We actually decanted this ( but accidentally) and it sort of worked. Our 4th exposure to this beautiful wine over the last 5 years ( Papies 94-95) and this is now evolving a beautiful secondary side, the oak is well assimilated ( was quite pronounced in its youth) and it’s just ever so elegant and an effortless beauty. Still a bit powerful for a Clos St. Denis, truthful to the style of the producer but maybe that’s the right dimension to this . Proper 94-95 again .
Wine gathering at RJ's; 4/4/2023-4/7/2023 (South Carolina): Surprisingly showing noticeable bricking. Beautifully mature nose displaying sweet red fruit, cherry, dry cherry, strawberry jam, strong sous bois, grilled cep, cedar, sweet spices and earth. Fully integrated palate, generous sweet and slightly dry red fruit, warm and round, medium acidity, strong earthy mineral, and a long sweet red fruit finish with strong sous bois at the end. The development reminds me of the 95 and 96 Dominique Laurent wines a decade ago, i.e. very ripe sweet and round red fruit with strong sous bois. Justin and I agree that if this will do well if served blind next to a Clos St. Denis from a sought after producer.
Not expressive at this stage. Two hour decant and the wine doesn't really budge. A nose of black soil and earth, with hints of pink red berries and spice. A texturally elegant wine with palate notes following the nose. Medium+ body with integrating oak (some char notes) and nice acidity. 93+, but more technically sound than offering beautiful fruit. I would wait another 5 years and see if the fruit becomes more present, or the savory notes become more tertiary and interesting.
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9 months since we had this last ( Twice 95) and its interesting to see that the wine is well assimilating its smoky oak and showing more of its fruit and earthier , spicier side. Frankly we associated this wine with that smoky edge so we almost missed it at least to start but still this continues to perform superbly and with good level of fruit on the palate. Very solid 94-95
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A month since we tried this last and really this is now at true form. Not sure if its the slightly oakier style of LLM or the 2009 vintage but this wine now feels at peaks or if we are to believe the ups and downs in Burgundy development , this is now a a local maximum. Smoky, meaty, spicy but also soft and silky tannin. Really superb and the softer CSD marries well with the bit heavier wine making here. We have a few more and frankly we are lost if we go and drink them sooner than later or wait for further development. If we had only 1 then we would have had it now as at this stage the wine is a superb experience. 95 easy
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From the word go this wine was at top speed. A more oaky expression of CSD but still a an excellent one. Soft smoky edge, good ripe feel on the fruit but this being CSD it was softer, round and gentle wine. Elegant wine and was just an effortless performance. Did not evolve much over the over the period of a goo hour and granted this has a bit more to give as it ages and evolves but for sure a class act now. 95 easy (We are not sure it needs all that smoky barrel edge but still no complaints here)
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(Half-blind Le Moine tasting) Full, very spicy nose. Rich and generous. Vanilla oak. Strawberry and elegant, complex sandalwood. Flirty and seductive. Fullish, well-structured, but also balanced palate. Dense and concentrated. Very good grip. Oak, spice and strawberry mingles effortlessly. Very long. Among the top perfomers in the line-up. Grand cru intensity shows in the company of distinctive premier cru's. This, Haut-Doix and Suchots declared winners of the tasting.
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utterly stunning young wine, liquid velvet. Bright red fruits, rich yet weightless, very typical of an outstanding Clos St Denis. length to burn, you can taste this wine for a good minute after it departs. very, very highly recommended, these guys are making tremendously good wines.
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Decanted as prescribed by the Domaine. Medium garner, slightly cloudy color. A pleasant and forthcoming nose which is very, smoky, toasty, oak, with red fruit, slightly animalic. On the palate elegant with good acidity. Overall this has a lot of oak, modern style, good but not so much terroir here. Medium finish. Not nearly as good as the 2013.
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It has been more than 2 years since I opened a bottle of this. Shut and tight on the first day, not giving up much. Things get a lot more interesting on the 2nd day. Floral and aromatic on the nose. Sweet and smooth on the attack, finesse rather than power, excellent balance. Notes of rose pedals, spices, and oaks. The style of house is closer to Cathiard than Bertheau, slightly more oaks but not bothersome. Actually the 4th day is the best yet, open and lush with great balance, showing the deceptive power. Delicious stuff. This will be a beauty in another 10 years. (A)
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Uplifting fruit aromas with well integrated scents of horse and game. The fruits on the palate were very delicate and well balanced by a slight savoury - meaty characteristic. There was an interesting metallic note to the finish which resembles iron and lead. The acidity, alcohol and tannins were in unison, akin to the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) it was uncanny.
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You can smell the velvet! Wow! Gorgeous, layered and complex! Big, rich and very long. My WOTY so far. Stunning wine. This is one you could savor and treasure all night long.
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Gorgeous nose. Perfumed and intense. Notes of dark berries, violet, spices with toasty oak at finish. Smooth and sweet on entry with impeccable balance. Another wine that sort of glide through the palate without noticeable tannins. Label indicated 13.5% alcohol with no heat whatsoever. Beautiful wine! This is even better than the 2009 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux which I adore. 95-96 pts.
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Young, but with a lot of air it turns out to be very good like all the great fruit driven ´09´s. Red berries and some iron on the nose. The wine is a little burning on the tongue. Some rough elements on the palate but few tannins so the fruit expression is great. Long berry finish which lasts and lasts. Very nice now and developping the next 20 years. And I think this is a 94 point bottle of wine with some 10 years bottlerest.
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I was surprised here ... in a good way. Usually Mounir and Rotem use oak in a way I find difficult, i.e. too much new oak that put the fruit in the shadow. But lately I've tried some of their wines from 2007 - 2009 that puts a smile on my face ... and this wine is one of them. In this wine the fruit gets the chance to shine. Nice, lovely dark fruit, strawberries, roses, black tea, spices and ... of course, oak ... but in a good way that supports the spices. I find this wine in balance and the oak-barrels are in harmony with the fruit and acidity. This wine is dark and powerfull in style ... but still with some elegance and finess. Words I seldom use in the same sentence with Lucien Le Moine. But "the Monk" is on the right track now. Respect to Mounir and Rotem! I will look for this wine again.
3/24/2024 - Papies wrote: 94 Points
We actually decanted this ( but accidentally) and it sort of worked. Our 4th exposure to this beautiful wine over the last 5 years ( Papies 94-95) and this is now evolving a beautiful secondary side, the oak is well assimilated ( was quite pronounced in its youth) and it’s just ever so elegant and an effortless beauty. Still a bit powerful for a Clos St. Denis, truthful to the style of the producer but maybe that’s the right dimension to this . Proper 94-95 again .
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4/7/2023 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Wine gathering at RJ's; 4/4/2023-4/7/2023 (South Carolina): Surprisingly showing noticeable bricking. Beautifully mature nose displaying sweet red fruit, cherry, dry cherry, strawberry jam, strong sous bois, grilled cep, cedar, sweet spices and earth. Fully integrated palate, generous sweet and slightly dry red fruit, warm and round, medium acidity, strong earthy mineral, and a long sweet red fruit finish with strong sous bois at the end. The development reminds me of the 95 and 96 Dominique Laurent wines a decade ago, i.e. very ripe sweet and round red fruit with strong sous bois. Justin and I agree that if this will do well if served blind next to a Clos St. Denis from a sought after producer.
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2/13/2022 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Good Wine with an Exciting Super Bowl (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Popped, decanted, and poured, so not given the airtime I prefer for Le Moine wines. Small glass, brief note. Seemed dirty at first, so disappointing, but I did not remember to re-taste.
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12/24/2021 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 94 Points
Love the nose, taste and finish. A real treat. Drink or Hold.
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4/16/2021 - SARED wrote: 93 Points
Not expressive at this stage. Two hour decant and the wine doesn't really budge. A nose of black soil and earth, with hints of pink red berries and spice. A texturally elegant wine with palate notes following the nose. Medium+ body with integrating oak (some char notes) and nice acidity. 93+, but more technically sound than offering beautiful fruit. I would wait another 5 years and see if the fruit becomes more present, or the savory notes become more tertiary and interesting.
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1/12/2020 - Papies wrote: 94 Points
9 months since we had this last ( Twice 95) and its interesting to see that the wine is well assimilating its smoky oak and showing more of its fruit and earthier , spicier side. Frankly we associated this wine with that smoky edge so we almost missed it at least to start but still this continues to perform superbly and with good level of fruit on the palate. Very solid 94-95
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4/14/2019 - Papies wrote: 95 Points
A month since we tried this last and really this is now at true form. Not sure if its the slightly oakier style of LLM or the 2009 vintage but this wine now feels at peaks or if we are to believe the ups and downs in Burgundy development , this is now a a local maximum. Smoky, meaty, spicy but also soft and silky tannin. Really superb and the softer CSD marries well with the bit heavier wine making here. We have a few more and frankly we are lost if we go and drink them sooner than later or wait for further development. If we had only 1 then we would have had it now as at this stage the wine is a superb experience. 95 easy
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3/23/2019 - Papies wrote: 95 Points
From the word go this wine was at top speed. A more oaky expression of CSD but still a an excellent one. Soft smoky edge, good ripe feel on the fruit but this being CSD it was softer, round and gentle wine. Elegant wine and was just an effortless performance. Did not evolve much over the over the period of a goo hour and granted this has a bit more to give as it ages and evolves but for sure a class act now. 95 easy
(We are not sure it needs all that smoky barrel edge but still no complaints here)
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2/16/2019 - Argrath wrote: 94 Points
(Half-blind Le Moine tasting)
Full, very spicy nose. Rich and generous. Vanilla oak. Strawberry and elegant, complex sandalwood. Flirty and seductive.
Fullish, well-structured, but also balanced palate. Dense and concentrated. Very good grip. Oak, spice and strawberry mingles effortlessly. Very long.
Among the top perfomers in the line-up. Grand cru intensity shows in the company of distinctive premier cru's. This, Haut-Doix and Suchots declared winners of the tasting.
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2/20/2018 - felixp Likes this wine: 97 Points
utterly stunning young wine, liquid velvet. Bright red fruits, rich yet weightless, very typical of an outstanding Clos St Denis.
length to burn, you can taste this wine for a good minute after it departs.
very, very highly recommended, these guys are making tremendously good wines.
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1/30/2016 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
Decanted as prescribed by the Domaine. Medium garner, slightly cloudy color. A pleasant and forthcoming nose which is very, smoky, toasty, oak, with red fruit, slightly animalic. On the palate elegant with good acidity. Overall this has a lot of oak, modern style, good but not so much terroir here. Medium finish. Not nearly as good as the 2013.
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7/10/2015 - pclin wrote: 94 Points
It has been more than 2 years since I opened a bottle of this. Shut and tight on the first day, not giving up much. Things get a lot more interesting on the 2nd day. Floral and aromatic on the nose. Sweet and smooth on the attack, finesse rather than power, excellent balance. Notes of rose pedals, spices, and oaks. The style of house is closer to Cathiard than Bertheau, slightly more oaks but not bothersome. Actually the 4th day is the best yet, open and lush with great balance, showing the deceptive power. Delicious stuff. This will be a beauty in another 10 years. (A)
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5/29/2013 - Mackmoo Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very fruity on the nose. Balanced on the palate. While nice, it doesn't appeal to me at this point in its evolution. Needs time.
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5/28/2013 - Vinedict Likes this wine: 92 Points
(Decanted this beauty for 5 hours.)
Uplifting fruit aromas with well integrated scents of horse and game. The fruits on the palate were very delicate and well balanced by a slight savoury - meaty characteristic. There was an interesting metallic note to the finish which resembles iron and lead. The acidity, alcohol and tannins were in unison, akin to the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) it was uncanny.
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4/11/2013 - winemaker Likes this wine: 97 Points
You can smell the velvet! Wow! Gorgeous, layered and complex! Big, rich and very long. My WOTY so far. Stunning wine. This is one you could savor and treasure all night long.
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4/11/2013 - pclin wrote: 96 Points
Gorgeous nose. Perfumed and intense. Notes of dark berries, violet, spices with toasty oak at finish. Smooth and sweet on entry with impeccable balance. Another wine that sort of glide through the palate without noticeable tannins. Label indicated 13.5% alcohol with no heat whatsoever. Beautiful wine! This is even better than the 2009 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux which I adore. 95-96 pts.
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7/9/2012 - Kriz wrote: 92 Points
Young, but with a lot of air it turns out to be very good like all the great fruit driven ´09´s. Red berries and some iron on the nose. The wine is a little burning on the tongue. Some rough elements on the palate but few tannins so the fruit expression is great. Long berry finish which lasts and lasts. Very nice now and developping the next 20 years. And I think this is a 94 point bottle of wine with some 10 years bottlerest.
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7/3/2012 - Tenuta Stefan wrote: 95 Points
I was surprised here ... in a good way. Usually Mounir and Rotem use oak in a way I find difficult, i.e. too much new oak that put the fruit in the shadow. But lately I've tried some of their wines from 2007 - 2009 that puts a smile on my face ... and this wine is one of them. In this wine the fruit gets the chance to shine. Nice, lovely dark fruit, strawberries, roses, black tea, spices and ... of course, oak ... but in a good way that supports the spices.
I find this wine in balance and the oak-barrels are in harmony with the fruit and acidity. This wine is dark and powerfull in style ... but still with some elegance and finess. Words I seldom use in the same sentence with Lucien Le Moine. But "the Monk" is on the right track now. Respect to Mounir and Rotem! I will look for this wine again.
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