Domaine Leflaive

Vintage Reports

The 2009 Vintage: Puligny-Montrachet

Mild, regular spring weather followed several heavy winter frosts, bringing on budburst at the beginning of April. The month of May was fine and sunny, though not particularly warm. As a result the vegetation grew steadily, and the vegetative cycle continued its advance. The first flowers were noted on May 22 and the last on June 6, with full flowering on May 27 and 28.

June and July were marked by heavy rain showers over short periods of time. August was magnificent with timely rainfall interrupting long sunny spells and with very hot weather from August 13 to August 20 — the finest month of August since 2005. These conditions were very favorable for the ripening of the grapes.

We started the harvest on Saturday, September 5, finishing on September 11 at the end of the morning – with warm sunny weather throughout the entire week. The grapes for the Cuvée des Climats du Coeur were harvested on September 10.

The musts – rich, powerful and full of sunshine – were run into barrels quickly and were soon bubbling in the cellar. Once fermentations started, they continued unabated and finished by the end of autumn. Malolactic fermentation had just begun when winter arrived, and before winter was over, it was completely finished, earlier than in 2008.

Maturing was classic, and following 12 months in cask, the first racking off took place. Bottling should take place at the end of winter and beginning of the spring 2011. The wines are rich, with an abundance of fruit and mineral character.

The 2009 vintage can be appreciated at the earliest as follows:
Bourgogne Blanc beginning in 2012
Puligny-Montrachet beginning in 2013
Premiers Crus beginning in 2014
Grand Crus beginning in 2015
Montrachet beginning in 2017

The 2009 Vintage: Mâcon-Verzé

This is the sixth year in biodynamic viticulture for our vineyard in Mâcon-Verzé.

Following a classic winter, spring was sunny and warm. The vines grew rapidly, with the first flowers noted on May 26.

Despite poor weather from June 5-16, conditions improved and July was very fine, with one heavy rain spell at mid-month. August had excellent, warm weather with rapid grape ripening.

In September, the grapes were healthy and of good quality. Harvesting began on September 12 under perfect weather conditions.

Alcoholic fermentation was completed quickly for the Mâcon-Verzé must, with malolactic fermentation starting at the end of the winter and finishing during the spring 2010.

The 2009 vintage is rich, powerful and well-balanced, with a plenty of liveliness and mineral notes. The whole is enveloped by fine, subtle floral and citrus aromas.

This wine may be enjoyed upon release in 2011.

The 2008 Vintage

Following relatively mild weather in January and February, winter lingered with a very cold month of March. This resulted in late budbreak in mid-April.

Spring and early summer were particularly damp, with a prevailing southwest wind. Over the entire vegetative cycle, rainfall was double that of 2007, with 450 millimeters (17.66 inches) between April and September. These difficult conditions were favorable to the development of diseases and required a huge capacity for adaptation. After the heavy rains at the end of May, we had to treat the vineyards to prevent mildew.

Flowering began on June 1 and continued over three weeks. With the poor weather conditions in July, the risk of oïdium followed that of mildew. Fortunately, the commune of Puligny was spared the summer hailstorms that hit Meursault. The continuation of the damp weather at the end of August and beginning of September gave rise to fears of heavy botrytis development, especially in the earliest-ripening sectors.

Miraculously, the north wind began blowing on Sunday, September 14, giving the whole of Burgundy ideal conditions for the end of ripening and the harvest. Fairly cool, dry and very sunny weather prevailed. The harvest took place from September 22 to 29 and produced — after stringent sorting of the grapes — excellent substance, with fairly high levels of both sugar and acidity.

The wines can be enjoyed, at the earliest, as follows:
Bourgogne Blanc from 2011
Puligny-Montrachet from 2012
Premier Crus from 2014
Grand Crus from 2016
Montrachet from 2020

The 2007 Vintage

Following a fairly mild winter with no prolonged periods of frost, which in fact are beneficial to soil structure and the sanitation of vineyard parcels, budbreak began early in the spring, around March 20.

Vine growth was rapid — very rapid in April — since the weather was fine and very warm for the season. The month of April was dry until the 26th, when hail fell on Saint-Aubin, also touching Chevalier-Montrachet, Le Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles.

In May, temperatures dropped slightly at the beginning of the month, followed by a period of rain from the 10th to the 16th, and a short dry spell from the 17th to the 24th (during full flowering). June saw alternating spells of hot and cold weather.

At the beginning of July, temperatures dropped, with humid weather between the 8th and the 10th of July, followed by a dry spell from the 11th to the 16th. The “dog-days” of summer (heat wave) forecast for 2007 from the beginning of March and April never materialized. The month of August held the same weather profile as the preceding months, (excepting the exceptionally warm temperatures during three weeks in April), cool for the season, two warm days, storms ...

The 100 days of the vine cycle took us to August 27 and 28, but the date for harvest was set for September 1, the date when physiological maturity was attained.

In Puligny, harvest began on September 1 and ended on the 7th. The vines had reached the end of their vegetative cycle, and sugar synthesis had slowed down. There was no rain during harvest, just a bit of mist at the beginning, then lovely, clear weather in spite of some tenacious clouds. Fine weather during the week of harvest allowed the vines to produce perfectly ripened grapes.

Alcoholic fermentation occurred without difficulties; malolactic fermentation began in the spring, revealing pure wines with lovely aromatic definition and balance.

They can be enjoyed, at the earliest, as follows:
Bourgogne Blanc from 2010
Puligny-Montrachet from 2011
Premiers Crus from 2012
Grands Crus from 2015
Montrachet from 2020