Olivier Leflaive : Bâtard-Montrachet Grand cru 2024

Characteristics and Tasting Notes for the Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2024 by Olivier Leflaive

Tasting

Colour
This white wine from France displays a pale golden-green hue that will evolve towards more intense yellow tones over time.

Nose
The bouquet reveals a lovely aromatic complexity, blending notes of dried fruit and toasted touches with subtle floral and vegetal scents.

Palate
The palate offers a fine balance between taut acidity and generous depth. A mineral, crystalline backbone underpins the whole, leading into a long finish marked by aromas of candied citrus, toasted almonds and mineral notes.

Food and Wine Pairing

This wine pairs beautifully with refined dishes such as foie gras, lobster in a creamy sauce, veal sweetbreads with mushrooms, or firm-fleshed fish like monkfish. It also goes very well with poultry in sauce, such as chicken with cream and morels.

Serving and Cellaring

To fully appreciate this Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2024, it is recommended to serve it at a temperature between 12 and 14°C. It can be cellared and enjoyed until around 2035.

The Mineral and Complex Expression of a White Wine from Burgundy

The Estate

Founded in 1984 by Olivier Leflaive, this eponymous négociant house is located at the heart of Puligny-Montrachet, in Burgundy. Distinct from the historic family estate, this house was designed to craft wines by rigorously selecting grapes from partner growers, while also cultivating its own plots. Today, Brice de La Morandière leads the estate, carrying on the family legacy with an approach that combines respect for terroir with technical precision. The Olivier Leflaive house stands out for its commitment to conveying the identity of Burgundy through authentic cuvées and a comprehensive wine tourism offering.

The Vineyard

The Bâtard-Montrachet is a renowned terroir spanning just over 11 hectares between the communes of Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. The vines, averaging 46 years of age, thrive at altitudes ranging from 230 to 250 metres, benefiting from an east to south-east exposure. The soils are made up of brown limestone, becoming more clay-rich towards the bottom of the slope. The vineyard is farmed according to sustainable agriculture principles, HVE 3 certified, with entirely manual harvesting.

The Vintage

2024 began with a mild, wet winter, leading to early bud break in mid-March. Spring saw frost episodes in early April, followed by a lack of sunshine and rainfall that caused coulure. Summer then brought heat that led to water stress in some areas. Fortunately, a dry and windy end to the season allowed for the harvest of healthy, concentrated berries.

Winemaking and Ageing

The making of this Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2024 begins with gentle pneumatic pressing of whole clusters. After a 24-hour static settling period, alcoholic and malolactic fermentation take place in French oak barrels. Ageing spans a total of 18 months: the wine first rests for 12 months in barrels (25% new oak), before continuing to mature for 6 months in stainless steel tanks.

Grape Variety

Chardonnay (100%).