Domaine Leflaive is easily what comes to mind when one things of white Burgundies - a rather dark horse category that to the surprise of many (and just as well, to the lack of surprise to its biggest fans) has become the biggest thing since sliced bread when it comes to the classical canon of French wines (so we're not talking no funky and wild Jura here).

The Leflaive History

The Leflaive (or more accurately, the Le Flayve) family has been in the today highly-prized Puligny-Montrachet area since the early 1700's, back before the sub-region had really taken off. Yet despite their early sizeable presence, generations of successors had resulted in the breaking up of the family's estate. This was the result of inheritance laws that forced land to be divided amongst each successive generation of siblings.

The Domaine Leflaive of today can therefore be more pointedly traced to the work of Joseph Leflaive in the early 1900's. Joseph had served as a naval engineer, and even helped with the designs of the first French submarine, and would later return to take over his portion of what was left of the family's vineyards. By the time Joseph had taken over in 1905, not only had the family's vineyards been withered down to a very small fragment (of 2 hectares) of what it originally was (as a result of successive inheritance splits), but had also been ravaged by Phylloxera which had wiped out vines across France, and more broadly, Europe.

Joseph thus began the work of replanting the vines, where he astutely did so with better adapted and stronger rootstock, with a focus on Chardonnay. This took more than a decade to complete before it could bear any fruit, and any wines could be produced from the land. Yet in that time, Joseph would find numerous vineyard owners putting their land for sale at great prices, having given up on growing vines after Phylloxera had hit. Under ordinary circumstances, land here would have been not only expensive, but often times impossible to purchase, as it would typically be treated as a family heirloom due to be passed on to future generations. Realising the opportunity, Joseph would seize it and buy up vineyards in the area to establish the Domaines Leflaive. He would expand the Domaine to 20 hectares, acquiring some of the Domaine's most prized assets today, Le Chevalier, Le Bâtard, Les Bienvenues, Les Pucelles and Le Clavoillon.

Another brilliant move by Joseph was to bottle his wines under his own name in the 1920's, as opposed to selling his fruit to a cooperative or to negociants. This allowed him to control his own prices and economics, and establish his own brand. It's alittle much like Taylor Swift if she had signed to her own record label.

The 1976 Judgement of Paris.

Leflaive In Ascension, From International Acclaim To Pioneer In Biodynamics

Having set the Domaine in motion, Joseph would continue his work until his passing in the mid-1950's, upon which his two sons Vincent and Jo would take over. If much of Joseph's work on the Domaine was in the vineyards, his sons' contributions would play out more in the cellars. They would continue to refine the family's winemaking to fully express the terroir of Puligny-Montrachet. It was under their hands that the Domaine rose to great repute. It would see its inclusion in several high profile events such as the heavily influential 1976 Judgement of Paris (held to pit the best of France against the best of the USA), and the 1980 Great Chardonnay Showdown (to establish the best Chardonnays across the world).

Anne-Claude Leflaive.

The third chapter of the Domaine's new era proved just as formative and important. The Domaine would be handed down to Anne-Claude Leflaive (the daughter of Vincent) and her cousin Olivier Leflaive (the son of Jo). Yet, quickly thereafter, the family would establish that Anne-Claude would helm the family's vineyards, whilst Olivier would establish his own negociant business under his own name - they continue to exist as totally separate entities (the Domaines Leflaive which produces its own wines, and Olivier Leflaive which is the name of the negociant's wines).

Under Anne-Claude, the Leflaive vineyards would go from great to legendary - she would be an early pioneer in bringing biodynamic farming to Burgundy in the early 1990's. By treating the fruit and wines with minimal intervention, removing all use of chemical products, and following the rhythmic cycles of the earth, the wines of Domaine Leflaive are said to showcase the utmost purity of the terroir, which has led to its indisputable reputation. In the cellars, one of the biggest innovations that Anne-Claude has brought on is the use of an egg-shaped container which disallows the wines from sitting still, and as per biodynamic principles, allows the wine to move seamlessly along with the rotation of the earth. Unfortunately Anne-Claude would pass on in 2015. 

Leflaive enters its fourth era under Brice de la Morandiere.

Today, the estate has been left in the care of Brice de la Morandiere, the great grandson of Joseph Leflaive. Under Brice, the vineyards has continued on its quest for sustainability, and has also focused his work on subduing premature oxidation of the wines, and has also helped to expand the Leflaive footprint into the Macon communes towards the south of Burgundy.

Into The Vineyards And Cellars Of Domaine Leflaive

As the Leflaive vineyards are spread across several areas, they each have their own microclimate, however, what can largely be generalised is that in Puligny-Montrachet the soils can be characterised as being dominant in calcareous clay, with a mix of clay and limestone. The soils are therefore mineral rich with traces of iron, magnesium and boron, which not only nourishes the vines, but also imbues the wines with minerality.

Each harvest is done entirely by hand, plot by plot. In the cellars, the grapes are pressed slowly using a pneumatic press, after which the must is left to settle for a full 24 hours before it is racked into barrels for fermentation - fermentation is purely from indigenous yeasts. The wines will mature for 12 months in 25% new oak barrels, with another 6 months in stainless steel, and then finally it is bottled. Only the Domaine's most prized Montrachet Grand Cru is aged in 100% new oak.

Today Domaine Leflaive, led by Brice, is one of the largest holders of Grand and 1er Crus in the Puligny-Montrachet appellation, with a total of 22 hectares across no less than 5 Grand Cru plots, producing 15 different cuvees. 

And with us now is the most accessible of the Domaine Leflaive portfolio! The Macon-Verze Chardonnay comes from five parcels in the Verze commune of the Maconnais, in central Burgundy. These parcels were acquired by Leflaive in 2003, and have been cultivated biodynamically since their first year, with the vines having been planted from as early as 1930. The fruit, once harvested, is fermented in 78% stainless steel vats, 10% in wooden barrels and 12% in 40% new oak barrels. It is aged for 10 months on the lees, after which it is racked in stainless steel vats and aged on fine lees for another 6 months.

2021 Domaine Leflaive Macon-Verze - Review

Tasting Notes 

Colour: Light Tint

Aroma: It opens up really bright, with soft notes of gooseberries, slightly more musky langsat fruit, there's that slight musky funkiness here. Also some gentle minerality that comes accompanied by alittle bit of acidity, but nothing that would be considered racy. It's gentle, bright and predominantly of soft notes of green fruits with a slight muskiness.

Taste: It's richer here, with more on light honey, entirely smooth, with almost a light syrupy quality. There's still some muskiness here. More of those green gooseberries, and langsat, leading into a more fleshy tropical white fruit of snakefruits. Very light acidity here. It almost comes off like a tropical green fruit cordial.

Finish: Alittle sweeter here, more concentrated as well, with a good focus on the honey and green fruits. Some light pepperiness, and then it's all gooseberries and custard apples. The richness goes all the way through the finish that fades off soft and plush.

My Thoughts

What was impressive here was the concentration and richness of the fruit. The tropical green fruits here were firm and focused, without ever any sense that it was lighter than it could be. It also had a very lovely body that was almost bordering on being syrupy, and in that sense again conveyed that richness to it, in both flavour and texture. It's like they had taken all the fruit and extracted the essence of it and amped up its concentration - and for an entry level, most accessible of what Leflaive offers, that's very impressive, especially if you consider that this goes for under USD$100 for a standard bottle.

Another aspect about Leflaive's Macon Verze is that it's entirely approachable - it's not racy with an electrifying zap of electricity, it doesn't make you pucker too much, it's also not overly funky and musky, here it's all quite mellow and soft, with a bigger focus on being rich and concentrated, and therefore lends itself well to a wider set of palates. Not everyone wants to be lightning struck by their whites y'know. That said, on the flipside, whilst I liked this style of white quite abit, I could see how some might find that it might not be as vibrant or as bright as it could be, it's mellow as opposed to being bold and forward, coming right at you; here you're more going to it instead. It could also sport more depth and complexity, and those who prefer something more dry might find that this is not as chiselled and precise as they might like. 

But I like it, and I think this is a great entry way into Domaine Leflaive.