Domaine Leflaive

The Domaine Leflaive is based in Puligny-Montrachet on the Côte de Beaune in Burgundy in France. The Leflaive family settled there in 1717. From 1920 onwards, Joseph Leflaive developed the family vineyard further after the phylloxera crisis through new planting and expansion. During this time, the Domaine began bottling the wines itself and selling them under its own name.

The vines have been farmed biodynamically since the 1990s; the official history of the estate dates this orientation to 1996. This includes controlled yields and harvesting at the appropriate ripeness time. Grand Cru sites, as well as some Premier Cru parcels, including Les Pucelles, are ploughed with a horse. According to the estate, this replaces herbicides, reduces soil compaction and supports the biological activity of the soil.

The Grand Cru parcels of the Domaine Leflaive are in mid-slope locations with good drainage and a favourable exposure. The Premier Cru site Les Pucelles features fine, clayey-limestone soils. In the Puligny-Montrachet appellation, brown, calcareous soils and limestone alternate with clayey-limestone marl bands; the vineyards are predominantly oriented east to south-east and lie at around 230 to 320 metres above sea level. The white wines of the appellation are produced almost exclusively from Chardonnay.

The Domaine produces its own wines from the historical centre of Puligny-Montrachet, including four Grands Crus, five Premiers Crus, a village wine and a wine from the regional Bourgogne appellation. Grand Cru sites include Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet and Montrachet.

The estate wines have been vinified for more than a century in the Rue de l’Église in Puligny-Montrachet. In the 1990s, Anne-Claude Leflaive took over sole management; in 2015, Brice de La Morandière became managing partner. Renovations of the cellar and cellar buildings aimed at improved thermal insulation and a reduced need for external energy.