Leflaive, Domaine: Puligny Montrachet

"Eric Remy, who has taken over winemaking duties at Domaine Leflaive from his predecessor Pierre Morey, has produced a terrific first vintage in 2008. The village level Puligny Montrachet is an assemblage of nine parcels, and is a marked step-up in concentration and depth to the Bourgogne Blanc. It is classic Leflaive: toasty, with hazelnuts and lemon zest. Excellent texture, full, complete, and densely packed." 02/11 From seven parcels in Puligny-Montrachet vineyards, covering a total of 11.47 acres, all of the typical calcareous clay soil type: "Les Brelances" (3.38 acres), planted in 1966 and 2003; "Les Grands Champs" (0.85 acres), planted in 1990; "Les Nosroyes" (0.85 acres), planted in 1967; "Les Reuchaux" (0.85 acres), planted in 1989; "La Rue aux Vaches"(0.85 acres), planted in 1963; "Les Tremblots" (4.23 acres), planted in 1955, 1970, 1972, 1979, and 1982; "Les Houlieres" (0.48 acres) planted in 1980.

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.