BENJAMIN LEROUX Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2021 Bottle (lov)
Red Still Wine | France | Burgundy | Charmes-Chambertin | 75cl
£295.00
ABV: 13.5%
Size: 75cl
Closure Type: Cork
Country: France
Region: Burgundy
Sub-Region: Charmes-Chambertin
Wine Style: Medium Bodied
Grape: Pinot Noir
Description
IN BRIEF
Benjamin Leroux Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2021 is a poised, expressive Charmes with silky texture, vivid red fruit and a clear mineral spine. Clear ruby with crimson highlights, it offers wild strawberry, Morello cherry and ripe raspberry with violet and crushed rose petal; airing brings sous bois, damp earth and a faint gamey note. Medium plus with an expansive silky mid palate, fine tannins shape rather than weigh, while savoury olive tapenade, mushroom and smoked meat add appetite appeal and bright acidity keeps the finish precise. Approachable with decanting yet ageworthy. Drink 2028 to 2042. Pair with roasted duck, wild mushroom risotto, beef en croute or mild to medium cheeses. Critics: Vinous 93–95 "floral, sensual"; Decanter 93 "balanced and elegant."
ABOUT THIS WINE
Benjamin Leroux Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2021 is a poised and expressive example of this celebrated site, marrying silk like texture with vivid primary fruit and a mineral backbone. The colour is clear ruby with bright crimson highlights. The nose offers wild strawberry, Morello cherry and ripe raspberry, lifted by violet and crushed rose petal. With airing gentle sous bois, damp earth and a faint gamey lift appear alongside a subtle graphite and crushed stone mineral thread.
On the palate the wine is medium plus in weight with an expansive, silky mid palate and finely grained tannins that provide shape without weight. Red fruit remains central yet is joined by a savoury core of olive tapenade, mushroom and a hint of smoked meat that adds appetite appeal. A fresh seam of acidity pulls the flavours through and keeps the finish lively. Oak is discreet, offering a whisper of toasted spice and vanilla that frames rather than dominates the fruit. The texture is tactile and almost creamy, while vertical tension promises further development.
The 2021 vintage in Burgundy was challenging and varied, with spring frosts and unsettled weather in places but also pockets of ideal ripening that produced ripe, balanced fruit where growers were selective. In Gevrey Chambertin the best sites yielded concentrated fruit with good phenolic ripeness yet retained freshness, rewarding careful vineyard work and low intervention winemaking. Leroux’s precise sorting and gentle cellar handling have turned the vintage’s potential into a Charmes Chambertin that combines immediate charm with clear ageing ability.
Drink 2028 to 2042, peaking 2030 to 2038. Serve at cellar cool room temperature with roasted duck, wild mushroom risotto, beef en croute or mild to medium strength cheeses.
VINOUS 93-95 points
Drinking window: 2024 - 2040
The 2021 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru has a wonderful bouquet with fragrant red cherry and crushed strawberry scents. It's floral, sensual and much more vivacious than, say, the Bonnes-Mares. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins. It's very elegant in style and poised, with ample weight on the finish. This is an enticing Charmes-Chambertin that should give a couple of decades' drinking pleasure.
Neal Martin. Tasting date: November 2022
DECANTER 93 points
Drinking Window: 2025 - 2045
Ripe blackberry fruit is tempered here with a hint of menthol, earth, and spice on the attack. The texture is balanced and elegant, yet there is significant structure here with firm tannins, bright acidity, and plenty of extract. In 2021, Leroux fermented the grapes with one-third of whole clusters to give the wine a hint of menthol and some attractive, slightly bitter notes on the finish. Stylish and sophisticated. The 0.15-hectare parcel is on the border with Morey in Mazoyères-Chambertin. - Tasted by: Charles Curtis MW (at Burgundy, 01 Jun 2022) Part of Top Meursault 2021 en primeur wines
-----
ABOUT BENJAMIN LEROUX
Benjamin Leroux is a respected Burgundian winemaker and consultant based in Gevrey Chambertin, known for meticulous, terroir focused wines that combine precision with energetic fruit. He established his own eponymous domaines and négociant activity, producing small parcel expressions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Cote de Nuits and the Cote de Beaune. Leroux also works as a consultant and technical partner for a number of domaines across Burgundy, lending his cellar methods and vineyard advice to improve clarity and consistency.
As owner and principal winemaker he remains closely involved at every stage, from vineyard decisions through to blending and bottling. He favours low yields, careful canopy management and selective harvest practices to secure balanced ripeness and vibrant acidity. Vine material is treated with minimal intervention in the cellar to reveal site identity, while selection at reception and gentle handling preserve aromatic lift.
Vinification is parcel by parcel, with both whole bunch and destemmed options used selectively according to site and vintage. Fermentations are closely monitored and extraction is measured to retain finesse and textural detail. Elevage in French oak is employed with attention to proportion of new barrels and to ageing length so that oak supports rather than dominates fruit. Leroux’s whites are praised for their purity, tension and mineral clarity; his reds are noted for energetic fruit, fine tannin and a transparent sense of place.
Benjamin Leroux’s work is widely admired for marrying traditional Burgundian craft with modern precision. His wines and those he consults on are sought after by collectors and sommeliers for their balance, youthful energy and proven capacity to evolve gracefully in bottle.
BURGUNDY 2021
The growing season of 2021 presented numerous challenges, including frost, rain, mildew, rot, and hail. We were initially hesitant about the potential quality of the vintage, given these adverse conditions. However, upon tasting the wines, we were pleasantly surprised to find that they had gained depth and weight since the spring. Our tasting notes consistently highlighted bright, fresh, pure, delicate, perfumed, and energetic characteristics, with distinct terroir differences.
One of the growers mentioned that in the past, one in every five vintages was a "hot" year, while currently, the reverse is true, with one in five vintages being a "cool" year. A mild winter and warm March led to early vine growth, with budbreak occurring in April. However, the region was hit by a severe frost that affected even the sloped areas, which are typically spared in spring frosts. The frost caused the vines to shut down for about three weeks, leading to reduced yields, particularly in the Cote du Beaune, which saw a reduction of 65-80%, while the Cote du Nuit experienced a 50% reduction.
Disease pressure grew in the vineyards during the cooler and wet early summer, with mildew and odium further diminishing the yield. The month preceding harvest brought dry and warm weather, which greatly aided the harvest. Harvest took place in mid-September, a full month later than in 2020. Alexandrine Roy shared the following image, to demonstrate the high quality of grapes, with patient and thorough sorting both in the vineyard and at the sorting table.
The use of new oak varied significantly in 2021, with some growers opting for no new oak. It was difficult for some growers who make wines in small amounts to keep the usual ratios of oak, as the quantities were so small. Whole bunch use was lower than usual for the red wines, as growers sought to avoid extracting bitterness from unripe stems. Pump overs were used more frequently than punch downs. Experienced growers, who took their foot off the pedal and expressed what the vintage gave them succeeded.
The small yields of 2021 resulted in naturally concentrated wines, with the whites exhibiting intense citrus and floral aromas, and the reds displaying bright, light bodies and lovely perfumes. Both the white and red wines are highly seductive and ready to drink straight from the barrel. Due to the low yields, prices have increased. Allocating these wines will be difficult, but we are fortunate to have the excellent 2022 vintage in both yield and quality to follow.
You may also be interested in
