Lalou Bize-Leroy (born 1932) is a French businesswoman and

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

owner in the

Burgundy wine Burgundy wine ( or ') is made in the Burgundy region of eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here, and those commonly referred to as "Burgundies", are dry (wine), ...

region.Clive Coates (1997): ''Côte d'Or: a celebration of the great wines of Burgundy'', p. 528 Bize-Leroy owns the wineries Domaine d'Auvenay and

Domaine Leroy Domaine Leroy is a vineyard estate which produces red Burgundy. The winery is located in the wine producing village of Auxey-Duresses. The winery is split between negociant label Maison Leroy and wines of their own vineyards called Domaine Leroy. ...

Career

Bize-Leroy established herself as a businesswoman in the Burgundy wine business in 1955, when she took over her father

Henri Leroy Henri Leroy (; 12 December 1887 – 17 July 1960) was a Belgian footballer. He played in 18 matches for the Belgium national football team The Belgium national football team has represented Belgium in men's international Association ...

's (1894–1980)

négociant A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to de ...

business.Neal Martin: Producer Profile: Domaine Leroy, Wine Journal From 1974, she was co-managing the Burgundy winery

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, often abbreviated to DRC, is an estate in Burgundy, France that produces white and red wine. It is widely considered among the world's greatest wine producers, and DRC bottles are among the world's most expensive. ...

(DRC), one of the world's top wine estates, and was in charge of marketing. Along with

Aubert de Villaine Aubert de Villaine is a social economist and co-owner of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; he served as the Domaine's co-director from 1974 to 2021, stepping down to an advisory role in 2022. Some of the world's most expensive wines are produce ...

, Bize-Leroy helped build DRC's top wine

Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) and Grand cru (wine), Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy wine, Burgundy, France, with Pinot Noir as the primary grape variety. It is situa ...

into one of the most sought after wines in the world. A series of disagreements, including Bize-Leroy's displeasure at de Villaine's involvement in the

Judgment of Paris The Judgement of Paris is a story from Greek mythology, which was one of the events that led up to the Trojan War, and in later versions to the foundation of Rome. Eris (mythology), Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding ...

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

and disputes over Bize-Leroy's handling of the distribution of the Domaine's wines, led to her being ousted in 1992. After leaving DRC, she has focused on her own domains. By 1988, she had acquired significant vineyard holdings for Domaine Leroy. During the 1990s, she established Domaine Leroy as one of the leading Burgundy wineries.

Personal life

Bize-Leroy married Marcel Bize (d. 2004),in 1958 and they have one daughter Perrine Fenal. Bize-Leroy also had a sister Pauline Roch (1929-2009).

Wine philosophy

Bize-Leroy is a strong believer in

biodynamic wine Biodynamic wines are wines made employing the pseudo-scientific methods called biodynamic both to grow the fruit and during the post-harvest processing. Biodynamic wine production uses organic farming methods (''e.g.,'' employing compost as fer ...

production, and practices it in her domaines.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bize-Leroy, Lalou 1932 births Living people French winemakers