Barrel tasting at Lucien le Moine with Mounir

Beuane
Tasted Monday, February 10, 2020 by Nanda with 239 views

Introduction

Always informative and fun to barrel taste with the lively Mounir Saouma. His 2018s are not shy, but well balanced and promising in both colors.

Flight 1 - REDS (16 Notes)

  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Volnay 1er Cru Pitures Dessus

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

    Forward nose of ripe black cherry, spice and intense florals. Crunchy red and black cherry fruit meets a firm structure with both acids and tannin providing grip. Good but will need time. 91+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

    Aromas are reductive in nature with an earthy funky profile. The palate shows very clean with chiseled and precise fruit that has nervous acidic balance. Palate is something else and impressive. Hope the nose cleans up. 92+ assuming the aromas sort themselves.

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Pommard 1er Cru Les Épenots

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru

    Lighter aromas with good floral accents. The palate is so mineral with crunchy red cherry and strawberry. Persistent finish. Should cellar for 10+ years. 91-92+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Épenots

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru

    Candied red cherry and floral nose. The palate leads with juicy red cherry. More florals throughout on the palate. Firm and structured finish. This will need 10-15 years but it is so well balanced. 92+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaut St. Jacques

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

    A cold clay vineyard according to Mounir. The nose here is decidedly animale and wild. The palate though is delicious with meaty black cherry and plenty of spice. Juicy acids and a firm tannic finish provide balance. 10-15 years required in the cellar. 92+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

    Wow, a gorgeously meaty, spicy and bright black cherry nose. The palate is so pure with delicious fruit, meat and spice all together. A real ethereal and dramatic mouth feel. 92-93+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

    Fascinating sequence of Les Charmes, Les Hauts-Doix and Les Amoureuses. Aromas are surprisingly meaty and more black than red cherry here. Plenty spicy. The palate is round and texturally suave with the red cherry and strawberry I'd expect in Chambolle. Nice spice. So precise and balanced. 92+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Hauts-Doix

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

    Fascinating sequence of Les Charmes, Les Hauts-Doix and Les Amoureuses. A step up in intensity from Les Charmes. The nose is a touch reduced but the fruit and spice are there in abundance. Wow, beaming red and black cherry laced with spice. So texturally complex -- sexy and sultry fruit. Long, fresh finish. 93+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

    Fascinating sequence of Les Charmes, Les Hauts-Doix and Les Amoureuses. Again the nose is a touch reduced but there is no holding back the red and black cherry, clay and spice aromatics. Even more intense than the Les Hauts-Doix with a sweet, ripe fruit that is incredibly lifted and ethereal. Complex in flavor and texture. Long, bright finish. Great wine. 94+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Clos de la Roche

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

    Big and denser than the Chambolle 1er trio. The nose is full of meaty black cherry. The palate is rich with clear Grand Cru concentration with unending amounts of black cherry. Plenty of freshness and structural balance. Long stony / mineral finish. Impressive. 93-95

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Clos St. Denis

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru

    Some reduction in the nose brings out an animale character to the dense black cherry. The palate is more red fruited and clean. Lighter than the CdlR and not quite showing Grand Cru concentration. A harder wine to figure with the reduced nose and perhaps shut down palate.

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Clos Vougeot

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

    From three sites in Vougeot -- top, middle, bottom. One barrel each. The nose is closed and brooding. Palate is rich and creamy while also bright and fresh. So much spice. Firm structure but it's refined and elegant. 92-93+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Echezeaux

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

    Nose here is also brooding. Delicious palate with creamy, rich, dense and spice-filled black cherry. Shows very Vosne. Long finish with chewy structure showing. Should cellar well for 10-15 years. 93-95+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

    A wow nose with so much intense spice layered in with black cherry. Incredible on the palate with intensely bright spice-filled fruit. Lively and powerful. This carries its concentration and weight effortlessly. Long, complex finish. 96+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Bonnes Mares

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

    4 barrels -- two each from terre rouge and terre blanche. Dense and brooding black cherry. Rich fruit with significant concentration. Good earth notions along with the black cherry. Powerful and structured. The fruit is ripe but made fresh with acidity. This will require 15+ years of patience. 92-94+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Romanée St. Vivant

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

    Wow, so incredibly spicy with black tea, white pepper and Asian spices mixed into the black cherry. Gorgeous round and polished fruit. Tighter, firm finish. Needs 10-15 years. 94-96

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Flight 2 - BLIND 2015s (4 Notes)

  • 2015 Lucien Le Moine Clos de la Roche

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

    Double blind but known to be 2015. Nice spice in the nose with ripe fruit. Very meaty on the palate with rich, ripe fruit that seems Grand Cru in concentration. Given 2015, I thought perhaps a 1er would give that type of weight and show this approachability. Cazetiers? Still needs a decade to add nuance. 92-93+

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  • 2015 Rotem & Mounir Saouma Châteauneuf-du-Pape Arioso

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Double blind but known to be 2015. Intense red fruited nose with clay tones. Round and lush red fruit that is delicious. Plenty of spice throughout. Long bright finish. Very red fruited so I went to Chambolle. Oof - blind tasting is tough! 93-94

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  • 2015 Lucien Le Moine Brouilly Horizon 50 ans

    France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Brouilly

    Double blind but known to be 2015. Overtly grapey and fruit-filled nose. Tons of ripe fruit that is candied and jammy. Seems a bit simple. I was lost but should have worked my way to Gamay. 88

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  • 2015 Rotem & Mounir Saouma Châteauneuf-du-Pape Amph IV Pignan

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Double blind but known to be 2015. Huge nose of big brambly strawberry with herbs and cola. The palate is decadently fruited with ripe fruit well into the cola and Dr Pepper spectrum. Rich but lively and ethereal on the palate. We're now known to be outside of Burgundy and CdP is the clear choice. Rayas-like. 94-96

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Flight 3 - WHITES (6 Notes)

  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

    Two separate barrel samples -- one aerated and off of the lees, the other from the bottom of the barrel with the lees. The first sample was pure and bright with good mineral-inflected white fruit and bright, zippy acidity. The second sample had much deeper flavors and more richness to the fruit. An interesting side-by-side. 91-92 for the first sample.

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    Riper white fruit and florals nose. Despite the riper and richer fruit profile this has good freshness and a bright finish. Charming.

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Meursault 1er Cru Charmes

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

    Full layered nose has orchard fruit, lime and nuts. Delicious with fat rich fruit. Nice complexity with mineral, saline, nuttiness layered with orchard fruit. Fully fresh and bright. Should drink well in the near and medium term. 92+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    More citric and mineral laden than the CdB whites. Still has a rich quality but clearly more taut with a precise, chiseled finish. 92+

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Bâtard-Montrachet

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

    Dense aromas of rich orchard fruit. The palate is so big, dense and concentrated. Floral, spice and smoked accents add complexity. Really stuffed and layered. Fun now for the decadence but should be even better in 5-10 years. 94-95

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  • 2018 Lucien Le Moine Chevalier-Montrachet

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

    More demure following the fat and flashy Batard. Similar density and concentration but with more firm structure that is leaning this out on the mid-palate. Plenty of spice and fruit medley accent in the finish. A lot here but needs time in the cellar. Hold for 5-10 years. 93-95+ potential.

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