Benjamin Leroux 2016: Premier Cru Grapes, Village Label, and a Very Serious Pinot Noir
Benjamin Leroux’s Nuits-Saint-Georges 2016 is not the kind of Burgundy that seduces you with an extravagant perfume and silky tannins. It has darker fruit, a firm structure and a slightly austere personality, with enough freshness to make its restraint interesting rather than merely severe.
The 2016 vintage is particularly intriguing. Frost devastated parts of Burgundy, reducing yields and forcing producers to reconsider their usual vineyard selections. Leroux responded by combining several parcels, including fruit normally reserved for more specific bottlings. The result is a village-level Pinot Noir with an unusually interesting composition.
Ten years after the harvest, the wine has developed a more mature character, although its underlying firmness remains part of the experience. This is Burgundy for drinkers who appreciate tension, savoury complexity and a little resistance from their Pinot Noir.
The Basics
- Producer: Benjamin Leroux
- Wine: Nuits-Saint-Georges
- Vintage: 2016
- Appellation: Nuits-Saint-Georges AOC
- Classification: Village
- Region: Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France
- Grape: 100% Pinot Noir
- Vineyards: Blend of several Nuits-Saint-Georges climats, including Saint-Jacques, Les Herbues, Les Fleurières, Les Allots and Premier Cru Aux Thorey in 2016
- Soils: Predominantly limestone and clay
- Viticulture: Sustainable vineyard management
- Fermentation: Indigenous yeasts, approximately 20% whole clusters
- Maceration: Approximately 15 days
- Ageing: 18 months in oak barrels, approximately 20% new
- Fining and filtration: Neither
- Alcohol: 13% ABV
- Bottle size: 750 ml
- Serving temperature: 15–16°C
Benjamin Leroux: The Winemaker Who Built His Reputation Without Inheriting a Famous Domaine
Burgundy is full of celebrated family names, inherited vineyards and estates whose reputations stretch back generations. Benjamin Leroux took a rather different route.
Born in Beaune in 1975, he did not grow up in a winemaking family. His parents ran a flower shop, and his decision to pursue viticulture came from personal interest rather than the expectation of eventually taking over a family estate.
He entered wine school in Beaune as a teenager and subsequently gained experience in several regions, including Oregon and Bordeaux. Those years exposed him to different approaches to viticulture and cellar management, but Burgundy remained his principal ambition.
His breakthrough came in 1999, when, at only 24, he became manager of Domaine du Comte Armand in Pommard.
It was an extraordinary responsibility for such a young winemaker. Comte Armand owns the celebrated Clos des Epeneaux, one of Pommard’s most important Premier Cru vineyards, and the position placed Leroux at the centre of serious Burgundian winemaking.
He remained there for fifteen vintages, developing a reputation for careful vineyard management, restrained extraction and a growing commitment to organic and biodynamic agriculture.
In 2007, while still working at Comte Armand, he established his own wine business in Beaune.
Unlike a conventional family domaine, his project initially depended on purchased grapes and close relationships with growers. Over time, he also acquired and leased vineyards, building a portfolio that now covers numerous appellations across the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits.
The distinction between estate-grown fruit and purchased grapes remains important, but Leroux approaches both with considerable attention to vineyard origin.
His wines generally favour precision over excessive concentration. Whole-cluster fermentation is used selectively, new oak is relatively restrained, and extraction is adapted to the character of the fruit rather than following a rigid formula.
The results are not invariably delicate. Nuits-Saint-Georges, in particular, can produce assertive Pinot Noir, and Leroux makes little effort to conceal that character.
Nuits-Saint-Georges: Burgundy with Its Sleeves Rolled Up
Nuits-Saint-Georges occupies the southern end of the Côte de Nuits, the celebrated northern section of Burgundy’s Côte d’Or.
Its vineyards extend from the northern outskirts of the town towards Premeaux-Prissey, covering a complex succession of slopes, exposures and limestone formations.
Unlike neighbouring Vosne-Romanée, the appellation has no Grand Cru vineyards. It does, however, possess an impressive collection of Premier Crus, including Les Saint-Georges, Les Vaucrains, Les Cailles, Aux Boudots and Aux Murgers.
The absence of a Grand Cru classification has never prevented Nuits-Saint-Georges from producing formidable wines.
Its reputation rests on structure, concentration and a relatively assertive expression of Pinot Noir. The finest bottles can age for decades, gradually exchanging youthful firmness for increasingly complex earthy and savoury nuances.
There are important differences within the appellation.
The northern vineyards, approaching Vosne-Romanée, frequently produce wines with greater aromatic finesse and a more supple character. Further south, around the town and towards Premeaux-Prissey, certain sites yield firmer, more muscular expressions.
This distinction is not absolute, but it helps explain why Nuits-Saint-Georges cannot be reduced to a single stylistic formula.
Leroux’s 2016 draws largely on parcels from the northern part of the appellation, although the composition was modified because of the exceptionally difficult growing season.
The resulting wine has the firm structure traditionally associated with Nuits, accompanied by enough aromatic definition to maintain its identity as Pinot Noir.
For comparison, Pommard is another Burgundian appellation associated with powerful, tannic reds. The two villages share a reputation for seriousness, although their best wines express quite different combinations of fruit, acidity and texture.
The 2016 Vintage: Frost, Tiny Yields and an Unusual Blend
The 2016 vintage was one of Burgundy’s most challenging growing seasons of the decade.
On the night of April 26–27, severe spring frost struck vineyards across the region. Damage varied enormously between sites, with some parcels suffering catastrophic losses while neighbouring vineyards escaped relatively unharmed.
The frost was followed by difficult spring weather, including substantial disease pressure. Conditions improved during the summer, and a favourable September allowed the surviving grapes to reach good maturity.
Quality could be excellent, but quantities were often painfully small.
For Benjamin Leroux, the reduced harvest had a direct consequence for the composition of his Nuits-Saint-Georges.
In a normal year, the village cuvée draws on several climats, including Saint-Jacques, Les Herbues and the northern sector of Les Fleurières.
In 2016, Leroux also incorporated grapes from Les Allots and Premier Cru Aux Thorey, parcels whose yields were insufficient to justify their usual separate bottlings.
This is an important detail.
The wine remains classified as village Nuits-Saint-Georges, but its blend includes fruit from a Premier Cru vineyard. That does not automatically make it equivalent to a Premier Cru, although it gives the 2016 an interesting composition that differs from more conventional releases.
The vintage itself produced wines with good concentration, lively acidity and often quite pronounced tannins.
Leroux’s Nuits-Saint-Georges reflects those characteristics. Its relatively dark fruit and firm structure distinguish it from more immediately charming Burgundies, while the freshness provides the foundation for ageing.
The result is a serious, somewhat demanding Pinot Noir that has needed time to become more approachable.
Winemaking: Whole Clusters, Indigenous Yeasts and Restrained Oak
Benjamin Leroux’s approach to vinification is based on adapting extraction and fermentation to the characteristics of each parcel and vintage.
For the 2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges, approximately 20% of the grapes were fermented as whole clusters, with the remainder destemmed.
Retaining a proportion of the stems can contribute additional aromatic complexity and influence tannin structure. It can also introduce herbal or spicy nuances, provided the stems have reached sufficient maturity.
The grapes underwent approximately fifteen days of maceration, with fermentation driven by indigenous yeasts.
This relatively measured approach helps preserve the character of Pinot Noir without pursuing excessive extraction. Nevertheless, Nuits-Saint-Georges naturally produces substantial wines, and the 2016 retains a pronounced tannic backbone.
Maturation continued for eighteen months in oak barrels, approximately 20% of which were new.
The limited proportion of new wood is significant. Oak provides gradual oxygen exposure and contributes to structural integration, but it does not overwhelm the wine with sweetness or conspicuous toasted aromas.
The wine was bottled without fining or filtration.
Taken together, these decisions reveal a fairly restrained philosophy. Leroux does not attempt to soften every rough edge or manufacture an immediately seductive texture.
The resulting wine remains recognisably Nuits-Saint-Georges: firm, savoury and built around the tension between fruit, acidity and tannins.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Transparent ruby-garnet with the first brick-red reflections around the rim.
Bouquet: Black cherry and blackberry introduce a fairly compact nose, followed by dried violet, black pepper and a discreet earthy note. With aeration, tobacco, undergrowth and a faint herbal suggestion emerge. The fruit has begun to acquire mature nuances, but the bouquet remains relatively restrained rather than expansive.
Palate: Medium-bodied, firm and energetic, with dark fruit supported by pronounced acidity and fine but persistent tannins. The texture is more angular than silky, particularly through the middle palate, where a savoury, slightly earthy character introduces an attractive austerity. Oak is well integrated, contributing structure without noticeable sweetness.
Finish: Dry, persistent and somewhat stern, with black pepper, a subtle mineral impression and lingering tannins. Freshness carries the wine beyond its modest fruit concentration.
Our Verdict
Benjamin Leroux Nuits-Saint-Georges 2016 is a serious, carefully made Pinot Noir whose principal virtues are freshness, precision and structural integrity.
Its character is more austere than seductive. The bouquet has developed interesting savoury nuances, but it remains relatively compact, and the fruit does not possess the generosity found in the most charming examples of the appellation.
The tannins are another defining element. They have softened with age, yet retain a slightly dry, persistent grip that gives the wine authority without making it particularly luxurious.
This is not necessarily a defect. Nuits-Saint-Georges has a long tradition of producing Pinot Noir with considerable backbone, and Leroux respects that identity.
Nevertheless, the wine falls short of greatness.
The middle palate lacks some depth, the aromatic development is restrained, and the finish remains a little severe. There is considerable technical competence here, but not the extraordinary complexity or emotional appeal that distinguishes Burgundy’s finest bottles.
The comparison with neighbouring Vosne-Romanée is instructive. A mature Vosne-Romanée from Domaine René Cacheux can offer a more enveloping texture, while Leroux’s Nuits emphasises structure and a comparatively dry, incisive finish.
The 2016 vintage also deserves consideration. Its unusual vineyard composition and the inclusion of Aux Thorey fruit make this release more interesting than its village classification might initially suggest.
Yet the presence of Premier Cru grapes should not become an excuse to exaggerate the wine’s quality. Classification is only one element of Burgundy’s complicated hierarchy, and the drinking experience ultimately matters more than the pedigree of individual parcels.
At ten years from the harvest, the wine is entering a mature drinking phase. Its acidity and tannins should support further development, although additional cellaring is unlikely to transform its essentially reserved personality.
It is a bottle to open now or over the next few years, particularly for anyone who appreciates the more traditional, structured side of Burgundy.
Serve at 15–16°C in a generous Burgundy glass. Allow the wine to open gradually rather than subjecting it to aggressive decanting.
For an interesting stylistic contrast, Frédéric Cossard’s Bourgogne Rouge Bedeau offers a different approach to Pinot Noir, with greater emphasis on immediate fruit expression and minimal-intervention winemaking.
Benjamin Leroux Nuits-Saint-Georges 2016 is a good Burgundy, but not a great one. Its quality lies in the disciplined structure, freshness and honest expression of a demanding appellation. Admirers of firm, traditional Pinot Noir will appreciate its personality; anyone expecting Burgundian silk and effortless charm may find it rather severe.
Price
Approximately €60–80 for a 750 ml bottle is a reasonable reference range for this mature village Burgundy, although the 2016 has limited availability and auction prices can differ considerably.
Food Pairings
Paella, vitello tonnato, chicken curry, pulled pork, empanadas, hamburgers.
