Domaine Leflaive, the most famous estate in Puligny-Montrachet, was founded in 1920 by Joseph Leflaive, an engineer in the marine engineering corps who helped to design and create the first French submarine. Following his marriage to Camille Biétrix du Villars, his career took on a different path as he found himself looking after the family vines in Puligny-Montrachet. His sons, Vincent and Jo, made it their aim to bring the Côte de Beaune’s Chardonnay up to the highest rank of excellence.
Under the management of Joseph’s grand-daughter Anne-Claude Leflaive, who was at the helm between 1990 and 2015, the domaine became a leader in Burgundy’s biodynamic movement, with the whole property being converted in 1997.
“Before I had even heard of biodynamism, my instincts told me that whatever we do in our lives must be done with a respect for nature and the environment.”Anne-Claude Leflaive
Now run by her nephew, Brice de La Morandière, the wines of Lefliave continue to startle, delight and astonish all those who are lucky enough to be able to drink them.
Leflaive has 22 hectares of vineyards, including 10 hectares of Premier Cru and 5 hectares of Grand Cru sites.
“Anne Claude Leflaive was probably the most indomitable woman winemaker to have lived. Her passion – and occasionally dogma - can in no short measure be held responsible for the rise of biodynamics in vineyard management, the reduction in the use of pesticides in Burgundian farming, and the celebrity of the white wines of Burgundy. When she died in 2015, at tragically only 59 years old, the world of wine shed a tear.”Rod Smith MW
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