Puligny Montrachet Les folatières 2020 - domaine Leflaive

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 2020 — Domaine Leflaive

This Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 2020 from Domaine Leflaive expresses one of the most refined, luminous and sought-after climats of Puligny-Montrachet. From a mythical Côte de Beaune domaine, an absolute benchmark for great Burgundian Chardonnay, it offers a white wine of great purity, at once floral, mineral and profoundly elegant: ripe lemon, pear, yellow apple, white peach, white flowers, fresh almond, hazelnut, fine butter, chalk, flint and a long saline finish.

Domaine Leflaive is one of Burgundy’s most prestigious names, celebrated for wines of exceptional precision, great mineral energy and remarkable ageing capacity. Les Folatières is among the most emblematic Premier Crus of Puligny-Montrachet, often associated with an airy, floral and highly chiselled expression of Chardonnay. The 2020 vintage brings ripeness, concentration, aromatic brightness and remarkable mineral tension.

Terroir: Les Folatières, altitude, limestone and the nobility of Puligny-Montrachet

The Les Folatières climat is among the greatest Premier Crus of Puligny-Montrachet. Its exposure, limestone soils and position on the slope give Chardonnay a particularly refined, taut and luminous expression. The cru often stands out through its balance between aromatic finesse, mineral energy, delicate texture and great length on the palate.

Puligny’s clay-limestone soils bring the wine a mineral backbone, precise acidity and a saline finish. At Leflaive, Les Folatières translates into an expression of great purity: citrus, white flowers, white-fleshed fruit, hazelnut notes, wet chalk and flint. In 2020, the ripeness of the vintage reinforces the density and intensity of fruit, while the terroir preserves tension, freshness and precision.

Tasting notes

Appearance: pale gold with light yellow and silver highlights, brilliant, clear and still very youthful. The colour reflects the freshness of the vintage and the precision of a great Puligny-Montrachet Chardonnay, with luminous and elegant intensity.

Nose: fine, deep and very pure, with ripe lemon, citrus zest, pear, yellow apple, white peach, white flowers, fresh almond, hazelnut and wet chalk. With aeration, nuances of fine butter, discreet brioche, light honey, flint, oyster shell, sweet spices and fresh herbs may appear.

Palate: broad, straight, dense and very precise, with ripe substance carried by remarkable mineral tension. Flavours of lemon, pear, yellow apple, white peach, almond, hazelnut, chalk and flint unfold with intensity, supported by fine acidity and persistent salinity. The finish is long, fresh, chalky and elegantly spicy, with an impression of purity, relief and great Burgundian nobility.

Expression of the 2020 vintage

The 2020 vintage in Burgundy produced white wines that are ripe, concentrated and remarkably taut, with fine aromatic intensity and preserved acidity. In Puligny-Montrachet, this combination allows wines of great precision, combining richness of substance, bright fruit and limestone energy. In Les Folatières, the 2020 stands out for its density, straightness and long saline finish.

Today, this Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 2020 remains very young and has excellent ageing potential. It can already impress through its intensity and balance after measured aeration, but will gain complexity with time: hazelnut, fine butter, brioche, light honey, sweet spices, flint, wet chalk and more saline nuances should gradually join the purity of the white fruit.