Anne Claude Leflaive wins Winemakers’ Winemaker Award 2014
Today, the Institute of Masters of Wine and international publication The Drinks Business announced Anne Claude Leflaive as the recipient of the 2014 Winemakers’ Winemaker Award.
The award, which was inaugurated in 2011, recognises outstanding achievement in the field of winemaking, and is voted on by a panel of winemaking peers that comprises all Masters of Wine who are winemakers plus the award’s past winners: Peter Sisseck of Dominio de Pingus (2011), Peter Gago of Penfolds (2012), and Paul Draper of Ridge (2013).
In a video message accepting the award, Anne Claude Leflaive said: “I am very happy and proud to be selected for this award by my fellow winemakers and Masters of Wine. For me, it was a great surprise and a great honour. I think the respect of other winemakers around the world comes from the fact that this is a family Domaine that has been built up over three generations. We care for our wines like children – but for me the most important thing is to have good grapes and work with respect in the vineyards.”
Anne-Claude’s grandfather, Joseph Leflaive, bought 24 hectares of vines in Puligny-Montrachet in 1905 in the aftermath of the phylloxera crisis, and set to work replanting and re-establishing the blighted vineyards. Her father Vincent, who took over along with his brother Joseph in 1953, cemented a growing reputation, and put the wines of Domaine Leflaive onto the tables of the best restaurants in France.
Anne Claude herself became joint manager in 1990, prior to taking overall control of the Domaine in 1994. Three years later she made the decision to convert to biodynamic winemaking, building a reputation and passion for sustainability and ecological balance in the vineyard.
In presenting the award, Jean-Michel Valette MW, chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine said:
“We are delighted to honour Anne Claude Leflaive, a winemaker who combines a deep respect for family and tradition with the courage and conviction to embrace wholesale change. Her care and respect for her craft have won the admiration of her peers; the love she invests in her vineyards and wines is evident in the glass.”
Ends
For enquiries about this release please contact:
Ben McKeown
Communications Manager, Institute of Masters of Wine
T: +44 (0)207 383 9131
E: bmckeown@mastersofwine.org
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