Leflaive, Domaine: Puligny Montrachet, Clavoillon, 1er Cru

Serena Sutcliffe, MW: "Lovely lime and flint taste. Decant it in order to draw out the maximum bouquet and flavour – this is always a great experience with white Burgundy and you see the beautiful colour too." 10/09 From a 11.84 acre parcel in Puligny-Montrachet, planted in 1959, 1960, 1962, 1972, 1973, 1981, 1983 and 1988 on calcareous clay. Like the other wines from Domaine Leflaive, this wine is entirely biodynamic.

The Leflaive family history as growers dates back to 1717 when Claude Leflaive established a vineyard in Puligny. Two centuries later one of his descendants, Joseph Leflaive, built up the Domaine`s holdings from 2 hectares (4.94 acres) to 20 hectares (49.4 acres) through the acquisition of parcels of exceptional vineyards. Joseph`s children chose to maintain the Domaine as a single unit, rather than divide it up upon inheritance. One of them, Vincent, led a drive to acquire further holdings in key vineyards, including Grand Crus.

Since 1993, Vincent`s daughter Anne-Claude has had sole responsibility for the Domaine, and it has been under her stewardship that the winery has switched to biodynamic farming principals. Another technique that Anne-Claude insists upon is the hand-harvesting, and hand-sorting, of all the grapes. The wines are then fermented using natural yeasts, and only when necessary will fining and light filtering take place. The resulting wines are a pure expression of Chardonnay, with the the nuances and individual terroir of each vineyard perfectly represented.