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Extended version of an interview published in Le Figaro
Lalou Bize-Leroy purchased the vineyards of Domaine Leroy in 1988, while she was still co-managing Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. She immediately converted them to biodynamic farming. This agricultural method, whose foundations were laid at the beginning of the 20th century by Rudolf Steiner, aims to strengthen the plant’s immune system and energize its ecosystem through precise natural treatments applied according to cosmic rhythms.
The philosophy of the estate can be summed up by the two quotations that frame the majestic yarrow fresco in the sorting room, depicting all the zodiac constellations:
“Wine is of cosmic inspiration; it tastes of the matter of the world,” author unknown, and
“He who knows how to taste never drinks wine again, but tastes its secrets,” by Salvador Dalí.
Madame Bize-Leroy regards her wines with great animism, which allows them to flourish. Of rare concentration, they possess an unparalleled ability to reflect the soul of their place.
Today, the estate comprises 22 hectares of vines, scattered like a puzzle across 46 parcels covering 26 appellations, including 9 grands crus and 8 premiers crus.
Was wine an obvious path for you?
Yes, for me wine was natural — I grew up with it. A quarter of an hour after I was born, my father placed a drop of 1929 Musigny on my tongue. Later, to train myself, I observed a great deal. And above all, I tasted — a lot, more than a lot — on my own.
Who influenced you the most?
My father, of course, with whom I often tasted. I also remember the 1955 harvest at Monsieur de Saint-Quentin’s, a grower who left a deep impression on me through his way of working. I have always believed his way was the right one. We work as he did today, even if he did not provide all the care that we give our vines. But it was a different time. The madness of fertilizers that we fight against only came later, in the 1960s.
You eliminated all chemical products as soon as you acquired the estate in 1988. What led you to choose biodynamic farming?
My husband showed me an article from the Tribune de Genève in 1987. The journalist described his visit to Nicolas Joly (a grower in Savennières). My husband said to me, “Read this, I believe it’s exactly what you’re looking for.” What I was looking for was the understanding that, just like us, everything is alive. We went to see him in July 1988. I was able to see that his vines were beautiful and healthy, and I returned convinced. The consultant advising me said we would never manage to convert everything at once. But when I understand something, I want to live it immediately. So all our vineyards were converted to biodynamics from September 1988 onward.
Your vines sometimes grow over three meters high, which is very rare in France. Why not trim them?
For me, the vine resembles an animal more than a plant. The bud is formed in June and emerges in March — nine months later. These small coincidences are extraordinary. Separating the vine from its apex (the final bud) would be separating it from the life it carries for the following year. That is why we never trim.
At what frequency do you carry out biodynamic treatments?
All our treatments are applied according to the biodynamic calendar, when each month the moon passes before the fruit constellations: Sagittarius, Aries, and Leo.
You devote such care to the vines — what place remains for vinification and oenology?
During vinification, it is the yeasts — those found in the bloom on the grape skins — that do all the work; they are the true winemakers. They transform a plant into a living liquid. It is a precise alchemy that differs each year.
The vineyard work guides them, and each cellar has its own yeasts. We allow them to proceed freely, because that is what creates the vintage. We simply monitor and try to understand, which is not easy. As for oenology, if it does not influence us too much, it helps us avoid mistakes.
How do you decide that barrel aging is complete?
The wines tell me when it is time to bottle them. I wait until everything is integrated and the nose corresponds to the palate. I see them born, grow, and I feel this correspondence.
We probably bottle them a little too early. The director of the laboratory in Nuits-Saint-Georges sometimes tells me not to rush. But I want to enclose them immediately. What I love is when they smell of grape — whereas if you leave them too long in barrel…
Are you seeking a specific style of wine?
I seek to make wines that express the identity of their site. I have always tasted while trying to understand why there were so many differences between our wines. That search fascinates me, and it is how we arrived at the care we give to the vines. I want wines that have something to say, wines of dense substance and their own identity. Biodynamics encourages that identity. As for man, one can only hope he does not make mistakes. We are the only region in the world where there are so many differences.
What explains that?
Our terroir — it is the only thing that matters. You must go and breathe the air of the villages in different seasons to understand. I like to perceive this contrast when the wines are babies, because with time it will intensify further. Wine, like a person, exists within time. When they have just been made, they are babies crying — not very pleasant. In ten years, it will be better. I do not know when they will become adults — in 30, 40, or even 50 years. Who knows? That is why drinking wines young is heresy. For me, it is not normal for a wine not to be able to age. Even if I cannot judge other terroirs.
Would you ever have made wine elsewhere?
No. Never. I have been offered several times to make wine in Oregon or California. But I am from here. One must have roots, belong to a place in order to understand it — or live there.
Do you like New World wines?
I do not say they are bad, but that is winemaking. They make wine, whereas here it is the wine that imposes itself upon us…
A wine from another region that you particularly love?
I love anything sincere. Aged classified growths from Bordeaux — a 1929 Latour, for example.
