2017 Puligny Montrachet Les Clavoillons
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The Wine Advocate
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
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The 2017 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon is excellent, and a clear step up over the Puligny Village, something that can't be taken for granted. Offering up aromas of lemon, beeswax, white flowers and blanched almonds, the wine is medium to full-bodied, satiny and nicely concentrated, with tangy acids, chewy extract and a long, precise finish. It's promisingly tight-knit and should develop further before it's bottled.
Lower elevation than Meursault Sous le Dos d'Âne. Very clayey soils. Soils are amoureuses , says manager Brice de la Morandière, because they cling to your boots. (Les Pucelles has much finer clay.) Wines from here tend to be structured more than balanced and can lack elegance but he believes that biodynamic farming has made a real difference. Copes well in dry years. Racked to tank just before the 2018 harvest. Ripe lemon, almost exotic. Creamy, mealy. There’s a lightly chewy structure. Dense but light on its feet – an unexpected dancer. Delicious pure lemon-zesty finish. (JH)
About the producer
Domaine Leflaive is arguably Burgundy’s most famous white wine producer, setting the benchmark for top-quality Chardonnay in the Côte de Beaune and the world. The property is the largest land-owner in Puligny-Montrachet, with extensive holdings in the village and five hectares of Grand Cru vineyards