At Maison Olivier Leflaive in Puligny Montrachet: Vineyard Walk and a Talk with Olivier Leflaive - From Lyon to Paris: Total Immersion in Burgundy and Champagne 2023 by ombiasy WineTours

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.