Some months ago I conducted a tasting of the Grand Crus of Domaine Leflaive and a few other wines. Here are my findings:

1997 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Pale green color. Scents of butter, rubber, and citrus. Fat and flowy in texture with an oily, expensive character, and intense burly flavors of minerals, chalk, and citrus fruit. Beautifully well defined and structured with a balanced, smooth and round aftertaste on notes of walnut, hazelnut, and lime. An intense, concentrated and intriguing wine that drinks well now.
94 points

1997 Ramonet Bâtard Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Dark yellow. Color somewhat alarming. Scents of dark bread, cheese, and beer. Almost like an old Champagne. The bouquet seemed slightly oxidized in nature, however in the mouth the wine was sweet and buttery with a bizarre undertone of cough syrup. Precise and well-integrated acid and good harmony overall. As the wine sat in the glass the bouquet improved miles, and the aftertaste was delicious. A different wine.
90 points

1999 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Pucelles, Burgundy, France
Pale yellow color. Scents of marshmallows. With air and swirling of the glass, notes of wet steel appeared. Brilliantly structured with an intense, well-focused, ripe beam of acid up the middle. Great intensity of flavor and complexity with a diverse array of nuances, and a precise, flinty, mineral-packed aftertaste. At the very end of the balanced and smooth aftertaste there was a hint of sulphur that did not get in the way of enjoying the wine. Very, very good.
92 points

1999 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Combettes, Burgundy, France
Pale yellow with a green hue. Scents of nuts, and truffles. Quite decadent on the nose. Flamboyant, big, and boisterous in the mouth with an eclectic, sophisticated, and expensive tasting myriad of flavor nuances such as white fruits, roasted nuts, rust, chalk, and lemon peel etc. Strong and intense with definite Grand Cru power, coupled with elegance and style and a light-on-its-feet character. Complex and intellectual with a long, balanced aftertaste. A wine that manages to combine the glitz and glamour with style and grace. Seriously good.
94 points

1999 Etienne Sauzet Puligny Montrachet Les Combettes, Burgundy, France
Medium yellow color. Scents of ink. Fat fruit with an oily glaze and a somewhat simple, beer-like sparkliness. Well-defined in the mouth with a firmly shutdown character. This wine did not show much in the way of flavor, yet behind the tall fence there was an unmistakeable sense of power and structure. The aftertaste was without hard edges and did show a faint pine wood flavor. A big wine in deep sleep.
90 points

2000 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Pale yellow color with a green hue, and a solid pale green color at the rim. Flint, gummy bears, and lime impressions coming out of the glass. Extremely concentrated and powerful with well-concealed alcohol and huge structure. Delightfully stylish with high levels of complexity, great depth, and a ripe acid beam at the controls. Powerful, long, and as Allen Meadows might say; "palate staining". Great.
94 points

2000 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Light yellow color. Scents of chalk and soap. Initially quite closed on the nose. Firm and tight at this point with huge structure and "big wine" character to it. Very concentrated and packed with brutal intensity and a long aftertaste with excellent grip and poise. In comparison with the 2000 Chevalier, this wine is slightly less sophisticated, but it makes up for any lost ground with its sheer size, coupled with good restrain.
94 points

2000 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues Bâtard Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Light yellow color. Sulphur on the nose. Fat, and sweet in the mouth with a candied character. Good intensity and complexity, but also slightly clumsy and corpulent. Almost as if the wine is too big in size for its own good. Significantly less well structured than its siblings from this vintage, yet a good overall impression. Below Grand Cru quality, but with potential for improvement, I suppose. I enjoyed the wine very much, but the company was tough on the night.
88 points

2000 Puligny Montrachet Les Pucelles, Burgundy, France
Medium yellow in the glass. Scents of cleaning agents and Popsicle. Classic, oily, and fat - almost Meursault like in texture with superb definition and freshness. Elegant and stylish and effortless in delivery with a pleasurable flavor impression on notes of roasted nuts, chalk, and lime fruit. Complex and multi dimensional with a long aftertaste. Unique in many ways, great in every way.
92 points

1990 Ramonet Le Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Medium to un-evolved yellow color. Huge bouquet on notes of tropical fruits such as coconut, mango, sour sop, but the prevailing scent was that of the most luxurious mint chocolate money can buy. Fat and oily in texture with no signs of cloying. Incredible well defined and mind-numbingly complex with ever evolving dimensions and layers of depth. Superb grip, focus, and intensity and perfect for drinking now, with lots of cellaring potential for those that prefer a more mature expression. As it stands now, this is one of the best white wines I have ever had, and it is by no means overly citric as some people have suggested. Superb+
98 points

1990 Raveneau Chablis Les Clos, Burgundy, France
Deep, mature yellow color. Scents of gun powder, apricot (in an almost Sauternes-like fashion), and rust. Great definition on the palate with a harmonious and balanced feel. Concentrated, complex, and perfectly mature, this wine has so much to offer in terms of drinking pleasure, but also intellectual quality. The aftertaste had a very interesting taste of rose petals, and it was long, balanced and seamless. A wonderful wine in every respect.
94 points

1983 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Medium yellow color (quite un-evolved for a 22 year old wine). Scents of chalk and minerals emerging from the glass. Big, fat, and oily in the mouth with a silk, velvet-like texture, and huge flavors of white flowers (not in an Alsace way), minerals, hazelnuts, vanilla, and burnt wood. Stupendous size and concentration governed by unmistakeable class and style. Fresh and light-on-its feet, this wine is a text book mature, stylish, yet powerful example. Greatness.
96 points

1985 Domaine Chevalier Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Medium yellow color. Scents of crustacean and honey. Dense core of ripe fruit with a delicious vanilla-spiced flavor, and excellent concentration and weight. Superb depth and complexity with an interesting "chewing gum" like taste that played in the background, leaving room for upfront flavors of big, ripe chardonnay fruit. There was an interesting turpentine character to the aftertaste, albeit not in an un-pleasant way. In fact, hard as I tried, I couldn't find anything un-pleasurable about this wine. In simple language, it was great.
95 points

1985 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Medium to dark yellow color. Scents of coal inter-mixed with gun powder, sulphur, and lemon fruit. Really fat and oily in texture with a tinkling, almost tannic sensation on the tongue. Superb power and concentration, well containing in silk-lining, and with great restrain and finesse. Layers of depth and plenty of material for deep thinking, this wine is perfectly mature, and would be a superb companion for a night by the fireplace with a good book. The aftertaste had a distinct "perfectly ripe Classic White Burgundy" character to it. This wine nearly had it all. All I need now is more of this wine, a fireplace and a good book.
94 points

2001 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Pale yellow color. Scents of apple peel, peas, and chewing gum. Largely structured with plenty of intensity and a linear, smooth delivery. Well defined and harmonious without rough edges. Delightfully stylish with a medium long aftertaste and ample complexity. Outstanding but not mind-blowing.
91 points

2001 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Pale straw yellow color. Scents of sulfur, and licorice with distant chalk impressions lurking underneath. String and concentrated with obvious, yet well integrated alcohol. Vanilla-spiced and sweet in flavor - big and boisterous in nature - seductive and sexy in intention - youthful and forward in delivery. There's plenty of stuffing and good reason to tuck this wine away for 5 years, however my general impression with the 2001's is that they should not be cellared for much more than that. Either way, this is an excellent wine with lots of interesting material and depth. Loved it.
94 points

2001 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues Bâtard Montrahcet, Burgundy, France
Light yellow to white color. Scents of liquorice, anise, cabbage, and apple peal. I was slightly put off by the cabbage note. Very acidic in the mouth. As the wine gathered momentum in the glass, the acidic mellowed out considerably and an intense core of sweet fruit peaked through. I kept wondering whether this wine seemed slightly un-ripe in nature, however, as I was not able to determine this firmly, I give the wine the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn't cellar this for more than 3 years, as such it does not seem to be Grand Cru in stature, however, by any measure this is a very enjoyable wine - especially if it is left in the glass for about an hour.
89 points

2002 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Light yellow color. Scents of autumn leaves. Brutally intense with huge, ripe fruit, and strong flavors of charred oak barrels, chalk, flint, wet stones, lemon and lime, and with marvellous grip, freshness, and well-concealed alcohol. Superb definition and structure and glorious harmony with all elements lining up perfectly. Long, complex aftertaste. This wine can be cellared for 20+ years.
95 points

2002 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Light yellow to white/transparent. Strong scents of minerals coming out of the glass. Like standing next to a quarry. Broad, fat, dense, intense, with every sign of perfect ripeness, classic vintage, and a huge dollop of fruit right there on the mid-palate, spreading effortless to every nook and cranny. Multi dimensional and complex with great depth and power. As good as the Chevalier is, this is even better. Will keep for 20+ years.
96 points

2002 Bienvenues Bâtard Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Almost completely transparent with a yellow hue. Scents of honey, gauze, and burnt pine wood. Oily and fat in texture this wine has huge fruit and a really well-defined structure. Nicely dense with ample complexity, and a very long aftertaste. In fact, the aftertaste adds in leaps and bounds to the score, as I couldn't help wondering whether there was enough acid to support the weight of this wine. I don't think that I am experienced enough to determine whether that would be the case, and as it stands, I got huge enjoyment out of drinking this wine. As such, it falls firmly on the right side of the 90 point barrier.
92 points

2002 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Pucelles, Burgundy, France
Pale straw yellow color. Somewhat closed initially, but as the wine gathered momentum in the glass, the bouquet opened up beautifully on notes of turpentine, red grapes, leaves, and raisins. Wonderfully silky in texture with a fat, oily velvet-like cloth of wrapping, containing the firm and structured, yet boisterous and intense fruit. Miles better than the Bienvenues, this wine is definite Grand Cru material with every element at a top level, and an overall impression that supersedes the sum of its parts. The aftertaste was balanced, long, complex, had great finesse to it, and left impression of cinnamon, and brown sugar. Brilliant.
95 points

1989 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Deep, dark yellow color. Strong scents of honey, truffles, and leaves. Dizzyingly complex on the nose. Sweet, round, and oily with underlying mineral flavors of wet steel and iron, coupled with white flowers, and roasted nuts. Incredibly dense with huge structure and a decidedly youthful appeal. Seductive in spite of its sheer size, with a myriad of dimensions and a long, deep, harmonious aftertaste on notes of citrus fruits, and vanilla spice. Superb length and width and capable of another 10 years in the cellar. A gem.
98 points

1989 Joseph Drouhin Marquis de Laguiche Le Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Dark yellow/light brownish color. Scents of butter frying on a hot pan, meat, and marzipan. Delightfully juicy and chunky with a wonderfully upfront bite, and great structure. Dense, smooth fruit, wrapped in a soft cloth of honeyed glace with ample power, precision, and grip. Still very fresh with a smooth, but firm string of acid down the middle. Great depth, dimension, and complexity with a long, spicy, balanced finish. Greatness in a bottle.
95 points

1996 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Light, unevolved, yellow color. Scents of dairy products, white flowers, and acacia honey. Oily in texture with a smooth glide path through the mouth and superb width. Elegant and subtle yet powerful and intense, this wine combines size and style in an admirable fashion, and the flavors range from roasted nuts, toast bread, honey, and smoke. Excellent width and definition with a great, long aftertaste. Very, very good.
94 points

1996 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Corked.

1996 Jean-Nöel Gagnard Bâtard Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Golden yellow, evolved color. Smokey scents, coupled with meat (almost like a big red Rhône). In the mouth the meat note was echoed in the taste, and the texture was smooth, expensive, and lush. Structurally, this wine is very defined with tonnes of ripe fruit poured in, superb integration of all elements, with flavors of tree bark, honey, almonds, lime/lemon, and fall forest. Powerful and firm with a great, long aftertaste, and unmistakeable Grand Cru character to it. Serious.
95 points

1996 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Pucelles, Burgundy, France
Pale yellow color. Scents of lemon, white fruits, and smoky bacon. Well structured in the mouth with an elegant and smooth motion across the tongue, delightful elegance and complexity, and good intensity. Flavors of chalk, wet stone, and rainy forest with a good array of dimensions, and good depth. Long, and balanced on the aftertaste. In fact, the aftertaste lands most of the points here. It was surprisingly long considering the wine's size.

2002 Meo Camuzet Vosne Romanée Cros Parantoux, Burgundy, France
Light red color with a blue hue. Scents of ink, and berries. In the mouth, the wine started out on a quite alcohol note, but as it gathered momentum in the glass, everything seemed to fall into place, and the alcohol became more subdued and retained. Medium bodied with interesting flavors of almonds. The intensity and power is quite prevalent, though the wine is quite tight and firm at this point. Big, long aftertaste on notes of cherries, and charred oak. Keep for 10 years. Will be huge.
93 points

2002 Meo Camuzet Richebourg, Burgundy, France
Light red color with a deep, dark core. Incredibly intense bouquet on notes of dark fruits, raspberry, gummy bears, and tea leaves. Large bodied with incredible finesse, that somehow manages to interplay with a slightly "slutty" character. Very expensive in taste with round flavors of heaven. Candy, lollipops, caramel, cream, and toasty oak, tease the mouth with superb style. Imagine that. So forward and approachable in nature, yet so refined. Glorious lush texture with a fantastic aftertaste on notes of candy, cherries, and oak. Will possibly benefit from cellaring, but irresistible right now.
96 points

2002 Meo Camuzet Corton Les Rognet, Burgundy, France
Dark red color. Scents of forest floor, dirt, barnyard, and leaves. Medium bodied with a nice, chewy texture to it. Well structured and built for the long haul. Somewhat rejective in nature at this point, with lots of promise of future glory. As is now, the wine is quite firm and tight, but reveals great purity and terroir, fierce intensity of fruit, perfect ripeness, and an admirable balanced character. Long, intense aftertaste. This will be great!
93 points

2002 Joseph Roty Charmes Chambertin Tres Vieilles Vignes, Burgundy, France
Dark red color. Scents of meat and butcher shop - more like and Hermitage than a Burgundy, save for the pepper. Big, powerful and string in the mouth with a slightly rustic character to it, high intensity, and perfectly ripe fruit dispersed in the German Highway-like structure. This is a wine for 20+ years of cellaring, and there is no mistaking the incredible potential of this wine. This is perhaps somewhat old school, but has every sign of greatness. Tonnes of ripe fruit, firm acidity, perfect balance and integration, and mind numbing complexity. Patience required.
95 points

2002 Joseph Roty Gevrey Chambertin Les Fontenys, Burgundy, France
Corked.

2002 Frèderic Magnien Bonnes Mares, Burgundy, France
Dark red color. Scents of red berries and marzipan. Somewhat diluted with a light body. Good balance of elements, but flavor-wise, this wine does not yield much. Flabby in structure with a medium to short finish. Certainly not up to snuff. In retrospect, the score is probably too high. Very disappointing wine.
85 points

2002 Georges Roumier Bonnes Mares, Burgundy, France
Medium, dark red color with slight lightening at the rim. Strong scents of cherries and saw dust. Medium bodied and delicously juicy with perfectly ripe fruit up front, and stellar structure and focus. Sweet and refined in the mouth with delicious flavors of pine, dark fruit, and wet tobacco. Quite classic in profile with perfect structure, and a generous, smooth, long aftertaste. Maybe too classic for some, but in my book this is delightful Burgundy at a high level. Smooth and balanced aftertaste with excellent harmony. Very, very good.
94 points

2002 Comte de Vogüé Bonnes Mares, Burgundy, France
Dark red. Scents of vanilla, liquor, and toasty oak. Large bodied with a rustic, rural character to it. Great intensity of fruit, and marvellous complexity with great depth. In many respects a thinking man's wine. Classic and terroir driven with great character and individuality, and lets not forget that there's plenty of ripe fruit to back up the insistingly classic approach. A baby at this point with cellaring 10+ recommended.
93 points

1975 Yquem, Sauternes/Barsac, Bordeaux, France
Amber colored. Scents of rain coat, apricot, PVC, and bee wax. Large bodied, and perfectly mature, this wine has lost a little bit of its freshness, but there is so much going on that it is hard to keep track of. The fill of the bottle was base neck. Well structured and quite powerful, this wine would be the perfect companion for strong blue cheese. A Fourme d'Ambert would be the perfect fit. Flavors of roasted nuts, tropical fruits, honey, and vanilla relayed to the taste buds with great persistence and power. Long, long aftertaste. This is far from the best bottle of 75 Yquem I have had, however, for what it is, the wine is serious.
94 points

Bonnes-Mares – Domaine Dujac 2002 : 30/7/2005 (au Celler de Can Roca)
PP17,5 – LG17+
- Une composition de haut niveau, florale, à la maturité de fruit prononcée, relativement terrienne. Un vin taillé pour la route, aux tannins admirablement satinés. Il est bien entendu loin de déployer son énorme potentiel.

Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru Amoureuses – F. Magnien 2002 : mai 2005, au Temps des Vendanges à Toulouse
PP13 - LG12,5
Nez si torréfié qu’on devine le grain moulu, exprimant de maigres notes de ronce, de minéral. Bouche austère, manquant d’expressivité, pour un pinot vraiment peu caractérisé en l’état.

Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru Clavoillon – Domaine Leflaive 1999 : 8/12/04
PP15,5+ – LG16
- Les arômes, pas très nets dans un premier temps (lait ribot), se mettent en place progressivement et prennent une tournure bien plus convaincante : menthe, réglisse blanche, menthe.
- Dans une phase ingrate, il reste encore relativement simple (noisette puis fruits blancs et miel). S’il ne s’impose ni par sa puissance, ni par son expressivité, il affiche néanmoins de belles promesses. Il est bien défini (élevage absorbé), avec une finale serrée et de bonne longueur. A attendre.


Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru Clavoillon - Domaine Leflaive 1996 : 31/12/2004
PP17,5 – LG17,5+
- Palette aromatique fine, dont l’élevage de classe dégage des senteurs nobles de vanille, d’agrumes, de végétal, de café, de noisette grillée.
- Bouche riche, pleine (le millésime veut cela !) pour un vin essentiel, en devenir, possédant une minéralité et formidable retour acide garants de longévité. Une certaine parenté (tranquille) avec le Krug.


Bâtard-Montrachet – Etienne Sauzet 1996 : 31/12/2004
PP16,5+ – LG17+
- Nez plus capiteux, sur les fruits mûrs, le raisin sec, le miel, le caramel, le coing, le nougat, sur fond de légère oxydation.
- Une nature extrême, puissante en alcool et fortement épicée caractérise une bouche rebondie, épaisse (huileuse), baroque également, qui n’a pas encore montré tous ses talents évidemment. L’épure est peut-être moins nette que dans le Clavoillon en raison de cette signature plus sudiste (on a pensé à un Hermitage un brin décadent), plus imposante et plus souple. Grande longueur.


Le Buerehiesel à Strasbourg : déc 2003
Meursault 1er cru Charmes Comtes Lafon 1996
(Notes : DS17 – PC16,5 - PP17 – LG17,5. Moyenne : 17)
et Meursault 1er cru Charmes Roulot 1996
(Notes : DS17,5 – PC17,5 - PP17,5 – LG18. Moyenne : 17,75).
2 belles bouteilles sur le papier, bues en parallèle. Roulot propose ici un vin plus tonique, plus svelte, moins débonnaire que Lafon (et aussi moins boisé). Les 2 expressions sont admirables de complexité, d’équilibre et de longueur, et parfaitement aptes au vieillissement.

Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru "Les Pucelles" Domaine Leflaive 1996 : mai 2003
DS16,5+ - PP15,5 – PC16,5+ - LG16+ - VM16,5. Note moyenne : 16+ - Prix : 98 €
- Robe encore plus pâle, presque blanche.
- Superbe nez, très marqué par la noisette grillée, le beurre cuit. Odeurs complémentaires d'agrumes (citron, orange).
- Bouche dotée d'une matière propre, dense, longue et vive. Notes végétales et fruitées. On pourrait escompter un supplément de profondeur et de race minérale. Ici aussi, à attendre impérativement.

Great white 1996 Burgundies !!!!!!!

Hi Joe,

What do you think about the longevity of the last decade Domaine Leflaive's Chevalier-Montrachet ?
Great potentiality and improvement to come or nothing to gain (or worse) forgetting them 10 years in a cellar ?

Regards,
dfried

--

Bonjour Joe,

Que pensez-vous de la longévité des Chevalier-Montrachet du Domaine Leflaive des années 90 ?
Grand potentiel et progrès à venir ou rien à gagner (ou pire) à les oublier 10 ans en cave ?

Cordialement,
dfried

ganesh, thank you very much for the Tasting Notes! Always good to compare. I can understand the relavtively poor showing of the Frederic Magnien CM Les Amoureuses.

dfried, I believe that Domaine Leflaive's Chevalier Montrachet is capable of a lot more than 10 years cellaring. I think as far as optimum drinking time 10 - 20 years out from vintage would be a good choice.

Joe,

Thank you, I agree that we need comparisons.

Do you have somme clues to explain the debate about the quality of these White 1996 Burgundies : a question of malolactic fermentation ?

Hi Laurent,
well I have followed the debate very closely and I have to say that I must have been very lucky, as I have only had one oxidized bottle (A Jean Nöel Gagnard Chassagne Montrachet). I have had lots of great bottles of White Burgundy from 1996 including wines from Domaine Leflaive, Comtes Lafon, Jean Nöel Gagnard, Ramonet etc.

Exceptional wines also (excerpts) :

--> Domaine de l'Arlot clos de l'Arlot blanc 1996
--> Pouilly-Fuissé domaine Guffens-Heynen “Vintans – l’année Louise” 1996

For all,
Do not reduce wine to the single issue of vocabulary !