Travel: On a white wine sipping trip in sunny Burgundy

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The story began when Olivier Leflaive, scion of the multi-generational Leflaive wine family, returned to Burgundy after a stint in Paris to join the family business at Domaine Leflaive. In 1984, he decided to set up an eponymous négociant (merchant) house, Maison Olivier Leflaive and buy-in grapes from other select vineyards even as he developed his own. Today, his wines represent 82 different Burgundy climats or land parcels, and over 100 hectares of vines, including 26 of his own, concentrated around Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Meursault. The focus is on whites.

Though officially retired, Olivier Leflaive remains very much connected to the business, making surprise appearances to interact with visitors to his cellars, much to their delight. The maison opened a 4-star boutique hotel in 2007, the Olivier Leflaive Hotel, run by his daughter Julie. Housed within a 17th century building overlooking the peaceful town square, the hotel forms the star attraction for visitors to the tiny town of Puligny-Montrachet, population 400.

Puligny-Montrachet is a 12-minute drive from Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy. The Leflaive wines are served at the hotel’s pair of restaurants—the fine-dining Restaurant Klima helmed by chef Lionel Freitas, and the more relaxed casual Bistro de l’Olivier that abuts a gleaming marble-topped green and gold Art Deco style bar. While the exterior of the hotel is old and historic, no expense has been spared to create a luxurious ambience within the 17 rooms. Julie Leflaive who has played a decisive role in designing the interiors, has chosen to keep the décor eclectic, predominantly Art Deco that was beloved of her grandmother for “its timeless style," while adding a sprinkling of contemporary and retro touches.

Each room is named after a different family member, Julie explains. The modern Signature Olivier Leflaive suite done in turquoise green— his favourite colour—with discreet velvet and gold accents and dotted with memorabilia from his personal collection—a guitar, hats, vinyl records and photographs from his youth. “Room Nicole is named after Nicole Vallée, who married Claude Leflaive in 1717, the first woman in the family to bring vineyards as part of her dowry. You can feel the family’s presence in every room," she says. This is deliberately done to echo Burgundy’s long tradition of family-run and owned estates, where winemaking tradition is handed down from one generation to the next – Julie herself is a 19th generation Leflaive. “In Burgundy we are very clan-like, and we want it to continue this way. We are proud of Burgundy’s heritage of transition, savoir faire and passionate protection of its terroir.

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Burgundy wines are not just considered among the world’sbest but increasingly command eye-wateringly high prices. “Burgundy is a very small region compared to Bordeaux, Champagne, Alsace or the Loire," Julie explains. “This makes the wines rarer, and drives up prices and resulting demand. Also, over the last 15 years, harvest sizes have decreased due to climate change and weather-related events, resulting in less wines produced in this already small area. Finally, the rising fame of Burgundy’s wines and constantly improving quality of the winemaking has added to the increase. 

It follows that pioneers in premium wine production might lead in wine tourism. “My father was the first producer in France to start wine tourism as we know it—in 1997, he created the concept of a tasting table or table d’hote where guests were guided by the sommelier and Olivier himself. Guests had the option of buying the wines after the tasting." This won them the first-ever award from the Chambre d’Agriculture and Atout France in 2009. More recently, Olivier Leflaive was awarded a special jury award for pioneering oenotourism in 2019 from the Terre de vin les Trophees de l’ Oenotourisme. “This had a massive effect on Burgundy tourism as we became a point of reference for other producers in Burgundy."

Their oenotourism offerings include interaction with the domaine’s sommeliers not only in the restaurant but also the vineyards. The vineyard tour includes a 1.5 hour walk through the vineyards, and an explanation of Burgundy’s unique pyramid classification system. “To understand the importance of Burgundy, it is important to understand its terroir – the minerality that runs though our wine comes from the soils," Julie explains, “Our clay and limestone soils are layered like mille feuille, imparting a special taste to our wines."

Another major draw is their famous ‘wine bike tour’ through the Puligny-Montrachet vineyards on a large custom-made e-bike featuring a wine bar – the guests get to taste a selection of Olivier Leflaive wines while basking in the sunshine. “The feeling of being surrounded by nature in the vineyards makes you feel alive like nothing else," she says. Hotel guests can also picnic in the vineyards, carrying hampers of food prepared by the chef and a bottle of Leflaive wine in their bicycle baskets. For the less outdoorsy is the weekend cellar tour option. Guests have often been surprised to find the convivial Olivier Leflaive and his brother Patrick present – they love chatting with visitors.

The hotel’s relaxed Le Bistro d’Olivier serves a seasonal and frequently-changing menu of French classics, while the elegant Restaurant Klima has a walled glass cellar filled with wines. Matthieu, one of the four Leflaive sommeliers, pours three wines from the Olivier Leflaive portfolio. The first, the Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Les Sétilles 2020 offers a fresh and fruity nose leading to a creamy palate. About 20% grapes are from the cooler Hautes Côtes area, giving a fresh mouthfeel, with the rest from vineyards situated below the super-premium Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet vineyards. About 65% of the wine is barrel-fermented and lees-aged for richness and elegance.

The second wine is the approachable Olivier Leflaive Saint-Romain 2020, from a Côte de Beaune village located at a height of 400m, imparting a fresh fruit-driven profile to the wine. It boasts of layered citrus and green apple flavours. Finally, I taste the Olivier Leflaive Volnay 1er Cru 2019, Clos des Angles from Volnay, the village famous for its elegant reds. Vinified in 30% new oak, its displays violets and black cherries with silken tannins. The weighty livre des carte or wine list goes beyond Burgundy to include wines from many other wine regions. How many wines on the list? I ask Julie. “A lot," she smiles.

Ruma Singh is a Bengaluru-based wine and travel writer.

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