A mild hint of exotic fruit combines with honeysuckle and a slight oak influence before giving way to rich, full and notably generous medium plus weight flavors that possess outstanding mid-palate fat and extract, which serve to buffer the firm acid spine on the wonderfully fine and lingering finish. A lacy, long and stylish wine of finesse rather than power and 2007 is undoubtedly one of the better vintages for the Leflaive Pucelles.

The 2007 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er Cru is drinking beautifully. The bouquet instantly grabs your attention, lemon curd, crushed limestone and white truffle all blossoming from the glass. The palate is beautifully balanced and possesses more depth than I would have envisaged from this vintage. There are gorgeous, very pure notes of dried honey intermixed with yellow plum on a finish that lingers long and tenderly. Wonderful.

The Leflaive 2007 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles offers minerality, finesse, and lift that leave behind its premier cru siblings. Seductive lily, heliotrope and iris along with high-toned herbal and pit fruit essences on the nose find their counterpart in wafting, bitter-sweet perfume and pure essence of peach and quince on a silken palate. There is a Chevalier-like sense of salt and stone shimmering through curtains of fruit in the finish. But the appropriateness of diaphanous metaphors here should not mislead one into suspecting a lack of concentration. In the end, this is implacably persistence, encompassing a tactile dimension to its sense of chalkiness. Hints of honey and toasted almond well up as this takes on air, suggesting an additional dimension of future richness. I expect this will reward revisiting for a decade. Departing from the script of most vignerons I visited, Leflaive cellar master Eric Remy (who took over last year from Pierre Morey, with whom he has worked for several years) claimed his 2007 fruit – which he began picking September 1 – harbored a 2:1 ratio of tartaric to malic acidity (whereas, he adds, it was close to reversed in 2006). While some crop was lost to hail – particularly in Chevalier-Montrachet – Remy did not think this affected quality, and he had the same attitude toward mildew (combated here with biodynamic methods), which he said did not compromise the fruit. Alcohol levels largely hover below 14%, that is to say lower – regardless of cru – than any of the 2006s. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661

(bottled just two weeks before my visit) Pale, bright yellow. Complex nose melds stone fruits, honey and white flowers. Rich, silky and voluminous, with lovely inner-mouth aromatic character to the flavors of yellow peach, flowers and honey. The peachy fruit is joined by firm minerality on the long finish. Easier to taste today than the Combettes, but at least as good.

Fragrant aromas of grapefruit, stone fruits, cream and cedar.Nice backbone of high acidity supporting minerally fruit. Somewhat tight and restrained at this stage. Long finish. Tasted August 2009.

All tasted from tank at the winery with winemaker Eric Rémy in Nov 2008. The wines are moved from barrel to cuve just before the harvest, so they usually spend about 3-4 months in tank. 20% new oak. Tight citrus, very pure. Tangy and elegant, complex and long though you cannot pin down any particular fruit flavour. Ginger? (JH)

This bottle did not seem to be affected by the dreaded premox . Rich and sweet on the nose then racy and dry on the palate. Medium body with a savoury finish. Solid stuff but not mind blowing when served in the context of Keller Rieslings. (JR)