Tasted in Puligny with Antoine Le Petit, the 05 November, 2015.
Domaine Leflaive
Place Pasquier de la Fontaine
21190 Puligny-Montrachet
Tel: +33 3 80 21 30 13
www.leflaive.fr
Antoine on 2015:
An early vintage, a solar vintage with quick fermentations – a couple not yet finished. An earlier vintage than 2003, but with a good hydric reserve in Puligny – though there was noticeable suffering on the hill. Small berries, just one more rainfall here than in the Mâcon, so it was harder for Mâcon as they had no rain in June. There was enough rain for veraison though and even the berry size recovered a bit after the August rain. But then the ripening went very fast, 2 degrees per week. We started our harvest on the 29th in very warm conditions; the skins hard, indeed hard to press, so less juice. We had 10 mm of rain, same storm that went through Chablis, this relaxed the skins a little, and I would say that the sanitary conditions exceptional – we set aside the triage table after the 1st morning.
Antoine on 2014:
2014 more classic; some ups and downs in the weather, early budburst like in 2011 and 2007 but the second half of April was cold and wet so growth slowed down vs those years. The second half of May was lovely and we saw mid-flower in first days of June, it was warm so a little coulure, but no problem as there were lots of flowers. The weather changed after the hail-storm which touched the western and northern part of Puligny – about 10% losses – fortunately the leaves were okay. The weather stayed changeable until August and September – we picked from the 10th in easy conditions. The last of our malos finished in June 2015, though most were done before May, some even in December. We assembled the wines in the 3rd week of August.
The wines…
A beautiful vintage here, pure but not austere.
Always two parcels vinified separately, but then assembled when racked into tank for the second part of the wine’s elevage. Actually a small 0.04 ha parcel of vines is on its own roots too.
A wide palate of faint herb and yellow fruit. Lovely texture, mouth-watering loveliness, an inner steel, fine mouth-watering finish. Excellent wine.
Not so broad, but with more aromatic definition; a very faint agrume, almost licorice too. Wide, beautiful personality, intense, lovely and lingering.
2014 Meursault 1er Sous le dos d’âne
From vines planted in 2004 and 1995.
A warmer, faintly sweet oaked nose, textured, faintly padded, just a hint lush, but bright and really complex. Like almost every year, simply delicious. An almost steely minerality in the finish.
2013 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Clavoillon
Leflaive have a virtual monopoly of this large climat, as such it serves as their ‘laboratory’ a place where they try different treatment regimes, different pruning et-cetera.
Almost a shade of green to the colour. An attractive note of faint agrume reduction, but also a rather shy nose. Lush, open, it rolls over the palate, more green herb, less sweet oak, but a very fine line of flavour in the finish. A little mineral with fine clarity.
A warmer nose with a suggestion of patissiere, and yellow fruit – tart au citron. Hmm, joyous acidity and width, mouth-watering, super finishing flavour that’s long if a little discreet. Super-tasty.
Fresh and citrussy, more lime than lemon, floral, white flowers too – not sweetly perfumed, but perfumed. Fresh, ebullient, just marked with an extra gas, really a super extract on the mid-palate – really excellent in 14.
Wide, not so deep mineral and faint herb. Slowly becomes rounder in the mouth – large scaled with real intensity too. The texture is super, really more intense, hard to believe, in the mid-palate into the finish. Gorgeous.
2014 Bienvenues Bâtard-Montrachet
Wow – big, open and (importantly!) involving aroma, contemplative too. Fine texture again, a hint saline, growing in width, intensity and precision. Wide, hinting at spice and even tannin. Just beautifully mouth-watering and lingering. Super-tasty…
2014 Bâtard-Montrachet
More width, weight of aroma and freshness too, impact and width, the intensity is cushioned with a little structure and perhaps tannin again, more direct and citrus in the finish – super-long but today less tasty finishing than the Bienvenues.
Some reduction, agrume reduction, a lot of width, quite some discreet complexity here. Very small amount of padding, direct amd precise yet mouth-filling and with width and gorgeous mouth-watering flavour – more fruity, slowly fading. Excellent, of-course….