better as it ages as all Vincent's wines do. The concentration and purity of the fruit are astonishing. Long toothsome finish that keeps echoing fruit. Awesome. This is an insane value and should be bought by the case.
2017 Vincent Ledy Chorey Les Beaune "Les Beaumonts" - $38.99 ($147.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $3.94)
2018 Vincent Ledy Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits "La Vacherotte - Jeunes Vignes" - $24.99 ($91.96 4-pack, $263.88 12 Bottle Case {$21.99!})
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