Domaine Leflaive gets a new general manager
Domaine Leflaive has appointed oenologist Pierre Vincent as its new general manager. Pierre Vincent, oenologist, was this week announced as the new general manager of Domaine Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet.
Since the death of Anne-Claude Leflaive on 5 April 2015, Brice de la Morandière has been in charge of the iconic domain. Pierre Vincent will work alongside him.
Vincent, 42, is the former technical manager of the Domaine de la Vougeraie, owned by the Boisset family, where he has worked since 2006. ‘Pierre will be in charge of all the day-to-day management of the Domaine’s activities in Puligny-Montrachet, in the Mâconnais region and the Leflaive et associés business,’ Brice de La Morandière said.
He will also be responsible ‘for the rehabilitation of the old cellars of the estate’.
Vincent’s work at Vougeraie has been hailed by several critics. Domaine de la Vougeraie is a driving force for biodynamics in Burgundy, as is Leflaive – thanks to the vision of the late Anne-Claude Leflaive.
Domaine Leflaive has been a family-owned estate since 1717 and covers 44 hectares of vineyards. It includes 24 hectares in Puligny-Montrachet (including 4.8 hectares of grands crus and 10.8 of premiers crus), 20 hectares in the Mâconnais (3 hectares in Pouilly-Fuissé and 17 in Mâcon-Verzé) and produces close to 200,000 bottles with its Leflaive et associés activity.
New horizons open up for English wine in 2017
Wine producers in the UK want to increase exports by ten-fold up to 2020 and have claimed strong early progress, with bottles of English and Welsh sparkling wine being sent to 27 countries in 2016. Even France and Italy, the homes of Champagne and Prosecco, imported a few bottles of UK sparkling wine in 2016, according to a new report by the government.
It said that English and Welsh sparkling wine was shipped to 27 different countries last year, compared to 19 a year earlier. The UK only exported around 250,000 bottles of wine in total in 2015. Champagne alone exported 150 million bottles.
But English and Welsh wineries have lofty growth ambitions and major producers have committed to increasing total exports to 2.5 million bottles in 2020. ‘2016 will be seen as the year that English Fizz earned its export wings,’ said Red Johnson, founder and CEO of the British Bottle Company, which exports the wine.
‘From a standing start in 2015, we now ship wine to almost every sophisticated global wine market.’
English wine’s rising popularity at home has already seen total retail sales for wine produced in the UK hit around £100 million annually. It is expected that Christmas and New Year 2016 will show rising demand English and Welsh sparkling. Marks & Spencer saw sales of homegrown sparkling wines double last year, and Waitrose saw sales rise by 50%, according to English Wine Producers and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
UK vineyard land has doubled in the past 10 years and the past year has seen Champagne houses enter the fray. Taittinger is planting an English vineyard in Kent along with investment partners.
Sparkling wine in the UK is being followed with interest by several high-profile wine critics. Producers also won dozens of awards at the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards.
French Crémant sparkling wines – Beyond Champagne and Prosecco
Prosecco and Champagne are still dominating Christmas sparkling wine sales, but alternatives to these two heavyweights can offer good value deals and a new twist on Christmas morning.
Decanter experts have tasted several regional French sparkling wines this year.
Crémant sparkling wines can be produced in specific regions across France, including the Loire, Burgundy and Limoux, and only according to certain production rules. Different grape varieties are allowed, depending on the region.
Crémants are made using the ‘traditional method’ – the same as in Champagne and where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle.
Wine expert Susie Barrie MW, writing previously in Decanter magazine, said of Crémants, ‘Although styles vary, these wines tend to show a little more rusticity than Champagne.’
Below is our selection of Crémant sparkling wines to try, including Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Crémant de Loire NV, which Decanter tasting director Christelle Guibert called ‘a great alternative to Prosecco’.
There’s also a Crémant de Limoux, from Languedoc-Roussillon, made by a member of the Champagne-producing Collin family.
Cheers!
