Domaine Olivier Leflaive Winery Guide

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Last updated: February 25, 2024

Winery Overview

Top white Burgundy’s inherent beauty, power, and refinement reach their pinnacle at Domaine Olivier Leflaive. Although the domaine was founded as recently as 1994, from the outset, Olivier Leflaive has been producing excellent quality wines from the finest vineyards in Burgundy’s Puligny-Montrachet. Today, the domaine produces wines from vineyards across the Cote d’Or, representing over 90 appellations from Pommard to Aloxe Corton. However, the white Burgundy is made from estate-owned vineyards that excite connoisseurs, crafted with singular expertise by master winemaker Franck Grux. For over two decades, Grux has produced an extraordinarily consistent and enviable range of delicious white wines. Indeed, no number of adjectives can do them justice. They offer wonderful purity, concentration, and poise – the very definition of elegance in a glass!

Although Olivier Leflaive only started working with his own domaine in the 1990s, the Leflaive family have been white Burgundy producers for many decades; indeed, Olivier is the latest embodiment proud tradition of family winemaking in Puligny-Montrachet. His ancestor, Joseph Leflaive, grew up around the First World War and made a living from steel production. However, that side of the business struggled, so Joseph put all his faith – and money! – into expanding his wine estate and increasing his vineyard holdings. The wines’ renown grew, and in 1953, his son Joseph and brother Vincent took the reins and built up a strong reputation during the 1960s and 70s, so much so that the wines were intensely sought after and very expensive. The next generation, Vincent’s daughter Anne-Claude achieved even greater heights for the wines, working with her cousin, Olivier, in a great partnership. But Olivier yearned to strike out on his own and, in 1984, set up his own merchant house, although he continued to manage Domaine Leflaive until 1994. That year, Olivier was proud to unveil Domaine Olivier Leflaive, finally achieving what he had so often dreamt of; producing his label wines from his vineyards in Puligny-Montrachet. He also opened a fantastic restaurant, La Table de Oliver Leflaive, and has been an ardent supporter of promoting wine tourism in the region.

So, thanks mainly to the inspired decision to hire maestro Franck Grux from the beginning, Olivier has built up a reputation equal to his family legacy of Domaine Leflaive. From the village Meursault’s to the mighty Grand Crus of Le Montrachet and Criots-Batard-Montrachet, all his wines show real class and purity of flavor. But, of course, the magic starts in the vineyard, not the cellar; here, too, Olivier is blessed with the extraordinary talents of his brilliant team, who practice bio-dynamic principles and possess an unrivaled understanding of the terroirs they work with. Balance and health in the vineyards are their top priority, and boy, it shows in the wines! Thirty years on, Olivier’s reputation for stunning white Burgundy remains untarnished.