Domaine Leflaive

Domaine Leflaive is the benchmark house of Puligny-Montrachet. The family's presence at this address traces back to 1717 with Claude Leflaive, but the modern estate begins in 1905, when Joseph Leflaive acquired 25 hectares during the phylloxera recovery. Replanting started in 1920, and the domaine began selling under its own label around the same time.

When Joseph died in 1953, his sons Vincent and Jo took over. In 1990, Anne-Claude Leflaive and her cousin Olivier assumed joint management. Anne-Claude became sole manager in 1994 and, in 1997, converted the entire estate to biodynamic viticulture — the first major biodynamic commitment by a top-tier white Burgundy producer, and a decision that reverberated across the region. Anne-Claude died in 2015; new management has continued the estate's direction since.

At the 1976 Judgment of Paris, Leflaive's Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles placed eighth overall.

The 1997 biodynamic conversion remains the defining axis of the domaine's philosophy. Every parcel is farmed biodynamically — no synthetic pesticides or herbicides, vineyard tasks timed to the biodynamic calendar. Yields are kept low at every level. New oak is used with restraint, the aim being to preserve the mineral clarity and transparency that define Puligny at its best. The best bottles need a decade to open and will reward twenty years or more.