A Brace of Oliver Leflaive’s Excellent 2014 Puligny, 1er Cru Les Pucelles, Grand Cru Bâtard and Chevellier-Montrachet


From the Mythical Home of Chardonnay we offer the epic 2014 Puligny’s of Oliver Leflaive.
Leflaive’s white Burg’s have been some of the best I’ve had!

From the Mythical Home of Chardonnay we offer the epic 2014 Puligny’s of Oliver Leflaive including the Village, the 1er Cru Les Pucelles and the two Grand Cru’s Bâtard-Montrachet & Chevalier-Montrachet.

The 2016’s are about to be released. We’ve managed to get our hands on a little stash of 2014 the best of the last 3 vintages.

Even better they’re coming into their drinking windows. The Village is well through puberty and is looking superb at the moment and will do over the next 5 years.

It is said that the lord of Puligny-Montrachet divided his estate among his children: The eldest son or “Knight” (Chevalier), his daughters or “Virgins” (Pucelles) and “Bastard” (Batard). Each had his hand and three climates have kept their name Chevalier-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles and Batard Montrachet.

**All wine is in stock and ready for immediate delivery weather permitting**

About Olivier Leflaive

No one better than Oliver to tell you about the Domaine! You’ll see vineyards of the two Grand Cru’s and the 1er Cru Les Pucelles in this offer behind Oliver in the video.

A Vintage at Oliver Leflaive

Winemaking

Olivier Leflaive’s whites a gently crushed and pressed. The juice is settled and racked to ferment in barrels and tanks. The juice undergoes alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Wines are stirred in barrel. Pre-bottling the wines from each vineyard are blended lightly fined if necessary and then bottled.

Tips for Drinking these Wines

🌡Temp: 10-12°C. We tend to drink whites an edge cool. If they end up too cold they’ll warm up quickly in the glass. Drink them out of decent sized glass!

🍷Decanting: Decanting young whites of high quality often helps them open up, particularly in their youth. If you’re using a Coravin or other wine preserver, pour enough into each glass to be able to try them over the course of several hours. These young white burgundies will open up and be more expressive with a bit of time in the glass.

⏳Time: I love trying good wines stand alone, with food, and, often the next day. It gives them the chance to shine and ensures you don’t miss a good wine through impatience or fail to bring out it’s best by not marrying them to food.

🕯Cellaring: The rules of thumb for cellaring differ for each producer depending on their sites, quality of fruit and winemaking methods. All of these wines have 5-10 years in them.

🍤🐔🐷🧀Food Match: Chardonnay is incredibly versatile. Often great stand alone, seafood, chicken, white meats, cheese.

The Best 2 Options for Preserving your Wine:

  1. Grab a Coravin wine preserver.
  2. Watch this video, “Stop the Wine-ocide” Kaani 2012 – My Deep Dark Secret, one of my first, about saving open bottles of wine from the drain, sorry about the quality, but, the message is still there.

About Chardonnay

The variety takes its name from the village of Chardonnay near Uchizy in the Mâconnais, in southern Burgundy. A region gaining in reputation for the production of delicious Chardonnay. Thought to have originated from Sâone-et-Loire between Lyon and Dijon.

Where is it grown?

Burgundy is the mythical home of Chardonnay. From there it spreads far and wide across the world. One of the three main varieties of Champagne production, we also see massive plantings in Australia and North America. You’ll find it somewhere in pretty much every wine growing country.

What does it taste like?

There are a vast array of flavours, aromas and textures that Chardonnay can offer from the fruit alone, add in use of solid, fermentation vessels like oak, eggs and tanks, and, malolactic fermentation, the sky is the limit.

Chardonnay has incredible versitility and can be picked over quite a wide range of sugar levels and flavour ripeness. The same vineyard can be picked at with enough sugar to make a wine of 10-11% alcohol for sparkling production and then 14% for table wine with anything in between possible. Picked earlier it tends to have more citrus and green apple characters. Picked ripper the natural acidity drops and the flavours progress through stone fruit, to pineapple, fig and melon.

The hand of the winemaker has been particularly evident in Australia over the last 20 years. Starting with big, broad, alcoholic full malo styles in the 1980’s and 1990’s, the pendulum swung to the lean, acid driven styles in Australia in the mid-00’s, with some down right mean wines produced in the cooler climates like the Yarra Valley, Adelaide Hills, Mornington, and, Tasmania.  Currently, styles have found balance with generosity and elegance. Australian Chardonnay is the best it has ever been. Restrained oak use is thankfully the norm, and, globally we are seeing greater use of larger oak barrels, reducing the influence of any new oak.

Use of wild fermentation, malolactic fermentation and grape solids in ferments can add an array of secondary aromas and flavours, nuttiness, creaminess, bakery notes, butteriness, funk.

Some makers have played heavily with reduction in Chardonnay often resulting in flinty, burnt match characters.

In Burgundy, climate change, just as in Australia (along with mature vineyards) has seen picking times bought forward with sugar levels maintaining. The degree of chaptalisation in Burgundy is reducing and is often not required at all.

The 2014 Vintage for these Wines

I’ve been enjoying the balance, purity, acid line and matched fruit richness of this vintage. While the 2015’s are more opulent and are drinking earlier. The good 2014’s are just coming into there own in the middle of 2018 particularly at the Village and Premier Cru level.

Notes from Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.

From the outset, most winemakers on the Côte de Beaune placed the 2014 vintage in the same style category as 2012, 2010 and 2008—fresh, mineral-driven wines with the density and backbone to reward ageing. Since I first tasted the young ‘14s from barrel in the late spring of 2015, they have mostly gained in depth and clarity. If producers have changed their opinions on this crop of wines now that they are in the bottle, it’s only for the better.

As a general rule, the 2014s are not quite as taut as the ‘10s. They are fruitier than the 2012s, with a more pleasing early equilibrium; and they are generally riper and richer than the ‘08s. They may have the best balance of all of these years, although I still give a slight edge to the 2010s for their penetration and backbone. As a vintage, the 2014 whites display a striking natural balance of fruit, flesh and acidity. They rarely come across as sharp because they possess strong buffering material. Some wines show noticeable extract richness or even a bit of phenolic chewiness, no doubt largely due to the thickness of the grape skins and the high skin-to-juice ratio that characterized this vintage, but the dusty, tactile finishes of the ‘14s are far more likely to reflect strong mineral extract than high alcohol or tannins.

Where in the World do these Wines Come From?

From the Côtes de Beaune in Burgundy the village of Puligny-Montrachet makes superb wine. Check out this article in the Wine Bites Mag if you want to deep dive into Chassagne-Montrachet, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet..

References:

Robinson, J. & Harding, Vouillamoz, J.”Wine Grapes” Penguin Books, London


About the Wines


Puligny-Montrachet

FROM THE WINERY
Should be drunk between 2019 and 2022

TASTING NOTES
This famous wine from our domain expresses noble and distinguished aromas with notes of citrus, beautiful minerality and toasted scents. The mouth is elegant and tonic with a very long persistence.

FOOD PAIRING
Ideal with grilled veal served with mushrooms, grilled saltwater fish and goat cheese.

SITUATION

Altitude : 230-250 m

TERROIR

This A.O.C. is at the bottom of the hill, on a brown soil from the North of Meursault to the South of Chassagne.
The soil is clayey limestone with a lot of stones.
According to the place, the style is a little different but it often combines elegance and richness. We are lucky to have a representative of all the climats of A.O.C. which are more than twenty one.
Soil : Calcareous Clay

IN THE VINEYARD

Maximum yield authorized : 55hl/ha
Wine-Growing method : Sustainable
Harvest: 100 % manual

WINEMAKING

At their arrival in our cellar, the grapes are immediately and carefully pressed with a pneumatic press.
30% whole berries, 70 % crushed grapes
Finning: yes
Filtration : yes

MATURATION

16 months (whose 4 months in stainless steel tank)
100 % oak barrels (whose 20% of new oak)

89-91 Points

Here the nose is both more elegant and more complex with a similar aromatic profile though there are a bit more white orchard fruit and floral elements discernible. There is good detail and a pretty touch of minerality that comes through on the solidly well-concentrated flavors that culminate in a lovely finish of fine depth and length. This is a lovely Puligny villages and worth considering. (6/2016)

Allen Meadows - Burghound

89-91 Points

Bright yellow. Aromas of yellow peach and white plum, with a liqueur-like suggestion of mirabelle. Broad, rich and dry, showing a sexy fine-grained mouthfeel. This dense, classic village Puligny conveys an impression of laid-back energy and finishes with lovely lift and finesse. (ST) (9/2016) (tasted from tank; already fined)

Vinous, Stephen Tanzer

Impeccable Texture

The texture and harmony of Leflaive's Puligny are impeccable. Layered, luscious, with such beautiful flavours and aromas. There's an elegance and sophistication over the village Chassagne and Meursault that is just so inviting. Now with a couple of years of bottle age on it the expression and potential is being realised. The wine has lengthed and the generosity has built. One of those wines that you just wonder where it went when the bottle is finished and wish you had more.

Paul Kaan - Chief Wine Hacker, Wine Decoded

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Les Pucelles'

The 1er Cru ‘Les Pucelles’ lies just across the road from Bâtard-Montrachet. It is considered one of the top 1er Cru’s along with ‘Champ-Gain’ and ‘Les Folatières’.

FROM THE WINERY
Should be drunk between 2018 and 2023

TASTING NOTES
Green-golden, this famous climat of Puligny-Montrachet stands out with its flowery, white fruits and powerful nose. The wine is rich and smooth on the palate but keeps remarkably sharp and mineral.

FOOD PAIRING
Ideal with a fatted chicken from Bresse cooked with truffles, a fillet of sole served with cepes or an lobster “à l’américaine” (the American way).

SITUATION

Altitude : 230-250 m

TERROIR

This very famous “Climat” of Puligny-Montrachet is on stony and deep soils which are supplied by the water springs of the village. Blending of two different plots. A harmonious and elegant wine with a good maturity.
Soil : Calcareous Clay

IN THE VINEYARD

Wine-Growing method: sustainable
Harvest: 100 % manual

WINEMAKING

At their arrival in our cellar, the grapes are immediately and carefully pressed with a pneumatic press.
100 % crushed grapes.
Finning: yes

MATURATION

16 months (whose 4 months in stainless steel tank)
100 % oak barrels (whose 30% of new oak)

92-95 Points

An elegant and wonderfully layered nose consists of slightly more complex aromas of honeysuckle, citrus blossom, essence of pear, apple and a hint of wood toast. As is often the case the palate impression of the highly textured middle weight flavors is finer and more delicate than those of the Combettes, all wrapped in a tension-filled and lightly mineral-inflected finish that is an exercise in harmony and grace. Lovely. (6/2016)

Allen Meadows - Burghound

92+ Points

Very pure aromas of peach, lemon cream and spices lifted by a floral topnote. More tightly wound than the Combettes but with terrific lemony cut giving the middle palate a sharply chiseled, airy feel. Very pure and clean on the back end, with brisk acidity extending the perfumed, floral finish. Showing less dimension today than the Combettes but this is still a bit compressed by the recent bottling. 92+ (ST) (9/2016) (bottled eight days before my visit) - NOTE FROM PAUL - The wine would have been closed just post bottling.

Vinous, Stephen Tanzer

Bȃtard-Montrachet Grand Cru


FROM THE WINERY
Serving temperature : 12-14°C
Should be drunk between 2021 and 2026

TASTING NOTES
Wine of powerful and generous character. The nose has notes of lemon but also notes of butter and vanilla . The palate is fairly tensed with acidity. The wine is fat with maturity and fills the mouth with flavor. It needs time to be tasted in its peak. It may deserve to be placed in carafe two hours before.

FOOD PAIRING
Perfect with fatted chicken from Bresse with a creamy sauce and mushrooms.

SITUATION
Altitude : 230-250 m

TERROIR
Blending of vines located on the villages of Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet.
Soil : calcareous clay

IN THE VINEYARD
Maximum yield authorized : 45 hl/ha
Wine-Growing method : sustainable
Harvest: 100 % manual

WINEMAKING
At their arrival in our cellar, the grapes are immediately and carefully pressed with a pneumatic press .
50% crushed grappes, 50% whole berries
Finning: yes
Filtration : yes

MATURATION
16 months (whose 4 months in stainless steel tank)
100 % oak barrels (whose 33% of new oak)

93-95 Points

This is also surprisingly expressive at this early stage with a broad-ranging nose that features notes of apple, pear, white flowers, wood spice and a hint of something mildly exotic. The big-bodied yet refined flavors possess a wonderfully textured mouth feel thanks primarily to the abundance of palate coating dry extract that does a beautiful job of buffering the notably firm but not aggressive acid backbone on the hugely long finish where a hint of wood appears. This is slightly finer than usual with a really lovely sense of overall balance and harmony. (6/2016)

Allen Meadows - Burghound

93-95 Points

Bright, pale yellow. Deeply pitched, slightly reduced aromas of stone fruits, pineapple and honey. Fatter and sweeter than the Bienvenue, then broader and more powerful on the back half, showing a ripe pineapple character but coming across as bone-dry. Less harmonious than the Bienvenue and a bit more phenolic on the back end. This wine will need a good seven or eight years of cellaring. (ST) (9/2015)

Vinous, Stephen Tanzer

Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru


FROM THE WINERY
Should be drunk between 2021 and 2026

TASTING NOTES
The texture combines power and tone, richness and delicacy. A fine wine with perfect balance. A little lighter than les Montrachet, it develops more towards a mineral wine.

FOOD PAIRING
With grilled crayfish or pan scallops.

SITUATION
Production area : 7,58 ha
Altitude : 250-300 m

TERROIR
This cuvée is made out of a single plot of our Domaine, located in Puligny-Montrachet. The location of Chevalier, at the top of the hillside of Grands Crus, and its positioning protect it from spring frost. Agronomically, the soil is poor, mainly marly limestone, on a 20% slope. The grape has an early maturity. The wine is subtle, almost aristocratic.
Sol : Marl

IN THE VINEYARD
Maximum yield authorized : 45 hl/ha
Wine-Growing method : Bio-dynamic (non-certified)
Harvest: 100 % manual

WINEMAKING
At their arrival in our cellar, the grapes are immediately and carefully pressed with a pneumatic press .
100% whole berries
Finning: yes
Filtration : yes

MATURATION
16 months (whose 4 months in stainless steel)
100 % oak barrels (whose 30% of new oak)

94-97 Points

There is a touch of mineral reduction that adds breadth to the wonderfully elegant and ultra-pure nose of various citrus and floral elements that are trimmed in just enough wood treatment to notice. There is a gorgeously refined mouth feel to the chiseled, intense and palate staining medium weight plus flavors that display an almost pungent minerality on the cool, harmonious and hugely long finish that is dry but remarkably not the least bit austere. This stunningly good effort is Zen-like in its sense of completeness and 2014 should make for one of the future great vintages of this storied wine. Note though that it is presently very structured and is going to require plenty of cellar time. (6/2016)

Allen Meadows - Burghound

94-96 Points

From vines in the lower portion of this grand cru: Almost Riesling-like aromas of peach, quinine, ginger, mint and dusty herbs lifted by pungent minerality. Superb saline minerality and a dusty impression of extract give this wine outstanding finesse and penetration, but it's ultimately quite smooth and impeccably balanced. Still youthfully tight but very long on the aftertaste. From Chevalier-Montrachet du Haut: Delicate floral lift to the peach and pear aromas. Less sweet and glyceral than the first sample, with an iodiney saline quality giving the middle palate a very taut impression. An assemblage of the two samples: Bright yellow. Subtly complex aromas and flavors of peach, noble herbs, flowers and smoky, flinty minerality, with a lightly metallic character. Tactile and dense but light on its feet and youthfully laid-back. Finishes scented, subtle and very long, with a tactile, dusty impression of extract. (9/2015)

Vinous, Stephen Tanzer


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