Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Rouge Cuvée Margot 2022: A Charming Pinot Noir with a Rather Serious Price Tag
Burgundy has a remarkable talent for making a simple bottle of Pinot Noir feel like a luxury purchase. Olivier Leflaive’s Cuvée Margot 2022 is a case in point: fragrant, juicy and delicately spicy, with fine tannins and a lovely streak of acidity, but hardly inexpensive for a regional appellation.
Fortunately, the wine has genuine charm. Raspberries, ripe cherries and wild strawberries lead the way, followed by dried flowers and a subtle earthy note. The warm 2022 vintage gives the fruit a little extra flesh, although the palate remains agile, savoury and unmistakably Burgundian.
There is nothing monumental here, nor should there be. Cuvée Margot is about the pleasure of Pinot Noir in its most immediate form: luminous fruit, graceful texture and just enough tannic bite to keep things interesting.
The Basics
- Producer: Olivier Leflaive
- Wine: Bourgogne Rouge Cuvée Margot
- Vintage: 2022
- Appellation: Bourgogne AOC
- Region: Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France
- Grape: 100% Pinot Noir
- Vineyards: Approximately 20 parcels between Santenay and Pernand-Vergelesses
- Average vine age: 30 years
- Altitude: 230–250 metres
- Soils: Silty clay
- Viticulture: Sustainable
- Harvest: Hand-picked
- Vinification: Destemmed grapes, fermented in open vats for 15–20 days
- Ageing: 16 months, with 80% of the wine aged in oak barrels, 15% of them new
- Alcohol: 13% ABV
- Bottle size: 750 ml
- Serving temperature: 16–18°C
- Recommended drinking window: Through 2027
The Producer and the Vineyards
Olivier Leflaive is one of the established names of Puligny-Montrachet, a village more readily associated with magnificent Chardonnay than with modest red Burgundy. Yet the house has developed a substantial portfolio of reds, sourcing grapes from carefully selected vineyards across the Côte de Beaune.
Cuvée Margot takes its name from Olivier’s daughter, with a playful reference to the rather grander Château Margaux. The joke is unmistakably French; the wine itself is a thoroughly Burgundian affair.
The fruit comes from around twenty parcels stretching from Santenay in the south to Pernand-Vergelesses near the hill of Corton. Rather than expressing a single vineyard, the cuvée brings together different sites to create a consistent interpretation of regional Pinot Noir.
The vines average thirty years of age and grow on predominantly silty-clay soils at relatively modest elevations.
The 2022 vintage was warm, sunny and unusually dry, but Burgundy escaped the dramatic crop losses suffered in 2021. Healthy grapes and generally favourable ripening conditions gave producers the opportunity to make generous reds without sacrificing the variety’s characteristic perfume.
In this respect, Cuvée Margot is an attractive introduction to the Burgundy wine landscape: a wine built around fruit and finesse rather than the imposing structure of the region’s more prestigious appellations.
How It’s Made
The grapes are harvested by hand, carefully sorted and destemmed before fermentation in open vats. Maceration lasts between fifteen and twenty days, allowing the skins to contribute colour, aromatic compounds and a modest tannic structure.
Maturation takes sixteen months, with 80% of the wine passing through oak barrels. Only 15% of those barrels are new, a restrained proportion that introduces gentle spice without overwhelming Pinot Noir’s delicate fruit. The remaining wine is matured in tank, and the final five months allow the different components to come together.
This balance between wood and fruit is essential. Pinot Noir rarely benefits from heavy-handed oak, especially at regional level, where the attraction lies in its fragrance and supple texture rather than formidable concentration.
The approach is quite different from the more muscular Pinot Noir commonly associated with Pommard. Cuvée Margot aims for a lighter, more immediately expressive style.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Brilliant ruby red, translucent and youthful, with lively crimson reflections.
Bouquet: Wild strawberry, raspberry and ripe cherry rise from the glass with an attractive floral delicacy. A little violet, dried rose and sweet spice add dimension, followed by a discreet earthy note. The oak remains quiet, contributing a suggestion of cedar rather than dominating the perfume. The nose is charming, open and inviting, although not particularly complex.
Palate: Juicy and silky on entry, with ripe red fruit carried by brisk, mouthwatering acidity. The warm vintage has given the wine a little more flesh than one might expect from an entry-level Bourgogne Rouge, but the texture remains nimble. Tannins are fine, slightly powdery and pleasantly persistent. Cherry and raspberry gradually yield to gentle spice and a faint woodland note. It has lovely momentum, even if the middle palate lacks the depth of a more ambitious village wine.
Finish: Dry, fresh and moderately persistent, with red cherry, a delicate peppery accent and a light tannic grip. More fragrant than powerful, and all the better for it.
Our Verdict
Cuvée Margot 2022 is a delightful Pinot Noir, fragrant and beautifully proportioned, with juicy fruit and fine tannins. Olivier Leflaive has resisted the temptation to give a regional Burgundy artificial weight through excessive oak.
The problem is the price. At nearly €38, this charming little red enters territory where one expects more complexity and persistence. It offers a lovely introduction to the Côte de Beaune, but the famous producer’s name comes at a premium.
Price
€37.95 for a 750 ml bottle.
Food Pairings
Paella, vitello tonnato, chicken curry, pulled pork, empanadas, hamburgers.
