Maison Leroy is the négociant house of the Leroy family in Auxey-Duresses, run by Lalou Bize-Leroy. It selects wines from across Burgundy, ages them patiently in its own cellars and releases them only when they are ready to drink, which is why old vintages of red and white Burgundy under the Leroy name still turn up decades after the harvest.
Maison Leroy: a Burgundy négociant house since 1868
François Leroy founded the house in Auxey-Duresses in 1868, buying and ageing wine from growers around the village. His grandson Henri Leroy built it into one of the most respected merchant houses in Burgundy, and in 1942 bought half of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. His daughter Lalou joined the house in 1955, later took over from her father, and made a name for herself as one of the finest tasters in the region. In 1988 she created a separate estate, Domaine Leroy, for wines from the family's own vineyards. The Maison carried on alongside it as the négociant side of the business, and it still does today.
How Maison Leroy chooses and ages its wines
The house works as a négociant-éleveur. Lalou Bize-Leroy tastes wines from growers across the Côte d'Or and beyond, keeps only what meets her standard, and buys finished wine rather than grapes. The wines then age in the cellars at Auxey-Duresses, often for years in barrel and bottle, until she judges them ready. That patience is the signature of the house. Maison Leroy regularly releases wines years after other houses have released the same vintage, so a village Meursault or Savigny can come to market already showing the savoury, mature character most Burgundy only reaches after years in a private cellar.
Red and white Maison Leroy, from Bourgogne to Grand Cru
The range runs from simple Bourgogne up to the great names of the Côte d'Or. On the red side that means Pinot Noir from appellations such as Côte de Beaune-Villages, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée, and at the top Grands Crus like Clos de la Roche, where a vintage such as 2003 shows the depth of a ripe year softened by long cellaring. The whites are Chardonnay from Auxey-Duresses, Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault, with Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières among the finest. Two blends show how the house thinks. Fleurs de Vignes is a multi-vintage Bourgogne Blanc, and En Hommage à l'An 2000 is a Pinot Noir blend made to mark the millennium. Among the older bottles are a 1969 Bourgogne and village wines from the 1970s and 1980s.
Maison Leroy FAQ
What is the difference between Maison Leroy and Domaine Leroy?
Domaine Leroy makes wine only from its own biodynamically farmed vineyards, and its labels read "Domaine Leroy". Maison Leroy is the négociant house: it buys wine from other growers, ages it in its own cellars and labels it simply "Leroy". Both are run by Lalou Bize-Leroy, but they are separate businesses with separate ranges.
Is Maison Leroy the same as Leroy wine?
Usually, yes. A Burgundy label that says just "Leroy" without "Domaine" is a Maison Leroy wine. Leroy bottles from before 1988 come from the Maison, because Domaine Leroy did not exist yet.
Are old Maison Leroy vintages still good to drink?
Often, yes, because the house releases wine only once it is ready and stores it in ideal conditions until then. As with any mature Burgundy, stand an old bottle upright for a day before opening and decant it gently off its sediment.
What food goes with Maison Leroy?
Mature red Leroy suits roast poultry, game, mushrooms and aged cheese. The whites from Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet go well with lobster, scallops, turbot or chicken in a cream sauce.