Domaine Leflaive is one of the world’s great wine domains, producing some of Burgundy’s most sought-after white wines. The Leflaive family Domaine has a history dating back to 1717 and has 23 hectares of holdings spread throughout Grand Cru, 1er Cru, Village and AOC level vineyards around Puligny. The Domaine gained its prominence in the hands of Anne-Claude Leflaive, who converted the vineyards to biodynamics in the 1990s giving the wines greater transparency in their expression of terroir.
Bâtard-Montrachet is a grand cru vineyard at the base of the Montrachet hill, across the communes of Chassagne and Puligny-Montrachet. Along with its grand cru neighbours Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet is considered to be one of the very best terroirs in the world for the Chardonnay grape variety, making complex, structured wines with excellent aging abilities. Leflaive has 4 parcels in the Bâtard-Montrachet appellation, totalling 4.72 acres.
Here the nose is more expressive and more elegant than it usually is at this early point with its cool citrus and a broad range of floral elements that include rose petals, acacia and lilac along with subtle oak and spice wisps. The restrained, concentrated and enveloping larger-scaled flavours possess evident power and muscle, both of which become ever more apparent on the palate coating finish that goes on and on. This is a big but not massive Bâtard that should age gracefully over a 12 to 15-year cellaring horizon.