2007 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er Cru

The Leflaive 2007 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles offers minerality, finesse, and lift that leave behind its premier cru siblings. Seductive lily, heliotrope and iris along with high-toned herbal and pit fruit essences on the nose find their counterpart in wafting, bitter-sweet perfume and pure essence of peach and quince on a silken palate. There is a Chevalier-like sense of salt and stone shimmering through curtains of fruit in the finish. But the appropriateness of diaphanous metaphors here should not mislead one into suspecting a lack of concentration. In the end, this is implacably persistence, encompassing a tactile dimension to its sense of chalkiness. Hints of honey and toasted almond well up as this takes on air, suggesting an additional dimension of future richness. I expect this will reward revisiting for a decade. Departing from the script of most vignerons I visited, Leflaive cellar master Eric Remy (who took over last year from Pierre Morey, with whom he has worked for several years) claimed his 2007 fruit – which he began picking September 1 – harbored a 2:1 ratio of tartaric to malic acidity (whereas, he adds, it was close to reversed in 2006). While some crop was lost to hail – particularly in Chevalier-Montrachet – Remy did not think this affected quality, and he had the same attitude toward mildew (combated here with biodynamic methods), which he said did not compromise the fruit. Alcohol levels largely hover below 14%, that is to say lower – regardless of cru – than any of the 2006s. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661