Domaine Leroy Chambertin Grand Cru 2015

The vineyard of Bertin and Napoleon

Chambertin is a grand cru in the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin, in the Cote de Nuits. Legend says a man named Bertin planted it in the 12th century, next to the Clos de Beze that the monks of the Abbey of Beze had cleared and planted in the 7th century. Its wines were among Napoleon's favorites, and he is said to have insisted on having them on campaign.

The vineyard covered about 15 hectares in 2007. In 2008 it produced 437 hectoliters, slightly less than 60,000 bottles. Its grand cru appellation dates from 1937, and it is surrounded by grands crus that borrow its name, among them Chambertin-Clos de Beze, Griotte-Chambertin and Charmes-Chambertin.

Domaine Leroy's Chambertin came to it in 1988, when Lalou Bize-Leroy bought the estate of Philippe Remy in Gevrey-Chambertin, together with the estate of Charles Noellat in Vosne-Romanee. The size of Leroy's Chambertin parcel is not given in the sources found.

Lalou Bize-Leroy

The Leroy family business, Maison Leroy, was founded as a merchant house in Auxey-Duresses in 1868 by Francois Leroy. In 1942 Henri Leroy bought a 50 percent stake in the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. His daughter Lalou, born in 1932, joined the family business in 1955 at 23 and became its managing director in 1971.

From 1974 she co-managed the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti alongside Aubert de Villaine, until she was ousted after disagreements. Sources differ on the year: some say 1991, others 1992. By then she had already built her own estate: Domaine Leroy, formed in 1988, now covers about 22 to 23 hectares, mostly premier and grand cru, and makes around 40,000 bottles a year, depending on the vintage.

She was among the first top Burgundy estates to convert entirely to biodynamic farming, starting in 1988, and her yields are famously tiny: about 15 hectoliters per hectare on average, and as low as 9 in 2012. 'It is simple, I love my vines more than most people,' she has said.

2015: 'a magnificent year'

Lalou Bize-Leroy called 2015 'a magnificent year.' One critic who tasted the range reported that the domaine's whole 22 hectares were picked in 12 days, from September 3 to 15, and that the wines had moderate alcohol of 13 to 13.5 percent, with freshness, focus and approachability. Another, greeted at the domaine by Gilles Desprez, was told the fruit came in between September 2 and 8, and that the wines were bottled in December 2016.

That second critic, writing for Burghound in January 2018, said Mme Leroy had made 'superb wines that without question transcend the general quality of the vintage,' keeping freshness and verve despite the high ripeness of the year.

The same year, Burgundy's climats, the mosaic of named vineyard plots that includes Chambertin, were added to UNESCO's list of protected world sites, on July 4, 2015.

Best in class

Burghound gave the 2015 Chambertin 98 points, describing an intensely floral, airy nose with black cherry, spiced plum and pungent earth, and 'a big and muscular wine of almost forbidding proportions' with an imposingly firm tannic spine and an explosively mineral finish. Along with the domaine's Musigny, the reviewer named it best in class: 'this is definitely a wow wine.' He suggested drinking it from 2040.

Wine Advocate's William Kelley gave it 100 points in March 2018, writing of the wine's 'stunning amplitude and depth.' A third critic, who also scored it 100, called it 'magnificent,' with depth, stature, focused minerality, dark berries and savory herbs, and noted that only two barrels were made.

A wine almost no one sees

With so little made, the 2015 rarely appears for sale. In October 2026 a price-comparison service found a single offer, from a merchant in Hong Kong, at $32,501 for a 750 ml bottle, and showed a most recent global average asking price, before tax, of $32,453 per bottle as of September 2026. These are asking prices, not sales.

Other vintages of Leroy Chambertin give a sense of the market. At a three-day Burgundy auction in May 2026, three bottles of the 2009 sold together for $35,850 and two bottles of the 2011 for $33,460.

The numbers

Whole vineyard

About 15 ha (2007); 437 hl in 2008

Leroy parcel

Size not given in the sources found

2015 production

Two barrels (one critic's report)

Domaine yields

About 15 hl/ha on average

Alcohol (2015 range)

13 to 13.5%

Bottled

December 2016

Wine Advocate

100 (March 2018)

Burghound

98 (January 2018), drink 2040+

Timeline

1. 1868

   Francois Leroy founds Maison Leroy in Auxey-Duresses.

2. 1937

   Chambertin becomes a grand cru appellation.

3. 1942

   Henri Leroy buys half of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.

4. 1955

   Lalou Leroy, 23, joins the family business.

5. 1971

   She becomes managing director of Maison Leroy.

6. 1974

   She begins co-managing the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.

7. 1988

   Domaine Leroy is formed with the purchase of the Charles Noellat and Philippe Remy estates, bringing in Chambertin; the vineyards go biodynamic.

8. 1991

   She is ousted from the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (some sources say 1992).

9. Sep 2015

   The 2015 Chambertin is harvested in early September.

10. Dec 2016

    The domaine's 2015s are bottled.

11. Jan 2018

    Burghound publishes a 98-point review and names the wine best in class.

12. Mar 29, 2018

    Wine Advocate publishes a 100-point review.

13. Sep 2026

    Average asking price for the 2015 stands near $32,500 a bottle.

The world in 2015

• Jan 7, 2015

  Gunmen kill 12 people at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris.

• Apr 25, 2015

  A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Nepal.

• Jul 4, 2015

  UNESCO adds the climats of Burgundy to its list of protected world sites.

• Jul 14, 2015

  NASA's New Horizons makes the first flyby of Pluto.

• Jul 20, 2015

  Cuba and the United States restore full diplomatic relations.

• Sep 9, 2015

  Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest-reigning British monarch.

• Nov 13, 2015

  Coordinated terrorist attacks strike Paris.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, Domaine Leroy Chambertin Grand Cru 2015 is number 5 of 100 in the wine entries of the FLOAT 100. 12 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (85 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Lalou Bize-Leroy's father owned half of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, and she co-managed it for nearly two decades.
• Domaine Leroy has been farmed biodynamically since its first year, 1988.
• In 2012 the domaine's yields fell to 9 hectoliters per hectare.
• Lalou Bize-Leroy was away when Burghound visited to taste the 2015s; Gilles Desprez led the tasting instead.
• Two critics gave the 2015 Chambertin a perfect 100.
• Napoleon is said to have insisted on Chambertin even on military campaigns.