Lucien Le Moine
About Lucien Le Moine
Founded in 1999 by Mounir and Rotem Saouma, Lucien Le Moine is an expression of the Burgundian drive to lovingly craft only the very best wines from the very best terroirs, regardless of any external factors. These are wines of truly relentless excellence.
The concerted aim of this house is to produce no more than 100 barrels of 1er and Grand Cru wine each vintage, varying from year to year as Mounir samples each vineyard before deciding which meet his lofty standards. Often only securing a single barrel per vineyard, their 100 barrel release in 2017, for example, covered 68 different wines.
The Winemaking
Lucien Le Moine has no running contracts with growers (although they will often source grapes repeatedly from the best), and they have no prerequisites with regards to how the vines were managed. Fascinatingly, this producer is not a winemaker, as such, as they purchase wines after fermentation. Instead, the art for which Mounir and Rotem Saouma have become so revered is the élevage - the process of ageing, filtration, racking etc. in their facility in Beaune.
Given their focus on post-fermentation processes, they work very closely with one specific barrel supplier, who sources the very finest wood from the great forests of France and wider Europe. Such is their care and determination, that each individual barrel is composed and toasted slightly differently to match and season each specific wine - attention to detail and artisanal craft reaches its apogee at Lucien Le Moine.
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Burghound (92-94)
This is actually quite aromatically similar to the Genavrières if perhaps just a bit more spice elements in evidence. There is more substantial difference on the palate though with more size, weight and richness to the more powerful broad-shouldered flavors that possess so much dry extract that the palate impression is almost lush, all wrapped in a firm, lingering and balanced finale. What this doesn't have, at least not yet, is outstanding depth so at least moderate patience will be in order.$2,135.00 -
Vinous (91-95)
Good deep red. Pungent aromas of blueberry, smoke, minerals and game. Lush, sexy and deep, with powerful extract and sappiness to its deep core of fruit. A metallic, iodiney quality and a saline element communicate a strong impression of the soil. This firmly structured wine coats the entire palate on the aftertaste, finishing with serious tannins and a note of coffee. Saouma noted that this grand cru was vinified with about one-third of its stems and underwent a long maceration; he planned to bottle most of it in magnums.$2,045.00 -
Vinous (93-95)
The 2012 Clos de Vougeot is superb and sensual, its contours softened by the rich, naturally low-yielding vintage, which gives a level of pliancy and suppleness that is highly unusual for this wine. Sweet red berries, crushed rocks and high-toned floral nuances meld together beautifully. The expressive, layered finish is simply striking. Proprietor Mounir Saouma blends three barrels from different sources within the Clos for this wine.$1,755.00 -
Burghound (92-95)
This is very ripe, indeed to the point where the cassis, warm earth and softly floral-scented aromas exhibit hints of mocha. In much the same fashion as the Clos St. Denis there is a relatively sleek mouth feel to the solidly intense and muscular larger-scaled flavors that possess a lovely sense of harmony and excellent complexity on the lingering finish that is a bit less youthfully austere than usual.$1,845.00 -
$1,970.00 -
$1,455.00 -
(1x75cl) 2021Burghound (92-94)
Firm reduction reveals nothing about the underlying fruit. By contrast there is excellent volume and mid-palate density to the succulent and caressing but decidedly powerful flavors that conclude in a moderately austere, firmly structured and built-to-age finale. This is at once generous but detailed and a wine that should amply repay extended keeping.$396.00 -
(6x75cl) 2010Vinous (94-96)
The 2010 Clos Saint Denis is all about textural finesse and effortless grace. Layers of sweet perfume emerge from this harmonious, understated Burgundy. White flowers and licorice add dimension and volume on the finely knit finish.$3,240.00 -
$2,070.00 -
$1,805.00 -
(6x75cl) 2020$1,610.00 -
$1,305.00 -
$1,495.00 -
$1,495.00 -
(6x75cl) 2010Vinous (95)
Brilliant, high-pitched aromas of lemon, orange zest and nutmeg. Large-scaled, rich and deep for Corton-Charlemagne, saturating the palate with a wave of crushed limestone, citrus fruits, cinnamon, ginger and clove flavors. Wonderfully seamless wine with great concentration and persistence. This is actually much more pliant today than it appeared to be from barrel a year ago but I would expect it to shut down in bottle. If you have to open it anytime soon, Saouma suggests giving it a double decanting, as a mechanical action is needed to make the CO2 disappear.$2,850.00 -
(3x150cl) 2011Vinous (94-96)
The 2011 Corton-Charlemagne is drop-dead gorgeous. Subtle, nuanced and very pretty, the 2011 is all about understatement and reserve. The aromas and flavors show off striking inner perfume and impeccable balance. This is a great showing from an utterly beautiful wine with a bright future, but it is also a wine that demand's the taster's full attention.$11,150.00 -
(6x75cl) 2011Vinous (94-96)
The 2011 Corton-Charlemagne is drop-dead gorgeous. Subtle, nuanced and very pretty, the 2011 is all about understatement and reserve. The aromas and flavors show off striking inner perfume and impeccable balance. This is a great showing from an utterly beautiful wine with a bright future, but it is also a wine that demand's the taster's full attention.$11,150.00 -
(6x75cl) 2020$4,420.00 -
Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (92-95)
(from En Orveaux, on the north side of this sprawling grand cru) Bright, deep red. Complex, terroir-driven aromas of redcurrant, raspberry, minerals, licorice, smoke and tobacco, plus a whiff of fruit syrup. Dense, primary and penetrating, but already shows the compelling sweetness of fruit of the vintage. Not yet especially complex but stains the palate on the very long, vibrant aftertaste. An extremely young wine of great finesse.$3,275.00 -
Wine Advocate (94+)
The 2016 Echézeaux Grand Cru wafts from the glass with a deep bouquet of smoked meats, cassis, blackberries, incense and rich soil tones. On the palate, it's full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with rich but supple tannins, a deep and concentrated core of fruit, lively acids and a long, thrillingly carnal finish. This is a beautifully made Echézeaux from this challenging frost vintage.$2,140.00 -
$2,250.00 -
(6x75cl) 2019$4,190.00 -
$1,250.00 -
$1,335.00 -
(6x75cl) 2015Vinous (93-96)
Bright ruby-red. Very wild, leesy, utterly distinctive nose offers scents of purple fruits and spices complicated by apricot and almond nuances. Wonderfully spicy, fine-grained, idiosyncratic wine with dark berry and rosemary flavors complicated by faint lactic and malic nuances (this is just at the end of its secondary fermentation). Suave, deep wine with an almost oily aftertaste. This should be a knockout. For his part, Saouma describes it as fake gentle today.$3,290.00 -
Vinous (93-95)
(the crop level here was barely 15 hectoliters per hectare, according to Saouma): Full, bright ruby. Higher-toned and considerably more expressive on the nose than the Echézeaux, offering aromas of black raspberry, licorice and violet along with suggestions of more exotic ripeness. Densely packed and seriously concentrated, but a bit youthfully imploded owing to its crushed-rock minerality; conveys a strong impression of dry extract but little early sweetness. As young as this wine is, it's much more harmonious today than the Echézeaux. Finishes very long, with serious but fine-grained tannins.$2,675.00 -
Burghound (91-93)
An overtly floral and well-layered nose is elegant, airy and pure with plenty of spice elements adding breadth to the super-fresh essence of red currant aromas that are trimmed in discreet oak nuances. There is notably more size, weight and power to the tautly muscular flavors that culminate in a serious, robust and lingering finish. This is not a monster of concentration but I like the balance and overall sense of harmony.$2,190.00 -
(6x75cl) 2018$2,840.00 -
$3,060.00 -
Burghound (93-96)
"Don't Miss" This is aromatically similar to the Echézeaux but with even more floral elements present. The exceptionally rich, concentrated and markedly powerful big-bodied flavors display impressive size, weight and muscle on the hugely long finish. This too will need to develop more depth, but the underlying material certainly appears to be here for that to happen. In a word, terrific.$3,030.00
