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Domaine Leroy Bourgogne Aligoté 2014
WhiteFrance2014
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2024-11-26 · Published 2026-09-30 · Updated 2026-09-30
At a glance
In one line
4.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.2 average · world avg price US$554 · An Aligoté from the biodynamic domaine founded in 1988 by Lalou Bize-Leroy, once co-director of Romanée-Conti.
One critic review on Wine-Searcher at 91; 18 users average 4.5. Vivino shows no critic score.
Market note: World average US$554 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, Sep 2026). Single bottles: US$428.27–446.11 in Hong Kong, US$471.85–488.18 in bond in the UK and Singapore, US$496.93 in Italy (incl. tax), US$561 in the US (pre-arrival), US$1,087.62 in Australia (incl. tax). The house's Bourgogne Blanc is US$285 and its Bourgogne Rouge US$257 — the Aligoté costs more.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“시간을 두고 천천히 병브리딩을 하고 디켄팅 하여 마셨으나 전혀 꺾이지 않는 알리고테는 처음 봄. 오히려 몇 시간 전에 오픈해서 먹어볼걸 그랬음 여과를 하지 않아 세디먼트가 엄청나게 많았는데 전날부터 세워놔서 디켄팅하고 괜찮았음. 강렬하진 않으나 도멘 르루아 알리고테의 강인한 섬세함을 충분히 느낄 수 있었던 자리.”
Show original
“시간을 두고 천천히 병브리딩을 하고 디켄팅 하여 마셨으나 전혀 꺾이지 않는 알리고때는 처음 봄. 오히려 몇 시간 전에 오픈해서 먹어볼걸 그랬음 여과를 하지 않아 세디먼트가 엄청나게 많았는데 전날부터 세워놔서 디켄팅하고 괜찮았음. 강렬하진 않으나 도멘 르루아 알리고때의 강인한 섬세함을 충분히 느낄 수 있었던 자리.”
The match smell came once more.
Wednesday. At the end of the counter a bottle stood upright, wrapped in cloth. He'd kept it standing like that since yesterday, Master Seo said. He struck a match and lit a small candle. The acrid smell of the match head spread for a moment. He tilted the bottle slowly over the candle flame, pouring into a decanter, and stopped when something cloudy showed in the neck. 'That's enough. The rest is time that has settled.'
The glass he poured me from the decanter was pale gold. Lemon, grapefruit peel, pear, and flint. The smell of a just-struck match was in the glass too. Behind it, wet stone, a little honey, a drop of butter. Not strong, but firm. The moment the match in the glass and the candle on the counter overlapped, the kitchen on a November night when I was twenty-six opened.
Twenty-six, a Monday night in the fourth week of November. With the kitchen lights off, a single candle burned on the table. Dad had stood a cloth-wrapped bottle upright on the table and was holding the candle behind its neck, looking through it. Don't touch it — it's settling. It has to stand like this until tomorrow. I could see something cloudy drifting in the neck, sinking slowly. It hadn't been filtered, he said, so there was a lot of sediment. The next evening Dad carried that bottle out in both hands, holding it upright like a full glass of water. I wasn't at that gathering, and I didn't know the bottle's name. I only remember the bottle neck glowing behind the candle.
In the notebook, the next day had ten lines. Only the first was long. Even after slow breathing in the bottle and decanting, he'd never seen an Aligoté that didn't fade at all. If anything, he should have opened it hours earlier. Unfiltered, it had a huge amount of sediment, but standing it up the day before had made it fine. And: 'the strong delicacy of Domaine Leroy's Aligoté.' Four stars. The bottle was Domaine Leroy Bourgogne Aligoté. I stuck on the wine-name Post-it. The name Leroy was on page fifty too — the house of the grandma wine I wrote down over the phone. Probably Dad lit the candle the night before because, more than the sediment, he wanted to see whether the bottle would wait for him until tomorrow.
Minjae took his glass, went quiet for a long while, then asked a serious question. Master Seo answered in one sentence.
After closing, page fifty-seven of the new notebook. In the scent column: 'lemon, grapefruit peel, pear, flint (match), wet stone — not strong, but firm.' Master Seo blew out the candle. The match smell came once more.
What this wine is
The Leroy family began as wine merchants in Auxey-Duresses in 1868. Lalou Bize-Leroy, of the family, long ran Maison Leroy, which selects and buys wines grown by others, and was also co-director of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, holding a quarter share. In 1988 she bought Domaine Charles Noëllat in Vosne-Romanée and named it Domaine Leroy — her first domaine with its own vineyards. The next year she bought more vineyards from Domaine Philippe Remy, gaining grands crus such as Chambertin and Clos de la Roche (BBR).
Domaine Leroy was farmed biodynamically from the start and is now certified by Ecocert. It wasn't always easy: in 1993 mildew cost it much of a vintage. In 1992 Lalou was removed as co-director by Romanée-Conti's shareholders; BBR writes that founding a competing domaine was part of the reason.
Aligoté is Burgundy's second white grape after Chardonnay. It's usually known for sharp, light wines, or as the base of kir, mixed with crème de cassis. Leroy treats it like a grand cru. The Aligoté vines cover about 2.58 hectares (Hedonism), yields are kept very low, and the wine is bottled unfiltered, so it throws a lot of sediment.
What the world says
Wine-Searcher lists one critic review, at 91, and 18 users average 4.5. Vivino shows no critic score.
On Vivino the 2014 averages 4.2 from 222 ratings: 30 fives, 158 fours, 32 threes and two twos. The label as a whole averages 3.9 from 1,306, and among vintages with more than 30 ratings, 2014 ties with 2006 for the highest (4.2). The suggested drinking window is 2016–2024; I drank it in the final year.
"Opens with reductive notes of sesame, struck match and flint. Classic Leroy style." — Vivino review, Aug 2026, 4.5 stars
Citrus (41), lemon (29) and grapefruit (100 in all) lead the keywords, followed by earthy notes — minerals (37), honey, stone and flint (88 in all); pear, apple and peach (47); oil, cream and cheese (27); and butter (14) and oak (27 in all). Structure shows intensity 3.8, acidity 3.3 and sweetness 1.6.
The world average is US$554 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, Sep 2026). Single bottles overseas run from US$428.27 in Hong Kong to US$561 in the US, and US$1,087.62 in Australia (incl. tax) — nearly double the house's Bourgogne Blanc (US$285).
How I drank it
November 26, 2024, 4 stars. I logged ten lines that day, and this was the first. After it came Gérard Schueller Réserve Pinot Gris 2022, Domaine Gaston & Pierre Ravaut Ladoix Premier Cru 'Bois Roussot' 2016 (3), La Rioja Alta Viña Arana Gran Reserva 2015, Ktima Ligas Pella Red 2020 and Yomatari 2019, Camin Larredya La Part Davant Jurançon Sec 2022, Winzer Krems Kremser Wachtberg Grüner Veltliner 2020, Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Santo Spirito Bianco 2022 and Léon Beyer Comtes d'Eguisheim Riesling 2013. Apart from the Ravaut, all got 4.
Unfiltered, it had an enormous amount of sediment, but because I'd stood the bottle up from the day before, decanting it was fine. Even after slow breathing in the bottle and decanting, it didn't fade at all. I'd never seen an Aligoté like that. If anything, I wrote, I should have opened it several hours earlier. Not powerful, but I could fully feel the strong delicacy of Domaine Leroy's Aligoté.
My 4 is a little below the community's 4.2. The regret in the note wasn't about the bottle but about when I opened it. Had I opened it hours earlier, the score might have been different.
Vivino community data
2014 vintage rating distribution (222 ratings, average 4.2)
| 5★ | 30 (14%) | |
| 4★ | 158 (71%) | |
| 3★ | 32 (14%) | |
| 2★ | 2 (1%) | |
| 1★ | 0 (0%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Citrus | 100 | citrus 41 · lemon 29 · grapefruit 13 · lime 11 · citrus zest 1 |
| Earth & leather | 88 | minerals 37 · honey 12 · stone 10 · flint 8 · earthy 4 |
| Tree fruit | 47 | pear 15 · apple 13 · peach 6 · green apple 3 · white peach 2 |
| Aging & yeast | 27 | oil 10 · cream 6 · cheese 4 · lemon curd 4 · yeast 3 |
| Oak | 27 | butter 14 · oak 11 · caramel 1 · vanilla 1 |
Structure: Acidity 3.3/5 · Intensity 3.8/5 · Sweetness 1.6/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 1306 ratings, average 3.9)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 4.2 | 34 |
| 2007 | 3.9 | 57 |
| 2008 | 3.5 | 99 |
| 2009 | 3.8 | 136 |
| 2010 | 3.8 | 77 |
| 2011 | 3.7 | 258 |
| 2012 | 4.1 | 59 |
| 2013 | 4 | 78 |
| 2014 | 4.2 | 222 |
| 2015 | 4.1 | 103 |
| 2016 | 4.1 | 42 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Domaine Leroy Aligoté?
A white made from about 2.58 hectares of Aligoté by Domaine Leroy, the biodynamic domaine Lalou Bize-Leroy founded in 1988. It's unfiltered. The 2014 averages 4.2 on Vivino (222 ratings), with one critic review at 91 on Wine-Searcher.
How much does it cost?
Wine-Searcher's world average is US$554 per 750ml (ex-tax, Sep 2026). Single bottles overseas: US$428.27 (Hong Kong) to US$561 (US).
What food goes with it?
The Vivino community suggests shellfish, pasta, rich fish, mild soft cheese and cured meat. One reviewer found it worked with a sushi omakase, even with fatty tuna and sea urchin.
How do you pour a white wine with lots of sediment?
Stand the bottle upright from the day before so the sediment settles, then pour slowly into a decanter with a light under the neck, stopping when cloudiness appears. I stood this bottle up the day before and decanted it without trouble.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Berry Bros. & Rudd — Domaine Leroy
- Hedonism — Bourgogne Aligoté, Domaine Leroy 2009
- Wine-Searcher — 2014 Leroy Bourgogne Aligoté
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