2019 Montrachet Grand Cru

It is a couple of years since I was at Domaine Leflaive. I met winemaker Pierre Vincent and proprietor Brice de la Morandière staring at a barren square of land in the heart of Puligny-Montrachet, which is where, after some unavoidable delays, they will soon construct their new winery. Here, I tasted the 2019 vintage in bottle and will broach the 2020s early next year, Domaine Leflaive’s policy henceforth. “It was a year with a small frost,” Vincent explained. “June was cold with some rain, so this disturbed the flowering with a lot of millerandage. The second part of June, July and August was hot and warm, with just some rain between August 10 and 15 that helped finish the maturity. It was the millerandé bunches that created the concentration, as there was 20% less fruit. We picked from September 11 for the Puligny-Montrachet. All the wines are between 13.5° to 14.5° alcohol but with a pH not more than 3.10 after malolactic. It was a warm growing season with two heat waves, but the wines feel like they come from a normal season. Biodynamics helps us keep the balance in the vine – for example, by making the roots go deeper, preserving the canopy and preventing grillure because the sap continues to flow in difficult conditions. The vines remain more vigorous as they suffer less hydric stress. We bottle using Diam 30 for all markets." This is a deeply impressive set of wines that I believe are enhanced by Vincent’s magic touch. From the Village Cru up to the Montrachet (the first time I have tasted it at the domaine, thanks to Coravin) there is spine-tingling precision and freshness that leaves you with a Cheshire cat grin. And I fully support their move to Diam. I wish more wineries of their standing would follow suit.