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Leflaive Revisited (Olivier)

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Domaine Leflaive has occupied a special place in Burgundy for the longest time. Regarded as one of if not THE finest white Burgundy estates. There may be healthy debate about who is on top nowadays. Whether that is Coche-Dury or Domaine D'Auvenay, Ramonet, Lafon, PYCM, Henri Boillot, Roulot but you exclude Leflaive at your own peril. What is undeniable however, is that Leflaive owns some of the best vineyards in puligny montrachet for ages and have been fully bio-dynamic for 25 years (since 1997) by this point. So why bring up a very well known domaine whose prices are already sky high?  Well here is where it gets interesting.  Olivier Leflaive is the cousin of the now deceased Anne-Claude Leflaive running Olivier Leflaive Freres. After leaving the domaine to develop his negociant business 5 plots in the below vineyards were placed on an 18 year lease to Domaine Leflaive. This lease ended in 2010 and those very same biodynamic parcels reverted back to Olivier Leflaive (see below).
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Watch This Space....

It has been quite a while since my previous post - 8 years to be exact. What's gone on all these years? Well, things were a bit hectic to say the least. Back in those days it was not so easy to find information about wines especially in a complex region such as Burgundy. Fast forward to 2021 and we have an abundance of information - almost too much! Correspondingly, wine prices especially Burgundy wines have reached stratospheric levels are and no longer accesible for most people. It is in this environment that we will try to find values, under appreciated domaines and long forgotten ones. We will try to explore this space and try to get ahead of the curve and the rest of the pack so to speak. Stay tuned!
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Will the real "La Romanee" please stand up? A case of historical disinformation

There so many "Romanee" plots in Vosne-Romanee it's hard to keep track - what is real and what is not? We can clear things up with a little bit by looking back in the history books. Aprill 11, 1866 - The Village of Vosne by government decree attaches it's most famous plot "La Romanee" to it's name. Thus Vosne-Romanee is born. So what exactly is this most famous of growths "La Romanee" which predates all AOC codes and even the name of the village it comes from? La Romanee originally belonged to the church - the priory of Saint-Vivant de Vergy. It was not until 1512 after Burgundy was annexed by Louis XI that the priory of Saint-Vivant had to declare their assets or vineyard holdings for taxation purposes. And here we get our first clue through a detailed accounting of "La Romanee". Of the 4 Clos declared were Clos des Neuf Journaux, Clos du Moytan, Clos des Quartre Journaux and Clos de Cinq Journaux . It is this Clos de Cing Jo
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Meo Camuzet 2012 - From the Barrel

This is a recent barrel tasting right after racking. Quite a few were doing remarkably well despite this but a few were not. Of these I would say the VR Aux Brulee was the most closed but you could tell there was so much swirling underneath. Would not right it off but right now it was closed for business. Of the other wines here were a few that "stood out" from a pack of fantastic wines. 1) Haute cote de Nuit (Blanc). This had a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. Given the prices (~EUR 15?) - something not to miss 2) Fixin Village had a good length and a minerality which was quite attractive. Again something in the value to money camp. 3) Echezeaux - this was singing that day. Red fruits, minerals, stones, mid palate concentration and finish. This might be the "sweet swpot" of the Grand crus. 4) Cros Parantoux - A bouquet of fireworks. Spice, red fruits, minerals, stone/gunflint, backbone, length. Put's many grand crus to shame 5) Richebou
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A Memorable Dinner

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A wine dinner to remember - 6 People, 3 wines. This was quality over quantity for sure. Instead of posting tasting notes and scores wine lovers probably have a few more important questions in their minds - I'll try to anticipate some of them. 1) Is Domaine Leflaive's Montrachet really that good? Yes it is. 1991 was not THAT good a year and yet this was amazing. And yes IMHO better than a DRC Montrachet because it had more class AND was more true to the terroir. Why? Because this is in my mind this is truly what Montrachet is really about with the power and depth of a Batard Montrachet and the precision and minerality of a Chevalier Montrachet straddling both - this is a complete wine. DRC is a great Montrachet but perhaps one with a bit of alchemy and "MSG" to spice things up. Is it worth that kind of money? Probably not but neither is DRC Montrachet or say a Coche Dury CC... 96+ points! 2) 1961 Musignys. You Leroy lovers are going to be disappointed when I say
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Chinese New Year get together

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It has been a while since my last post but this extended break over Chinese New Year gave me some time and energy to post a few notes. First up (not pictured) - Ulysses Colin Blanc de Blanc extra Brut. This was certainly bone dry and acidic - more like mineral and steel rather than fruit. Good but maybe not quite the wow factor as Selosse. Next - 2009 Chateau De la Tour Clos Vougeot Vielles Vignes . These old vines are nearly a 100 years old ( turned 100 in 2010). Extremely primal with fruit and cherry compote being the overriding aroma. The minerality is there but is dominated by the fruit today. Almost like something from the barrel. Very good acidity which is surprising given the reputation of '09s as "big and ripe". Very long finish. Extremely concentrated tight and coiled even after double decanting and 6+ hours. Extremely fine tannins but the structure is there - this is a 15+ year wine and wouldn't be surprised if it shuts down soon. This is going to be somethi
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Some tasting notes from a while back

Hi folks, The Winehunter has been quite busy as of late. First order of business is to mention that the Winehunter has gone into the business and therefore disclaimers please. Take what is said with a grain of salt but then again - this should be done in any case. At least for now anyway - this is specialized into the Single Malt whiskey business so.. my tasting notes on wine still count? ;-) Here are some tasting notes from dinner couple of months back: 2002 Coche-Dury Puligny Montrachet "les ensigneurs" . Amazing vitality, minerality and precision but still has enough depth to make this "robust". Needs another 5 years. 92 points 1988 Meo Camuzet Cros Parantoux . Tea,violets, vanilla. Velvety but with energy, multi-faceted. This is Henri Jayer folks - no doubt. 94 points 1943 Latour a Pomerol . Complete but a bit on the acidic side. V Good. 94 points 1937 Clos de Lambrays . Minerals, red fruits, sweet, plums, dried flowers, violets. 94 points.
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