Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru "Les Pucelles" 2024
(Burgundy, France) - [WS 96] [BH 96]

About the Domaine:
Biodynamic viticulture, coupled with the rare fact that each farm worker is salaried and responsible for a specific piece of the vineyard. This fosters devotion and attention to detail. Vincent Laflaive stresses the two values that are of the essence at the Domaine; “allowing nature to do its work, and maintaining a clinical cleanliness in the equipment used to stock and transport the wine.” The wines are developed in the true Burgundian tradition, spending two winters in the cellar, to ensure that once bottled the wine will “stand on both feet”, a local axiom. The wineries roots, no pun intended, trace back to 1717, making it one of the oldest in Puligny-Montrachet. Their Grand Cru vineyards span Cote de Beaune, totaling 13 acres of vines. They are best known for their whites, which can be attributed to their success during the Judgment of Paris where they took 8th place of the 10 wines awarded. Always a favorite with critics, Domaine Leflaive was praised by James Halliday in 2007 when he noted “it is an enviable position to know that every bottle is sold before it is made.” The sophistication and strong minerality of these wines create great longevity, perfect for the cellar, but hard to find. As Anne-Claude Leflaive points out, ‘I think that in your life, if you really want something, heaven helps you and you find people in front of you to help you.’
And here we are...

Terroir:
There are few places blessed with so much history and such geography.  Since the Middle Ages, Burgundy has produced wine like no other region. The know-how of the monks has passed through the centuries, evangelizing each village with vineyards that have always remained of a human-size. Nowadays, the total Burgundy vineyard covers less than 30,000 ha, barely 4% of French vineyards as a whole.

Vintage:
Working with Nature means humbly accepting its variations, its difficulties, and the challenges it sometimes presents. This is certainly true of the 2024 vintage, which can be immediately classified as a challenging one. The year was particularly rainy. From January to October, rainfall was one and a half times the usual amount and more than twice the precipitation of the two preceding years. The rains were regular, and the water table was significantly replenished. In October 2024, the old wells of the winery on Rue de l'Église and the cellars on Place du Pasquier both overflowed, fortunately only slightly.

The winter of 2023-2024 wasn't particularly cold, and the abundant rainfall was initially welcome. Spring was cold, with a few minor hailstorms that had no lasting consequences between mid-March and mid-April. We approached the season with some apprehension. 

Flowering occurred in humid conditions that encouraged coulure (poor fruit set). Vine growth was slowed by periods of cool weather. Rainfall prevented us from working in the vineyards, and downy mildew quickly took hold. 

The summer passed without great heat and ripening was particularly slow, especially as September was also cool, rainy and with regular thunderstorms. 

We began the harvest in Puligny on September 16th. The harvest is modest, at about half the size of the 2023 harvest, which was fortunately abundant. We are consoled by the excellent health of the remaining grapes on the bunches. The quality should therefore be excellent.

Winemaking & Aging:
Chardonnay grape variety grown biodynamically.
Hand-harvested with sorting of the grapes and optimization of the harvest date through plot-by-plot monitoring of ripeness.
Gentle, long pneumatic pressing, 24-hour settling followed by racking and barreling.
Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations in oak barrels.
Aged for 12 months in barrels on lees, then approximately 10 months in stainless steel tanks on fine lees.
Fining and light filtration may be added if necessary.

Ratings & Reviews

96 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Creamy in texture yet well-delineated by its vibrant structure, this white exhibits apple, lemon, floral, mineral, vanilla and clove flavors. Pretty much seamless, with great balance, leaving an aftertaste of pastry and floral notes. Exudes harmony and finesse. Best from 2028 through 2040. 660 cases made, 132 cases imported." - Bruce Sanderson (Oct 2026)

93-96 Points - Allen Meadows' Burghound:
"This is also ultra-elegant and cool but with a completely different aromatic profile as here there is a mix of honeysuckle, crushed fennel, exotic tea and an all but invisible wood influence. The succulent and highly seductive flavors possess more size and weight if not quite the refinement of the Combettes, all wrapped in a solidly powerful, compact, impeccably well-balanced and built-to-age finale. Classy juice with the potential to match." (Jun 2026)