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Wine Description
The Story
Domaine Leflaive is the very summit of white Burgundy, producing outstanding wines that have the capacity to be very long-lived and develop richness, depth, and complexity with bottle-age. The Domaine owns and tends almost 25 hectares of vineyards mainly located in and around Puligny-Montrachet. Their holdings include 0.08 hectares of Le Montrachet, 2 hectares of Chevalier-Montrachet, 1.91 hectares of Bâtard-Montrachet, 1.6 hectares of Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, and Puligny- Montrachet 1er Crus; Le Clavoillon, Les Combettes, Les Folatières, and Les Pucelles. Domaine Leflaive has been totally biodynamic since 1997. These are some of the most highly sought-after white wines in the world.
Origin / 4 parcels in the Bâtard-Montrachet appellation.
Bâtard 7: 7 ouvrées (0.74 acre) planted in 1974 (commune of Chassagne)
Bâtard 8: 8 ouvrées (0.85 acre) planted in 1979 (commune of Puligny)
Bâtard 9: 9 ouvrées (0.95 acre) planted in 1989 (commune of Chassagne)
Bâtard 21: 21 ouvrées (2.22 acres) planted half in 1962, half in 1964 (commune of Puligny).
Surface: 1ha 91a (4.72 acres).
Method of culture
Long, gentle pneumatic pressing, decanting over 24 hours, thenracking and running into cask of the must.
Alcoholic fermentation in oak casks, 25% new (maxi 1/2 Vosges,
mini 1/2 Allier).
Maturing: after 12 months in cask, the wine is aged 6 months in tank where it is prepared for bottling.
Homeopathic fining and very light filtering if necessary.
Biodynamic.
Manual harvesting with grape sorting and optimisation of choice of date through parcel-by-parcel ripeness monitoring
Vintage 1996
1996 VINTAGE in Burgundy
Maturity levels were in general high following a long hot summer. The wines from the famous Pinot Noir have an intense ruby red colour with lush red fruit aromas. They are wines that are comparable with the outstanding 88s and 89s. The whites are just as outstanding full-bodied with elegant vibrant Chardonnay fruit and sweet white flower and grilled nut aromas. These are wines that have the potential to age magnificently.
Each harvest we hope for three things, favorable weather conditions, healthy grape clusters and high sugar levels. The 1996 harvest provided all of these. April was particularly sunny and brought about an early bud burst (18th of April). Following this we had what can be described as a flash flowering which leads to good pollination, creating high yields.
Arean had low rainfall levels, a sturdy breeze (which kept rot to a minimum) and a long ripening period. These factors created high sugar levels and good acidity within the grapes. Cloud cover in August, combined with the coldest September on record meant that the sugar levels were exceptionally high and so was the acidity: 12% potential alcohol with 5.5g of acidity for Corton Reds and 13%-14% potential alcohol with 6g of acidity for Corton Charlemagne.
As a result, most are very pleased with the 1996 vintage. The reds have an intense color, good tannin structure and concentrated Pinot Noir flavor. The white wines are also impressive, containing plenty of rich fruit character, a crisp acidity and are already showing an attractive bouquet.