Domaine Leflaive

2007 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Clavoillon 1er Cru. Golden hued. Effusive aromas of honeyed pears, flint, brine and moss. Packed, rich entry. This suggests honeydew melon, MacIntosh apple and has a chalky, lingering finish. Nice acidity and a seemless, round mouth feel. 93

I have limited experience at the lower levels, but everything I’ve tried from this Domaine has delivered and exceptional experience.

Just had this wine over the weekend. Great producer and always delivers! Pricey as hell though…

I thought this was the best clavoillon they produced in the 2000’s. It’s the only one I’ll willingly buy. In fact I think Leflaive killed it in 2007 period, not so much in 08/09

I’m glad I’ve got more. This was a treat to be sure. It went easy on a hot Summer night.

I’ve got a couple of 2008s too.

I’ve been impressed even with their Borgongne and Villages Puligny. The next one I’m looking at firing open is 2010 Borgogne.

Fire up a 2007 batard and it’ll blow your mind away… Really yummy about a month ago. Agree with Charlie that 07 is better than 08, though I’d say 04 is up there with 07.

The 10 Bourgogne is superb.

Bought 12 each of 09 and 10 Bourgogne. A joy every time I open them even though I know they will be even better with 5-8 years on them. Downright delicious and easily 1er quality in taste and length.

Thanks for the note, Scott. Have a couple of these and a few of the 2010 I’m waiting on!

Cheers,
Blair

I had meant to ask this. As someone who rarely has the budget for the upper-tier Leflaives, I sometimes pass by something like the 2010 Puligny Montrachet for $90 and wonder how that compares to 1er Cru white Burgs (and maybe even some Grand Crus) from other producers that sell for the same price.

And the same question for their lower priced wines (Macon Verze for $35 or so, Bourgogne for $50 or so). I’m sure they’re near the head of their class, but how does $50 Bourgogne compare to Puligny Montrachet or even some 1er Cru Puligny Montrachet that you might from other producers at that same price?

[Obviously, I’m not asking for a comparison of every Leflaive against every other white Burg, but just for some very general thoughts on this particular “producer v. vineyard” choice.]

i’ve liked the hyphenated montrachets from 08s. i do agree with you on the 09s.

edson!? I thought you had a good palate [snort.gif]

I would pass on the Leflaive Bourgogne and buy village or 1er cru Puligny (Pernot jumps to mind - 90% of the quality, half the price, none of the trophiness). It is very good, but you are paying for the name. I’m beginning to worry Leflaive is less consistent than I would like to think. The heights are certainly magical (had an 07 Puligny over the weekend that was stunning), but there are some disappointments amongst wines old and new as well. When they are on, they are amazing, but they are not on quite as consistently as I was led to believe they would be, based on rep and price, IMO.

Also, they sometimes nail off-vintages, or at least lesser ones in a way they don’t always with more obvious ones. The 79 Chevalier comes to mind…

I believe leflaive’s winemaker changed starting in the 08 vintage? Hence the change in style between 07 vs 08. Charlie and I had the 07 vs 08 pucelles and the 07 was just an entirely a different animal. From my experience, 01 02 04 07 1ers and GCs were just phenomenal.

Agree that Pernot is awesome… His BBM is quite fantastic!!

Hmm. May have to investigate a recent release or two - and lock down an 07 Combettes…

Agreed on Pernot BBM - miss the not so long past days where that was $100 or so…Batard not too bad either, and the Bourgogne Blance for everydayness…

I continued to buy Leflaives long after I stopped cellaring white burgs due to premox…I felt like the Leflaives along with Coche-Durys were spared, and I loved that Leflaive ?creosote nose and, well, the whole package. I then suffered a pox’d couple of 2002 premier crus, and my wine retailer friend had a pox’d 2007 Chevalier that really bummed me out. My take was that the 2007’s were excellent and that the 2008’s seemed a little more forward than I expected from that vintage. I have not tried any of the few 2004 Grand Crus that I have, but both the 2004 Bourgogne’s and the 2004 Clavoillon’s I have had seemed to be, in most cases, terminally reduced. The 2005 and 2009’s are not vintages I care for in general. I was willing to cough up the big bucks back when I thought Leflaive was immune from the plague, but at those high prices I am less willing to take such risks, and the winemaking style seems to have changed a bit. So I buy Bourgognes maybe some Clavoillons for earlier drinking. Anyone else have reduction problems with the 2004 Leflaives? Any issues at the upper levels in 2004?

Dear Robert,

If you are sensitive to the sulphur in the 04 leflaive that you have tried then you will have the same problem for each of their wines from that vintage.

Anthony.

+1. The 04’s from top to bottom are so heavily reduced. It’s kinda offputting.

While a relatively good wine, I’ve not been that impressed with the Leflaive '07 Clavoillon at the price point. It starts quite beautifully but the finish is a tad “warm/burning” for me, showing a lack of both freshness and elegance. I’ve had this consistently with this wine.

Pierre Morey retired from Domaine Leflaive mid 2008. After the premox issues I’ve had with Lelaive, quite a few 07s which did not impress me, prices which are plain ridiculous, an interview from AC Leflaive (dating from 2010) in “La Revue du Vin de France” where she’s making a total fool of herself… it’s been an easy decision to pass on these. More money for other producers…

Tasted Folatieres 07 which was awful, lacked of freshness. The wine was so oaky that I did not finish the bottle. What a shame at this level…
Tasted 2 times the chevy 2001 this year which was really good and the chevy 2004 whic was excellent and still very young.
Dramatic pricing increase and very bad reviews from people I trust have made me stop buying too many wines. I used to buy 2-3 bottles of each grand cru per year.