'For me, wine in an incarnation of the winemaker' 

Burgundy is a region steeped in tradition. Vineyards are passed between generations, family names stretch back centuries and even the labels adorning the bottles seem governed by an unwritten code. Aurélie Ledy understands that world intimately, but she has never been afraid to do things differently.

Originally from the South of France, Aurélie moved to Burgundy not for wine, but for its architecture and heritage. It was here that she met her husband, Vincent Ledy, a winemaker in Nuits-Saint-Georges, who introduced her to the vineyard and later to the cellar. Immersed in a deeply traditional Burgundian winemaking family, Aurélie gradually developed a vision of her own: one built around freedom, creativity and personal expression.

The result became Ledy Vins, a project that enabled Aurélie to work with her own vineyards alongside fruit sourced from trusted growers. Organic and biodynamic farming practices, indigenous yeasts, whole-bunch fermentation and restrained use of new oak form part of an approach centred on freshness, elegance and the individual expression of each terroir.

Yet Aurélie’s creativity extends far beyond what is inside the bottle. Her striking photographic labels explore the relationship between wine, art, the human body and emotion; deliberately challenging some of Burgundy’s traditions.

I sat down with Aurélie to discuss her journey into wine, breaking with convention, the realities of working her vineyards by hand, her winemaking philosophy and why, for her, there is always something deeply human inside every bottle.

WS: You are originally from the south of France. How did you find your way to Burgundy and eventually into wine?

AL: I have lived in Burgundy for ten years now. Initially, I had a strong culture from the south of France, so my references in wine were from the south: sunny wines and sunny vines.

When I decided to live in Burgundy, it wasn’t for the wine at first; it was for the heritage and architecture, because that was my first job. Then I met my husband, Vincent, a winemaker in Nuits-Saint-Georges. He taught me all the work in the vineyard first and step by step, the work inside the winery.

His family is a very typical Nuits-Saint-Georges family: very traditional, very conservative, quite the opposite of me! But that’s fine. I’m very different, I decided to create my own space to express myself through my style and my wine.

WS: Establishing something entirely your own in such a traditional region was quite a bold decision. What gave you the confidence to do it?

AL: Vincent and I are very different, and when creating wine, sometimes we had differing opinions. Mainly because I wanted to create wines in a modern style and Vincent didn’t agree with me.

I have spoken with a lot with people around the world, with private customers and clients. Through that, I discovered many things, and I felt that we needed to evolve the style of the wine and perhaps the way we presented the bottles too.

When I proposed things to my husband, he said no. So I thought: I’m free. I decided to create another estate without a partner, just me, and to apply all my ideas, desires and pleasures.

It is only pleasure. There is no negotiation, and it allows me to express all my energy… and I have a lot of it!

WS: Tell us about the domaine itself. Do you own your vineyards or work as a négociant?

AL: I have a double status. I have two hectares of my own land, including new plantings in Burgundy. I complement that with négociant wines from appellations such as Chambolle-Musigny and Corton-Charlemagne. I buy grapes or must.

I’m very happy because I have very loyal and amazing partners. Trust and reciprocity are very important.

The vineyards undergo organic and biodynamic agriculture. Sometimes the vineyards are certified and sometimes they are not, but I know the practices of my colleagues because I see them every week. It is important that we share the same state of mind.

WS: How involved are you in the physical work of your own vineyards?

AL: On my own land, I do everything myself: the pruning, all the work during the summer, the care and the treatments.

One of my vineyards is very particular. Nobody wanted this kind of vineyard. It is very demanding physically because there are eight terraces on the rock and no machinery can be used.

Everything is done by hand: the care, treatments and, of course, the harvest.

WS: Is whole-bunch fermentation an important part of your winemaking. What are you looking for when deciding whether to use it?

AL: For the Pinot Noir, I use whole bunches for the majority of the vinification. It is a method I like a lot, but it depends on the sanitary condition and quality of the grapes.

The vintages have become very different from one another: sometimes rainy, sometimes warm. The method of vinification has to depend on the context of the vintage.

I like whole bunches, and stems can also be useful if you want to retain lower alcohol, but you need excellent-quality stems and berries. The fruit has to be in very good condition.

WS: What role do indigenous yeasts and oak play in expressing the individual terroirs?

AL: I only use native yeast.

I want to respect the terroir. Each place is different, so I don’t want to use the same synthetic yeast everywhere. We are very lucky to have amazing terroir in Burgundy. Different sites have different conditions and different populations of native yeast.

I work with French oak from forests in central France, including Allier, and I use 228-litre barrels. Around 10% is new oak. The rest is barrels that have already seen two or three wines.

WS: You’ve said you want your wines to be enjoyable when they are young. Why is that important to you?

AL: I have a particular philosophy about drinking wine. I don’t like it when people say, “You need to wait twenty years before you can open this bottle.” Maybe that works for some people, but it does not for me.

I want my vinification and ageing to allow the wine to be opened earlier, to have suppleness in the mouth and quality even while it is young.

Other winemakers may make a more old-school style that can be opened in ten, twenty or thirty years. That’s fine, but it isn’t my idea of wine making.

We only have one life, we should enjoy wine!

WS: Art and photography seem to be part of the soul of the domaine. What do the photographs on your labels represent?

AL: At the beginning, I wrote a list of different themes that speak about wine, vines and emotional landscapes. I took inspiration from several painters and photographers, and I also draw and think about the expression of the body because I like to work with the human form.

The human side is very important on the label. Often, on traditional labels, you see the family name, the address and Gothic-style writing. That is interesting because it is part of a great French heritage, but for me the human side is essential.

The label reminds you that there is a human being involved when you make wine. It isn’t only writing on a bottle. There is a body involved and physical engagement. That is very important to me.

WS: Would you say the wines and their imagery are ultimately a reflection of you?

AL: For me, wine is an incarnation of the winemaker.

I’m very touched when people know my wine first and then meet me afterwards, because indirectly they already know me through the wine. There is a part of me inside the bottle.

It is strange and very moving. You can know something a person has made before you know the person themselves, and then one day you meet them.

WS: What can we expect from the 2025 vintage?

AL: 2025 is a sunny vintage, first of all, but the quality is very nice. You have freshness and acidity. It is a rich vintage, but there is also lightness, and that is very important for the expression of Pinot Noir.

For me, it is important to make wine with freshness, elegance and the lightness that is typical of Pinot Noir. I come from the south, where I have references for wines with big structure and extraction, but that is not my style.

I like lightness, floral aromas and different expressions.

When I create wines from different expressions of Pinot Noir and different sources, it is important to me that I can offer that journey to my customers. Maybe you have a very busy life and cannot come to Burgundy and walk through the vineyards, but if you have six, seven or eight of my Pinot Noirs in a box, it can be like travelling through the vineyard.

WS: Finally, could you share one word or idea to describe each of your 2025 wines?

AL:

Nuits-Saint-Georges Le Coteau des Bois: Rose water.

Corton-Charlemagne: Purity.

Savigny-lès-Beaune Le Champ des Pruniers: Silk.

Volnay: Feminine.

Chambolle-Musigny: La flèche dans le cœur - an arrow straight to the heart.

Corton Les Maréchaudes: Velvet.

Bourgogne Aligoté: white flowers, pear blossom.

La Proca Pinot Noir: Chilled. Very relaxed. It is the wine to share with friends and enjoy in a great moment. It is very easy to open.

Perhaps what becomes clearest after speaking with Aurélie is that her wines are not an attempt to reject Burgundy’s traditions, but rather to find her own place within them.

From the vineyards she works by hand and uses whole bunches, indigenous yeasts and restrained oak, there is a sense of Aurélie throughout. The same is true of the photographs that adorn each bottle: personal, expressive and deliberately different.

Burgundy may have given

Aurélie the landscape in which to make wine, but she has created a language within it that is entirely her own.

As she puts it so beautifully: “for me, wine is an incarnation of the winemaker. There is a part of me inside the bottle.”