This wine is a pre-arrival, expected arrival this spring.
Domaine Leflaive’s story is one of quiet revolution. Joseph Leflaive, a metallurgical engineer, purchased the estate in 1905, then a struggling collection of vineyards, and began replanting and revitalizing its holdings. Over the following decades, Domaine Leflaive became synonymous with Puligny-Montrachet and the pinnacle of white Burgundy.
Brice de La Morandière, current steward of Domaine Leflaive, was born into the lineage of one of Burgundy’s most revered winemaking families, but his path to Puligny-Montrachet was anything but preordained. A former engineer and businessman, Brice returned to Burgundy in 2008 to lead the domaine established by his great-grandfather, Joseph Leflaive, and to carry forward a legacy built on vision, stewardship, and an uncompromising commitment to quality.
It isn’t just the vines that have evolved over time. Domaine Leflaive has long been a pioneer in biodynamic viticulture, adopting these practices under Anne-Claude Leflaive’s leadership in the 1990s. Her approach—eschewing synthetic chemicals in favor of holistic, earth-first farming—set a benchmark in Burgundy for sustainability and terroir expression. Today, Brice continues this philosophy, blending tradition and innovation to produce wines that are a profound reflection of the land.
Puligny-Montrachet, where Leflaive’s grand and premier crus flourish, is renowned for its calcareous clay soils and perfectly pitched slopes that capture the morning sun. From the ethereal minerality of Chevalier-Montrachet to the rich, enveloping textures of Bâtard-Montrachet, each parcel has its voice, its song. Leflaive’s skill lies in allowing those voices to shine through, crafting wines of purity, complexity, and age-worthy brilliance.
In Brice’s words, the goal is to create “the kind of wine that expresses not just the climate and the season, but the vineyard itself—the wine’s soul.” And Domaine Leflaive’s wines do just that. They are unmistakably Puligny, unmistakably Leflaive: vibrant, mineral-driven chardonnays that sit at the nexus of elegance and power.
95 Vinous
"The 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er Cru, which always suffers millerandage, has a taut, stony, Zen-like bouquet that, at the moment, is less flattering than the Les Folatières. This is going to bide its time. The palate is pretty complex, with a dab of lemon rind, a welcome bitterness and salinity, plus a very intense finish. The 2022 is one for Puligny diehards. I admire its aloofness and uncompromising nature.”
— Neal Martin, June 2024
