Franck GruxTechnical Director, Maison Olivier Leflaive
“Richesse, générosité, sapidité, droiteur, sur la fraîcheur tout de même… voilà l’esprit des 2022.”
“Rich, generous, upright, savoury, with the accent on freshness even so… this is the spirit of 2022.”
Olivier Leflaive needs little introduction to Burgundy lovers. Since its beginnings in 1984, this discreet house has carved out an enviable reputation, garnering impressive critical acclaim and a loyal following all over the world. The signature style is inviting, geared for pleasure yet with the emphasis on freshness, structural clarity and the precise imprint of origin. This achievement is all the more remarkable for the kaleidoscopic range of wines produced every year, that spans so many of Burgundy’s sub-regions, villages and legendary lieux-dits.
Yet Olivier Leflaive remains a small house in ethos and scale, a family business in its values and approach, run by a close-knit team with a shared commitment to quality. This is underpinned by a redoubtable work ethic, enshrined in the practices of Olivier Leflaive’s long-standing technical team Franck Grux and Philippe Grillet, whose unrelenting attention to detail in the vineyard and the chai is renowned throughout the Côte.
The business has thrived, and grown its offering further, since the arrival of Jean Soubeyrand as CEO in 2006. Among many developments, it has invested heavily in red wine production, including the creation of a dedicated chai for red wines, and has even ventured into Champagne with a successful operation in the Côte des Blancs. The company has also focused on the hospitality sector, making significant investments to renovate and expand its award-winning hotel-restaurant in Puligny-Montrachet.
Vineyard ownership remains the holy grail, and while Olivier Leflaive is fortunate to own over 20 hectares of extremely smart vineyards on the Côte, the business also buys fruit from long-term partners. This is crucial for an operation crafting some ninety or so official cuvées each year, as well as a significant number of small-batch wines made exclusively for certain historical customers like Corney & Barrow. Olivier Leflaive’s wellknown ‘dream team’, Franck Grux and Philippe Grillet, have been instrumental in this area, developing strong partnerships with over a hundred quality-minded growers throughout the region, providing viticultural expertise and ensuring optimal vineyard management. Franck and Philippe often take charge of every aspect of the vineyard through the growing season to the harvest itself, with meticulous attention to detail and a focus on capturing the ideal moment for picking.
This is an important year: Franck will be retiring as Technical Director at the end of 2023, after a long and distinguished career. The 2022 vintage is his 40th , and his 35th for Olivier Leflaive; impressive milestones. As one era draws to a close, we welcome to the technical team one of Burgundy’s rising winemaking talents, Solène Panigai, chosen by Franck himself to be his successor. Solène has been working closely with Franck for over a year, and will take the reins in 2024.
“Sun and Solène – a vintage that restored serenity, in the end”
Burgundy’s growing season in 2022 was never going to be easy on the nerves! The wine world was on tenterhooks, willing nature to ‘do the right thing’ and spare the vignerons a repeat of the previous year’s frost. After the devastation and disbelief of 2021, there had never been so much pressure on 2022 to deliver, in quantity and quality. So as the season progressed, even mild ‘deviations’ in the weather put the growers on edge.
The year was not altogether straightforward. While there was an acceptable level of rainfall in the preceding autumn, the first few months of 2022 were alarmingly dry and temperatures noticeably higher than average, causing consternation before the season had even begun. An entire week of unexpected frosts in early April sent shockwaves through the Côte, triggering flashbacks to the appalling nights of 6th-7th April 2021. Miraculously however, the vines emerged largely unscathed.
Then, the weather set fair. In radiant sunshine and soaring temperatures, the vines went into overdrive, speeding ahead. Flowering began in some places as early as midMay, the pace of growth so breathtakingly fast that harvest looked set to be the earliest ever seen! As spring rolled into summer, conditions remained exceptionally warm and sunny - so very sunny in fact, as to smash all records! (Fun fact: the season overall notched up an additional 300
hours of sunshine over and above the ‘norm’ – equivalent to an extra month of July!)
However, while sunshine was abundant, water was most definitely not. At one stage, soils were so dry, that growers questioned whether the vines would yield a crop at all. Finally, at the end of June, the skies opened and their prayers were answered - ‘saviour showers’, to quote Franck - effectively rescuing the vintage, even if rainfall throughout the season was just half the amount expected of an ‘average’ year, suppressing overall yields. On the plus side, the vineyards were in resplendent health, free of ‘usual’ diseases like the mildews.
Fierce heat became the driving issue, eventually blocking the ripening process in many vineyards. So, despite initial predictions of a record-breaking early harvest, dates slipped back to late August/early September. The grapes were picked in pristine condition, and despite the heat and drought, showed an astonishing balance of sugars and acidities, confounding expectations.
As Franck Grux summed up: Thanks to the sun and Solène, and after the many challenges, the 2022 vintage restored our sense of serenity, bringing us a harvest of respectable quantity and truly impeccable quality.
July 2023
« Solène et solaire - un millésime qui a ramené de la sérénité, finalement »
It is two years since our last Olivier Leflaive release, and some time since we were able to offer decent quantities for purchase. 2019 and 2020 were both reduced in volume, and as you know, we were unable to offer the 2021 vintage officially, a factor of the devastating spring frosts, which slashed Olivier Leflaive’s production by 70%.
Our allocations of the 2022 vintage improve on the previous trio, nonetheless volumes are still lower than ‘average’ – or at least what used to be considered as such. Is this the new ‘normal’?
Inevitably, the disaster of the 2021 vintage together with the ongoing trend for lower volume vintages and the subsequent imbalance of supply and demand, has led to significant price increases. This is not, I am afraid, an anomaly, rather the reality – at least for now.
It is therefore good news that 2022 is such a strong vintage: concentrated and expressive, yet elegant and precise; everything in just proportion. Certain comparisons have been drawn with the 2015 and 2019 vintages in terms of richness and generosity of fruit, however there is also a sense of restraint and elegance to 2022, sur la fraîcheur tout de même, to paraphrase Franck once more.
Olivier Leflaive’s Aligoté is the fruit of eight small parcels, some in Meursault and Puligny, as well as Olivier’s own, very old vineyard in Corpeau. Aligoté grapes are among the last to be harvested at Olivier Leflaive, when it was discovered by accident that Aligoté takes rather well to hanging out late, relishing a reprieve on the vine under late summer rays. Light and lively but with a satisfying curve, the 2022 offers subtle poached pear fruit laced with spice; a tantalising gentle fleshiness offset by the hallmark fraîcheur of the house.
Corney & Barrow Score 18
Recommended drinking from 2023 - 2026
Estimated arrival UK: November 2023
£195/CASE OF 12 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
Les Sétilles is the classic ‘cuvée ronde’, emblematic of the house style and the vintage. It is a blend of around eighty parcels from different villages, each contributing their own distinctive characteristics. A significant proportion of the fruit comes from Puligny and Meursault, the former more ‘aérien’ and energetic, chalky textured; the latter creamier, richer.
A very respectable white Burgundy: classically structured, stylish but without exaggeration. ‘Generous in spirit this year’ (to quote Franck Grux), with a gentle curve of orchard fruit, and silky length.
Corney & Barrow Score 18+
Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2027
Estimated arrival UK: Early 2024
£275/CASE OF 12 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
£160/CASE OF 12 HALVES, IN BOND UK
£315/CASE OF 6 MAGNUMS, IN BOND UK
Bonneveaux is a sensational sun-trap site, giving wines with a coltish energy and brightness. Drought conditions in 2022 were felt even more keenly in the Côte Chalonnaise, reducing yields. Fruit concentration and ‘matière’ merited fermentation almost entirely in barrels (15% new oak), and the resulting wine is a classic – alive with lithe fruit that melts into a light buttercream palate, just a hint of ginger lifting the finish. While C&B buys every bottle made, there is just half the usual volume this year, so catch it while you can!
Corney & Barrow Score 18+
Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2027
Estimated arrival UK: Early 2024
£395/CASE OF 12 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
£435/CASE OF 6 MAGNUMS, IN BOND UK
An excellent site, nudging Meursault Vireuils. The name is linked etymologically to marais and marécage (‘marsh’), relating probably to the parcel’s deep calcareous clays, which tend to retain moisture; ever more crucial when rainfall is scarce. This is quite simply a lovely wine, something of a ‘mini-Meursault’ perhaps, everything in its place: a curve of ripe fruit, a sense of matière, a waft of smoky oak, the palate gently creamy and satisfying in the mouth.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2028
Estimated arrival UK: Spring 2024
£440/CASE OF 12 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
Made in small quantities, Olivier Lefaive’s Pernand brings together two stunning parcels, Les Combottes (mid-slope) and Les Pins (a higher, slightly cooler site), combining concentrated fruit with incisive, chalky acidities. Dynamic and expressive, the wine is scented with white flowers, taut fruit etched with flint; the light silky texture cut by zesty acids.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2028
Estimated arrival UK: Spring 2024
£465/CASE OF 12 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
On an exposed plateau, high above the sloping vineyards of Puligny, lies En Remilly: a cool, windswept site, littered with chalk pebbles. In a warm, sunny vintage like this, En Remilly comes into its own: ripe and expansive yet precise too, always sur pointes. Scented and mineral, with supple poached pear fruit and an airy buttercream texture. Lacy and fine. Limited availability.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2028
Estimated arrival UK: Spring 2024
£300/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
Dents de Chien is an exceptional parcel, part of which overlooks the grand cru vineyards of Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet. Its warm, shallow soils are scattered with limestone pebbles, and give wines with a certain dark richness and seam of minerality. In this ripe year, the wine is intense and inviting, layering generous baked pears with sensuous crème fraîche. Stylish and refined, charged with energy, long in the mouth.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2028
Estimated arrival UK: Spring 2023
£300/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
Les Meix is made exclusively for us from Olivier Leflaive’s own half-hectare of vines. This old chalk-clay parcel (1961 plantings) sits just beneath Pucelles, and there is more than a touch of the latter’s pedigree in its purity and precision. The 2022 is textbook Puligny, flexing its tightrope tension, balancing richness and restraint. Its ripe, scented pear fruit is wound tight around a firm acid core, crackling with minerals.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5+
Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2030+
Estimated arrival UK: Spring 2024
£475/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
£515/CASE OF 3 MAGNUMS, IN BOND UK
Blanchots is not a ‘typical’ Chassagne, rather in a class of its own somehow… an ‘insider wine’, and one of Franck Grux’s personal favourites. Previously part of BâtardMontrachet, the lieu-dit was reclassified some years ago, due to the heterogeneity of the soil within the parcel. Olivier Leflaive’s vines are located at the ‘posh end’, on fine calcareous clays. It’s wines are dynamic and lithe, exuding class. The 2022 has sensuality and reserve, layering toned fruit with minerals, precisely drawn. Exclusive to C&B, and in limited quantities as always (just three barrels were made this year!)
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2032+
Estimated arrival UK: Spring 2024
£425/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
New to C&B but part of the Olivier Leflaive stable since 2016, Meursault’s Clos de la Velle is a lovely walled vineyard at the foot of the escarpment. A terroir with deep clay-limestone soils, the site yields ‘classic’ Meursaults: expressive and generous with layers of poached pear fruit, fleshy but with curves in all the right places, without excess. The wine lingers long on the palate, leaving in its wake a delicate yet heady scent of wisteria and jasmine.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5+
Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2030+
Estimated arrival UK: Spring 2024
£400/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
Les Referts’ distinctive profile can be discerned, as so many Burgundies can, by the quality and style of its immediate neighbours. Sitting just below Puligny’s prized Combettes, and abutting Meursault Charmes, this parcel typically yields wines with a sense of both, the generosity and richness of Meursault meeting Puligny’s race and charge. The 2022 is statuesque and graceful, its opulent fruit precisely cut.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5+
Recommended drinking from 2025 - 2032+
Estimated arrival UK: Spring 2025
£345/CASE OF 3 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
Chassagne is terroir of both white and red wines, and the appellation’s whites are distinctive for their structure and grip, revealing their charm over time. When he first set up in 1984, Olivier Leflaive bought two vineyard parcels here. The deep blue clay-limestone soils give intense, expansive wines with a firm backbone. The 2022 is commanding and refined, its rich multi-layered fruit wrapped around a dense core, charged with energy. Will repay cellaring.
Corney & Barrow Score 19
Recommended drinking from 2025 - 2032+
Estimated arrival UK: Spring 2025
£330/CASE OF 3 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
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