The 2017 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru delivers a vibrant but reserved bouquet of lemon zest, white flowers and crushed chalk that is still some distance from displaying all its breadth of expression. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and tensile, with a tight-knit core, searingly intense chalky extract and an electric sense of energy, concluding with a long finish. This is the most linear Chevaliers I tasted in the 2017 vintage, which was typically somewhat more open at the same stage in Anne-Claude's day, so it will be interesting to see how much plenitude it displays in bottle.
The 2017 vintage is the first with Domaine Leflaive's new régisseur Pierre Vincent at the helm, so this was naturally a tasting replete with interest. No domaine stands still, and this storied Puligny estate has already witnessed a number of distinct eras. First came founder Joseph Lefalive and régisseur François Virot in 1918, who replanted the Leflaive vineyards after phylloxera and inaugurated the practice of completing the wines' élevage in stainless steel to compensate for Puligny's lack of cold, humid underground cellars. François retired in 1953, succeeded by his son Jean at the same moment when Jo and Vincent Leflaive succeeded their father Joseph. Uniting amplitude, tension and, above all, elegance, the wines of the Virot era defined greatness in Puligny and made the Domaine's reputation. With Jean Virot's retirement in 1989, followed by Vincent Leflaive's in 1990, Meursault's Pierre Morey took over as régisseur, and Morey's wines were made in a more Meursaultien style—more leesy and reductive, and often more overtly phenolic. As time passed, Anne-Claude Leflaive's passion for biodynamic approaches in the vineyards may have translated to a more laissez-faire approach in the cellar. But whatever the explanation, towards the end of Morey's tenure and into that of his successor, Eric Remy, the Leflaive wines were hit hard by premature oxidation. Good bottles can be terrific, but readers should approach anything produced between 2004 and 2013 inclusive with their eyes open. This extended preamble is included by way of context for a vintage that marks a new chapter in the history of the Domaine Leflaive. New presses, a newly renovated barrel cellar, and revised racking and bottling practices are among the obvious changes. More subtly but just as importantly, a new palate with a different sensibility is making picking decisions. What's more, the Domaine's reputation stands at a crossroads, as consumers balk at expensive bottles, oxidized before their time. New manager Brice de La Morindière, who succeeds Anne-Claude Leflaive, is candid about the problem and the need to solve it; but, if anything, he has raised the stakes, by substantially increasing the Domaine's prices.
So how are the 2017 wines? Happily, the answer is that they are very promising indeed. Of course, given the technical changes that have been made, expectations need to be adjusted: when I tasted chez Leflaive in early October, the wines were tighter-knit and more reserved than the 2016s, 2015s or 2014s were at the same stage. That's no bad sign—indeed, it bodes well for the wines' ultimate quality. Purity, elegance and precision will be the watchwords here, though additional time on the lees will also bring more texture and dimension. Vincent evidently believes in a timely harvest, the Bâtard, for example, attaining only 12.8% natural alcohol in a year when numbers in the mid- to high-thirteens were more typical. Will his wines ever attain the same plenitude as the great Virot-era Leflaive bottles from the late 1970s and 1980s? Those wines shaped my palate for mature white Burgundy, so I certainly hope so. My instinct is that these 2017s may well arrive at a similar destination, but it will be more than usually fascinating to revisit them from bottle, and to trace their evolution over the coming years. How the wines respond to their final months of élevage will determine the extent of their greatness, but that this is a great vintage for Leflaive is not in question. Congratulations are due to de La Morandière and Vincent for boldly ushering in a new era in Puligny-Montrachet.
