Domain Leflaive Montrachet Grand Cru 2009
The 2009 Domaine Leflaive Montrachet Grand Cru is a white Burgundy wine from the Montrachet appellation, made 100% from Chardonnay. Classified as a Burgundy Grand Cru, it comes from the estate's Montrachet parcel, a 0.08-hectare vine planted in 1960. This cuvée is biodynamically farmed; the estate carries out alcoholic and malolactic fermentations in oak barrels, followed by ageing on the lees in barrel and then in stainless steel tanks.
Identité du vin
- Couleur
- White
- Pays
- France
- Région
- Bourgogne
- Appellation
- Puligny Montrachet
- Producteur / Domaine
- Domaine Leflaive
- Parcelle / Cru
- Montrachet
Cépage et assemblage
- Grape Variety
- 100% Chardonnay
Domaine Leflaive
Domaine Leflaive is a family-run estate based in Puligny-Montrachet, in the heart of the Côte de Beaune. It cultivates 24 hectares of Chardonnay, spread across the appellations of Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet and several grands crus. The estate is run by Brice de La Morandière, representing the fourth generation linked to the Leflaive family.
- Owner
- Famille Leflaive
- Maître de chais
- Amandine Brillanceau
- Surface (ha)
- 24.00 ha
- Production (average bottles per vintage)
- 120 000 bouteilles/an
Histoire du domaine
The Leflaive family has been based in Puligny-Montrachet since 1717 and at that time owned a few vineyards, the grapes from which were sold. The estate in its modern form was established by Joseph Leflaive (1870–1953), an engineer by training, who returned to manage the family estate following the phylloxera crisis. From 1920 onwards, he embarked on a programme of replanting, acquiring and developing the vineyards, with the support of his estate manager, François Virot. He gradually began marketing the wines under his own label, whilst the first bottles were exported to the United States between 1932 and 1939. Following his death in 1953, his children Jo, Jeanne, Anne and Vincent kept the estate together and established a civil partnership in 1973. Jo took charge of administration and finances, whilst Vincent oversaw the vineyard, the wines and their marketing. Olivier Leflaive became co-manager alongside Vincent in 1986, then Anne-Claude Leflaive joined the management team in 1990 before being appointed manager in 1994. Under her leadership, the estate gradually adopted biodynamic farming during the 1990s. Following her death in April 2015, her nephew Brice de La Morandière, the great-grandson of Joseph Leflaive, became managing partner. Since January 2025, Amandine Brillanceau has held the post of technical director; Louis Brière is cellar master at Puligny-Montrachet.
Montrachet
Montrachet is a physically delimited climat and Grand Cru appellation shared between Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. Its vines occupy a narrow, elongated strip, perpendicular to the slope, in a slight concavity in the lower part of the east- and southeast-facing hillside. The terroir combines red, clayey, calcareous, and very stony soils with Jurassic substrates differentiated by a fault. Its rapid drainage and nocturnal air drainage limit humidity and frost risks.
- Vineyard commune
- Puligny-Montrachet et Chassagne-Montrachet
- Origin of the vineyard name
- The name comes from "Mont Rachet," understood as "bald mountain" or "barren mountain," probably referring to the sparsely vegetated promontory overlooking the site; "râche" is a regional term designating ringworm or scurf.
- Exposure
- East to southeast
- Altitude
- 250–270 m
- Slope
- Lower part of the hillside; strip perpendicular to the slope
- Soil
- Red, clayey, calcareous, very stony, and well-structured soils; locally lean and very stoney soils.
- Subsoil and geology
- Fault separating two sectors; Oxfordian marls rich in iron oxides over Bajocian/Callovian flaggy limestones, with locally highly fragmented Bathonian limestones.
Le domaine dans cette parcelle
- Estate holding in the vineyard (ha)
- 0.080000 ha
- Year the vineyard was acquired
- 1991
- Vineyard holding status
- Owner; parcel farmed biodynamically
- Indicative vine age
- Parcel planted in 1960.
Histoire de la parcelle
The cru is attested as early as the 13th century in the form "Mont Rachaz." It truly took off in the 18th century under the impetus of the Clermont-Montoison family, lords of Chagny, and Thomas Jefferson placed it on par with Chambertin in 1787. Puligny and Chassagne appended the name Montrachet to their village names in 1878. A Beaune court ruling defined the appellation of origin in 1921, and the Montrachet AOC was subsequently recognized on July 31, 1937.
