Olivier Leflaive, Meursault 2021

Olivier Leflaive Frères was established in 1984, when Olivier decided he wanted to use the expertise he’d acquired at his family estate, Domaine Leflaive, to make his own mark on red and white Burgundy.

Olivier gained his experience working with his uncle, the legendary Vincent Leflaive, with whom he co-managed Domaine Leflaive from 1982 until 1990 when Vincent retired. Although Olivier himself is now semi-retired, the strength of the Olivier Leflaive brand can still be attributed to the partnership between him and his nephew Jean Soubeyrand, alongside Olivier’s brother Patrick who is president of the firm.

The company owns 12 hectares of land covering some of the most prestigious Burgundy appellations, including Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, and Chassagne-Montrachet, but also buys in grapes from sought-after locations. Olivier Leflaive’s success as a négociant lies in the fact that it not only sources grapes but vinifies them, maturing and bottling in house to create wines that are truly excellent examples of their type.

Olivier Leflaive’s wines are made by Franck Grux, who has been chief winemaker there since 1988. He ferments each wine separately and then skilfully blends the different wines to create excellent examples of their type at very reasonable prices.

A huge range of wines is produced, of which we sell just a handful, and those at the lower end are particularly impressive. A notable example of this is the Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Les Sétilles: it may be the least costly wine of Olivier’s that we sell, but it comes from vineyards below Puligny and Meursault classified as Bourgogne blanc, so it has a Côte d’Or pedigree without the price tag. It shows off the true negociants art of blending a number of elements so the final blend is greater than the sum of its parts. Each year Franck may use more or less a percentage of the richer barrel fermented wine vis-a-vis the fresher tank fermented portion, and more or less of the richer Bourgogne vineyards below Meursault to increase/reduce the buttery element, and vice versa with the more floral note from the Bourgogne vineyards below Puligny.