Puligny-Montrachet Journal of a Village in Burgundy by Simon Loftus

Inspired by tasting the 2009 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes, I picked up this book, Puligny-Montrachet Journal of a Village in Burgundy by Simon Loftus which I have read twice before. This time, the focus of my reading was to learn more about Puligny and specifically about Domaine Leflaive. That this was the right book was confirmed by the author's dedication at the beginning of the book:
For Vincent Leflaive
While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis, 8:22)
The book was published in 1992 and still speaks of the romance and charms of living life in a village. Loftus begins by giving the history of Puligny-Montrachet. Of ancient origin, Puligny's history can be traced back to the Gallo-Roman era. Roman remains, fragments of tiles and brickwork, old stones and headings of ancient wells can be found around the nearby hamlet of Blagney. The monks, first Benedictine and then Cistercian were tithed lands in Puligny and by 1252 Montrachaz was already planted in vines. The name Jean Perron and that of his son Charles, figures prominently in the history of Puligny. They remained lords of Puligny until the end of the sixteenth century. In 1685 the Rigoley family of Dijon owned Puligny until the Revolution. They commissioned a record of the village and mapped every detail of the domain. This record called Le Terrier de la Seigneurie de Puligny et Mypon was compiled between 1741 and 1747. It is comprised of 3 enormous leather-bound volumes and is a detailed and complete survey of a classic vineyard region in France. I found this fact to be totally intriguing. Imagine a book written more than 250 years ago that documented the boundaries of the viticultural areas in Puligny! This survey showed that the Leflaives were already well established in Puligny and that Claude Leflaive owned a house on the edge of the Place du Grand Cimetière (now the Place du Monument) presently occupied by his direct descendant, Olivier. What is even more amazing is that after the revolution, this 3 volume survey was lost, only to turn up again in a bookstall by the Seine and returned to Puligny!
Another chapter is dedicated to the vineyards in Puligny where I found the following definitions:

• Lieu-dit: a vineyard area identified by a traditional name
• Climat: a vineyard defined by topographical features which gives individual character to its wine
• Clos: a vineyard enclosed by a wall

Next came the chapters on life in the village: what the village looks like, people who live in the village and the general comings and goings. The chapter on the growers is followed by the Petit Domaines and then the Grand Domains. This is followed by an entire chapter on Uncle Vincent (Leflaive). When I read this chapter and the remarkable lineage of the Leflaive family, I was hoping to see some kind of genealogical tree and found one on the Internet¹:

More information about the succeeding generation of Leflaives (Anne-Claude and Olivier) are documented and the book ends with the author participating in a harvest in Puligny-Montrachet. This is a good book to learn more about the Leflaive Family and of life in Puligny in the 1990's. It is a good read.
References:
1. For a more comprehensive and wonderful history of the family LeFlavie, go to this link: Le Domaine LeFlaive Puligny-Montrachet.