Last month we were delighted to host a special evening with Brice de la Morandière of Domaine Leflaive at Les 110 de Taillevent.
Brice was on superb form despite a cold, he is the perfect, charming representative of the grand estate. Despite our fantastic host the wines were the clear star of the show.
Les 110 de Taillevent expertly matched food with the wines that Brice brought from the estate. 
The Menu:
Bourgogne 2015- a fantastic introduction; still very young but already showing the classic appeal of fine white Burgundy. Lime, apricot, gentle spice.
Mushroom tart, duxelle and roasted, parmesan biscuit
Folatieres 1er cru Pulingy Montrachet 2010- the vineyard right in the centre of the Puligny appellation, the epitome of Puligny. Taut, crisp and mineral. Vibrant, powerful and coiled, still quite linear but delicious.
With
Pucelles 1er cru Pulingy Montrachet 2009-closer to Grand Cru, both geographically and qualitatively. Elegance, finesse with underlying power, and vital salinity. Creamy broad texture and intense savoury hints. Hugely impressive, spiced baked apple, citrus freshness, butter, and finishes with saline minerality.
Yellow chicken breast, foie gras, macaroni, sauce supreme
Bienvenues Batard Montrachet Grand Cru 2001- from a less favoured vintage, it shows that quality always comes to the fore. Geographically between Pucelles and Batard, echoed in the style. Has the appealing intense, mineral, accessibility of pucelles and then the power, finesse and elegance of Batard. The best wine TONIGHT, at perfect maturity. A nose of tight, steel minerality, starting off a little closed. After a few minutes it opens to huge intensity, tropical, lemon, butter, steel, liquid stone. Wow, stunning wine. So complete, so vibrant and mature.
With
Batard Montrachet Grand Cru 2000- Still a few years too young, even at 17 years old. Sensational and will become even better. Power, intensity, beautifully judged but at the moment a little linear then power. So beautiful, ethereal, lightness of touch but with huge, restrained power. Surge of acidity keeps everything fresh and balanced. As it opens up it moves through the gears and develops on the palate shows how it will age. Vibrant, steely and saline, hints at gunflint and smoke. Still young, shows just how impressive this wine is.
**Batard will be better than Bienvenues in future, but tonight Bienvenues was in the perfect place**
Comte, 24 months aged Saint Honore, Chantilly, kirsch cream
Clavoillon 1er cru Pulingy Montrachet 2012- a vintage heavily affected by hail, but the final wines are good quality, structured. The result is very good, quite straightforward but can lack the subtlety of a great vintage. Delicious, powerful puligny, lime zest, toast, and stone fruit. Only just coming to maturity.
With
Puligny Montrachet village 2005- the mystery wine of the night served blind. Guesses from around the room included Batard Montrachet and Combettes 1er cru, showing just how impressive this wine is! Fully mature and showing its class, even for a village wine. perfumed, spice market scents mix with preserved lemon, toasted oak and cream. Very good, and beautifully mature, shows how impressive Pulingy can be.
By Malcolm Willatts,
Private Client Sales.