Amongst the many villages whose names adorn bottles of wine, Puligny Montrachet is one of the greatest and the name of Leflaive will be synonymous with this village for many lovers of fine white Burgundies across the world. M Leflaive’s uncle, Vincent, was the producer of some of the most celebrated wines in the village and having worked for his uncle for many years previously, Olivier, with his brother Patrick, set up his own Domaine back in 1984. M Leflaive is an instantly recognisable figure in the village of Puligny, from where he makes a range of wines with an international reputation. His whites will need no introduction, however his reds, which are made to the same exacting standards, deserve to be better known.

We are therefore delighted to be able to offer almost the entire range of Olivier Leflaive Freres red wines. If you enjoy his whites, you are most likely to enjoy his reds as well. As is frequently the case, quantities are small, sometimes less than 50 cases for an individual wine, however as one vintage sells out, another will come forward to fill its place.

The Leflaives and cellar master Franck Grux make a wide range of wines from Chablis down to Monthelie, of which, until now, only the white wines have found their way into the UK. Much of their wine is made from grapes bought from local growers who have supplied the Domaine for years, each of them growing their grapes under the watchful eye and instruction of Frank.

When we first visited the Domaine we took lunch in the old La Table d’Olivier Leflaive, M Leflaive’s superb wine-tasting restaurant, atop a steep outside staircase on the main square in Puligny. As we were finishing lunch Olivier came in and sat with us and we discussed the range of wines he produces. During this he mentioned that for some reason the English were not particularly interested in buying his red wines. Knowing the strong popularity of his white wines we suggested that perhaps we might correct this situation and he agreed.

This resulted in us returning in November and on this occasion we met not only Olivier, but Patrick and Frank Grux, the Domaine’s winemaker. Frank gave us the opportunity to sample the range through several vintages, giving us a running commentary on each as we were sampling. The standard here is very high. From the Santenay red and white, through Monthelie to Pommard and Volnay, we found them each to be enjoyable in their individual ways and then, when we went over to their newly opened hotel, we were able to give a small number of these wines a further tasting with food. It is so important to try wines with food. This is a recurring theme throughout our notes, because when wines of this quality are consumed in isolation, they struggle to deliver their full range of flavours and aromas.

La Table d’Olivier Leflaive has now moved across the square, as part of their new hotel. The hotel has been renovated to a very high standard and the restaurant which is now open for lunch and dinner, occupies the main front room of this spacious stone building. The lunchtime menu is still a set menu accompanying a range of wines served in "tasting" portions and Pascal still delivers his multi-lingual explanations on the nuances of each of the wines. Having visited now several times, we are almost regulars and are sometimes drawn into the repartee. What this adds for other visitors we cannot say, but we love it!