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A New Vintage and A New Winemaker At the Head of Domaine Leflaive

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

The 2017 harvest is well under way in the Northern Hemisphere, and Puligny-Montrachet in the Cote d’Or in Burgundy, France is no exception. According to their website, at Domaine Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet, harvest took place from Aug. 29-Sept. 5. And the 2017 harvest marks the first vintage with a new winemaker at this historic winery.

Domaine Leflaive was created by Joseph Leflaive in 1910 but the Leflaive family has been established residents in Puligny-Montrachet since 1717. Joseph’s children, Vincent and Joseph-Regis, inherited the property upon his death in 1953 and in 1990, Vincent’s daughter Anne-Claude Leflaive and Joseph-Regis’ son Oliver became co-directors. Upon Anne-Claude’s death in 2015, Brice de la Morandiere, great grandson of the founder Joseph Leflaive took charge.

Under Anne-Claude’s control, famed Burgundy winemaker Pierre Morey made the wine at Domaine Leflaive from 1988-2008, followed by Eric Remy from 2008-2017. In January 2017, under Brice de la Morandiere, oenologist Pierre Vincent became the new general manager.

11 October, 2017

The Super Vintage of the Rhone Valley

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register. The bi-annual Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône took place on April 10-13. Over four days, wine professionals from around the world explored...

09 May, 2017

History in a Glass with Chateau La Nerthe in Chateauneuf-du-Pape

This story was originally printed in the Napa Valley Register.

I stood holding a glass of rosé wine at a recent wine lunch with Chateau La Nerthe when the export director Christophe Bristiel looked at me and told me that I was holding a glass of a wine that was 800 years old.

He did not mean that the actual wine in my glass was that old but rather that the rosé wine was from a winery dating to 1199. Prieuré de Montézargues was a monastery in Tavel, France and the French King had granted the monks the right to make wine. Today, the 84-acre property is owned by the Richard family who also own Chateau La Nerthe in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Domaine de La Renjarde in Cotes du Rhone Villages.

After enjoying the structured Prieuré de Montézargues Tavel 2015 made with 55 percent grenache, 30 percent cinsault, 13 percent clairette and 2 percent of syrah, mourvedre, carignan and courboulanc and with its notes of strawberry and gooseberry, we sat down for lunch and to taste the wines of Chateau La Nerthe.

05 October, 2016