From Lyon to Paris: Total Immersion in Burgundy and Champagne 2023 by ombiasy WineTours took place from Sunday, July 02 - Thursday, July 13, 2023. The tour started in Lyon and ended in Paris
We spent more than half a day, including lunch, at Maison Olivier Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet.
First, a member of the Maison Olivier Leflaive team took us on an extensive vineyard walk of the grands crus of Puligny-Montrachet.
Second, we had a wine-pairing lunch at Restaurant La Table d’Olivier Leflaive with 7 wines of Maison Olivier Leflaive.
Third, between the vineyard walk and the lunch, we spent about an our with Olivier Leflaive himself.
Fourth, we were not able to visit the winery, as we did on the previous visits, as Maison Olivier Leflaive is no longer doing winery visits since covid.
This posting focuses on the vineyard walk and the talk with Olivier Leflaive. A second posting will focus on the wine-pairing lunch.
The Leflaive Family in Puligny Montrachet
Just after the First World War, Olivier’s grandfather, Joseph Leflaive,
was faced with the failure of his steel factory in Saint-Etienne. His
investments in Burgundy were all he had left and he decided to enlarge
his wine estate. Burgundy had not yet recovered from the effect of the
phylloxera epidemic, which meant that vineyards were for sale at a very
low price. Joseph Leflaive was able to buy 25 hectares for his domaine.
In 1920, Joseph Leflaive started a program of replantation with better
adapted root stock, and progressively started to sell wine under his own
label rather than to négociants. It became a family-run operation
covering some 35 hectares.
After the death of Joseph Leflaive in 1953, his son, Joseph Régis, the
father of Olivier and Patrick Leflaive, was in insurance and along with
his brother Vincent, decided to take over the rein of Domaine Leflaive.
The estate soon began producing top-flight wines.
In 1973, Domaine Leflaive was given a company structure to avoid
splitting it up with subsequent inheritance, with the family members
becoming the shareholders. Joseph Régis had 5 children and Vincent
Leflaive had 3 children. Joseph Régis and Vincent Leflaive continued to
manage the company.
Olivier Leflaive
Oliver Leflaive is one of the 5 children of Joseph Régis. Initially, he
pursued a career in TV and radio for 10 years. In 1982, he joined his
uncle Vincent Leflaive to co-manage Domaine Leflaive.
In 1984, Olivier Leflaive launched his own company Olivier Leflaive
Frères, which we visited, with the help of his uncle Vincent and his
brother Patrick. He quickly established his own reputation amongst
Burgundy’s finest.
In 1990, Anne-Claude Leflaive replaced her father Vincent Leflaive in the management of Domaine Leflaive.
In 1994, the share holderss of Domaine Leflaive, i.e. the family
Leflaive decided to give the management of Domaine Leflaive to
Anne-Claude Leflaive. Olivier Leflaive left Domaine Leflaive and
focused henceforth on his own company, Olivier Leflaive Frères, which
he had already launched 10 years
Maison Olivier Leflaive
Olivier Leflaive founded his own company Olivier Leflaive, which we
visited, with the help of his uncle Vincent and his brother Patrick. In
1984, His brother Patrick invested in the business and became co-owner.
His uncle Vincent also invested and acted in an advisory capacity,
introducing him to winegrowers, and eventually to Jean-Marc Boillot who
became his winemaker from 1984 to 1988.
Together, they brought this haute-couture business to life.
In 1988, Franck Grux took over as a winemaker and still holds this role
today. Franck Grux was a young and talented winemaker who had been
working at the Domaine Roulot in Meursault. He rapidly became Olivier’s
right-hand man. Over the two past decades, he was able to establish a
strong, long-term relationships with the best growers in the region.
Olivier Leflaive is known today as a négociant (a wine buyer and
seller) of high quality with a focus on the whites from the famous
villages of Puligny, Chassagne and Meursault. Olivier Leflaive is
continuously expanding and has acquired several vineyards that allow the
Domaine to develop and build up its range of Domaines Wines alongside
the négoce business.
In 1997, Olivier Leflaive Frères opened the Table d’Olivier Leflaive, where we had lunch.
In 2001, Olivier Leflaive Frères extended its expertise to the Chablis
AOC. In the same year, Olivier’s brother Patrick Leflaive, one of the
initial investors, joined the company as President.
As numbers of diners grow, in 2006, Olivier Leflaive decided to open La
Maison d’Olivier Leflaive, a 4 star hotel, to allow guests to stay
longer in Puligny Montrachet.
2010, after several long years, Olivier and Patrick received their family legacy in the form of some fabulous terroirs:
– Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
– Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
– Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles
– Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières
– Meursault 1er Cru Blagny Sous le Dos d’Âne
In the same year, Oliver Leflaive retired from Olivier Leflaive Frères.
Pictures: At Maison Olivier Leflaive in Puligny Montrachet, with Olivier Leflaive. See: Olivier Leflaive in Puligny Montrachet: Vineyard Walk and Cellar Tour, with Olivier and Patrick Leflaive - Bourgogne (and Champagne) Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France
Guided Walk in the Grand Cru Montrachet Vineyards (July 2023)
A member of the Olivier Leflaive team took us on an 3/4 mile vineyard walk of Puligny-Montrachet and talked extensively about the terroir, the vines and the vineyard work for us to understand what is at the source of one of the worlds most beautiful white wine.
Our guide: Our daily mission is to produce top quality grapes. This
involves a sustainable approach to working the vines, and also
supporting our partner winegrowers in cultivating their plots using an
organic or biodynamic approach. We have not any organic certification as
we don’t hesitate to use chemical treatment if it’s really necessary.
The harvest is entirely manual and the grapes are picked with the utmost
respect for the plant. Harvesting by machine is to be avoided at all
costs as it damages the vines and can never match the skill and judgment
of a human being.
Private Talk with Olivier Leflaive (July 2023)
After the vineyard walk and before lunch, Olivier Leflaive talked with us about an hour, about the history of his company, his philosophy of winemaking and other things.
In the Cellar of Maison Olivier Leflaive with Patrick Leflaive (2018)
This time, we did not see the winemaking facilities because since covid La Maison d’Olivier Leflaive has stopped to include cellar tours in the program.
Last time, before covid, from the vineyards, we walked back to La Maison d’Olivier Leflaive and
from there to the new production facility, where Patrick Leflaive took over
as host.
During the tour of the wine cellar, we met Franck Grux, the Directeur
Technicque of Olivier Leflaive, and Philipp Grillet, Maître de Chai.
Pictures: Pictures: Maison Olivier Leflaive in Puligny Montrachet: Vineyard Walk and Cellar Tour, with Patrick Leflaive - Bourgogne (and Champagne) Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2018, France
Patrick Leflaive: Although the quality of the harvest is key,
vinification and ageing also play a major role in bringing out the
essence of each appellation. Franck Grux and Philippe Grillet make it
their daily task to ensure the quality of the wines and respect for the
terroir. As such, the estate’s approach is to treat each cuvée
individually.
We vinify and age the equivalent of 120 hectares of vines (including 17
of our own), the majority of which are white wines from the three
prestigious Côte de Beaune villages of Puligny-Montrachet,
Chassagne-Montrachet and Meursault, as well as from Chablis and the
Côte Chalonnaise.
Pictures: Meeting Franck Grux, the Directeur Technicque of Olivier
Leflaive, and Philipp Grillet, Maître de Chai of Olivier Leflaive
Lunch and Wine Tasting at La Table de Olivier (July 2023)
The visit ended with a wine tasting lunch at La Table de Olivier, with Olivier Leflaive joining us for part of the lunch. The lunch will be covered in a
separate posting.
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