ROUGE 2010 by Stephen Tanser
"Two thousand ten has something unique for red Burgundy," said Mounir Saouma: "its combination of concentration from low yields and finesse. There weren't a lot of berries per cluster, so the grapes were well aerated. This saved us in 2010." Saouma added that the grapes ripened without rotting, and that with potential alcohols generally in the 13.5% range, no chaptalization was necessary. "The tannins and the acids are present in good quantities, but from the beginning we didn't really feel them. The wines were enjoyable to taste before the malos, and there's not a big difference in the feeling of the acidity afterwards. But the wines were primary and flashy early on, and by late summer they became deeper and more serious." Saouma does not think that the 2010s will shut down in bottle and he believes that they will last for a very long time.
2010 Lucien Le Moine Pommard Les Epenots
(this only finished its malolactic fermentation in September): Bright red. Reduced nose hints at red berries and grilled duck. Rich and sweet, with bright but youthfully tight redcurrant and licorice flavors. Dusty tannins give the finish a firm edge. 88-90
2010 Lucien Le Moine Pommard Les Grands Epenots
Good full red. Aromas of maraschino cherry and flowers are energized by lively minerality. Then lush, saline and sweet, with complex soil tones leavened by a vibrant calcaire texture. Finishes suave and persistent. 89-92
2010 Lucien Le Moine Pommard Rugiens
(from Rugiens du Haut): Moderately saturated medium red. Reticent nose hints at smoke, tobacco and dried flowers. Suave red fruit flavors are complicated by a meaty nuance. Best today on the long, subtle aftertaste, which features ripe, smooth tannins and a lovely restrained sweetness. 91-94
2010 Lucien Le Moine Volnay Clos des Chenes
Good bright red. Pure aromas of fresh red fruits and smoky minerality, with a whiff of cherry liqueur emerging with aeration. Supple in texture but youthfully closed and not yet filled in. Finishes long and serious, with saline soil tones and substantial dusty tannins. 90-93
2010 Lucien Le Moine Volnay Santenots
Bright, palish red. Aromas of black cherry and mocha, with a hint of leather. Soft, sweet and lightly chocolatey; a bit diffuse for a wine in this cellar. In a lighter style but nicely round. This reminded me of a Meursault in texture. 89-91
2010 Lucien Le Moine Corton Bressandes
Good bright, full red. Raspberry and smoky minerality on the nose. Fat, sweet, lush and deep, but with impressive youthful reserve to its red fruit and soil tones. Finishes very long, with ripe, suave tannins. (The Volnay Caillerets was too reduced to assess with confidence.) 91-94
2010 Lucien Le Moine Corton Renardes
Good deep red. Raspberry, minerals and a whiff of game on the musky nose. Wonderfully sweet and palate-saturating, with stony minerality supporting the flavors of plum, violet and game. Gains in chewiness on the back end, finishing plush and long. Extremely promising, slightly wild Corton grand cru. 93-95
2010 Lucien Le Moine Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles
Good deep red. Expressive nose offers red cherry, minerals, crushed stone and high-pitched spices. Broad, sweet and fine-grained; really spreads out to saturate the mouth, but with terrific acid/tannin support keeping the wine fresh and alive. Very long on the aftertaste, with the red cherry character following through. 92-94
2010 Lucien Le Moine Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains
Bright medium red. Dark cherry, violet and chocolate on the nose, with lovely limestone lift. Dense and suave on the palate, with cherry fruit energized by underlying chalky minerality and framed by firm acidity. Best today on the slowly mounting, ripely tannic finish. Very classy Nuits-Saint-Georges in the making. 92-95
2010 Lucien Le Moine Gevrey-Chambertin Estournelles Saint-Jacques
Medium red. Musky, complex aromas of cherry, plum, raspberry, olive, cardamom and warm stones. Silky and gentle in the mouth, with smoky earth tones dominating. Finishes with harmonious ripe tannins and excellent subtle length. 90-93
2010 Lucien Le Moine Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux Saint-Jacques
Good full red. Wild nose offers redcurrant, cranberry, clove and leather. Rich and large-scaled but with a restrained sweetness to the cherry and raspberry fruit. Best today on the long, palate-dusting finish. This will be a wild boy. 91-94
2010 Lucien Le Moine Gevrey-Chambertin Cazetiers
Good medium red. Enticing aromas of redcurrant, crushed stone and mocha, plus a whiff of syrupy reduction. Suave, seamless and a bit youthfully subdued; more about penetration than volume. Finishes very long and smooth, with saline truffle and soil tones. With its austere minerality, this reminded me of a little Clos de Beze. 92-94
2010 Lucien Le Moine Charmes-Chambertin
(half from Mazoyeres): Good medium bright red. Wild raspberry and a whiff of truffle on the slightly reduced nose. Fat, dense and dry; less expressive today than the Cazetiers but with a fine-grained texture to the flavors of bitter cherry, dried flowers and menthol. A solid limestone underpinning should enable this wine to evolve slowly. 90-93
2010 Lucien Le Moine Griottes-Chambertin
Good medium red. Lovely floral perfume lifts the aromas of cherry, strawberry, smoke, spices and minerals. Then precise and energetic in the mouth but tightly coiled, with sappy raspberry and stone flavors. Finishes vibrant, explosive and very long, with subtle hints of leather and earth. This should be a beauty. 92-95
2010 Lucien Le Moine Mazis-Chambertin
Good red-ruby color. Vibrant, perfumed aromas of black raspberry and smoked meat. Dense, highly concentrated and utterly seamless, with terrific inner-mouth energy giving the wine lift and extending its finish. This has the balance to provide early accessibility but the medicinal reserve and noble tannins to support a long and graceful evolution in bottle. Very classy, long Mazis. 93-96
2010 Lucien Le Moine Chambertin-Clos de Beze
Good deep red. Raspberry, smoke, dried rose, roasted herbs and musky underbrush, lifted by a whiff of limestone. Fine-grained and sappy on the palate, combining outstanding density with great energy. The outstanding, slowly building finish stains the palate with minerality, with the tannins in perfect harmony with the wine's fruit and soil tones. A great wine in the making. 94-97
2010 Lucien Le Moine Clos-Vougeot
Medium red. Reticent aromas of redcurrant and pepper. Rich and chewy, but with a slightly rougher texture and more obvious tannins than the grand crus from Gevrey. Red fruit and saline soil tones take on a youthful medicinal toughness on the back end. 90-93
2010 Lucien Le Moine Morey-Saint-Denis Clos des Ormes
Medium red, with a hint of amber at the rim. Smoky, slightly funky aromas and flavors of strawberry, brown spices and fresh blood. Shows a saline quality and a Clos-Saint-Denis-like spiciness; more about sucrosite than grip and thrust. Finishes with substantial dusty tannins. 89-92
2010 Lucien Le Moine Clos Saint-Denis
(this finished both its malolactic and its sugar fermentation in August): Medium red with a hint of amber. Musky, slightly reduced aromas of redcurrant, minerals and earthy underbrush. Plush and round in the mouth, offering lovely early texture for this grand cru. More about savory soil tones than flowers. Finishes broad and long, with noteworthy finesse of tannins and a late note of sour cherry. 92-94
2010 Lucien Le Moine Clos de la Roche
Medium red. Sexy aromas and flavors of plum, cherry, underbrush, mocha, brown spices and minerals. Seamless on entry, then vibrant and mouthcoating in the middle; a bit more expressive today than the Clos Saint-Denis. Most impressive today on the very long finish, which shows serious tannic power and excellent lift. 92-95
2010 Lucien Le Moine Vosne-Romanee Suchots
Bright, deep red. Musky medicinal cherry and chocolate on the nose. Seriously concentrated but youthfully imploded, with no easy early sweetness to the raspberry, chocolate and spice flavors. Juicy and less earth-driven than the Lucien Le Moine wines from Morey-Saint-Denis, but this will require at least several years of bottle aging. 92-95
2010 Lucien Le Moine Vosne-Romanee Petits-Monts
Good medium red. Sexy nose combines black fruits, truffle and vanillin oak. Sweet and silky on the palate, with mellow flavors of dark berries, chocolate, cappuccino and vanilla. Very rich wine, but today the strong vanillin quality mutes the fruit. Mounir Saouma has this wine in one new and one once-used barrel, in order to temper the "caramel vanilla flavor" he found in the grapes. 90-92
2010 Lucien Le Moine Vosne-Romanee Les Malconsorts
Good bright red. Pure but reticent aromas of dark berries and musky minerality. The palate offers lovely intensity and sweetness, with strong limestone energy giving the mid-palate a powerful impression of vivacity. Finishes taut, crackling and very long. Conveys a distinctly cold-soil character. 92-94
2010 Lucien Le Moine Echezeaux
(from the clay-rich en Orveau section of this grand cru): Good medium red. Red fruits and a note of blood orange on the nose. Lovely lift and a touch of sweetness on the palate, showing beautiful balance already. Red berries are complemented by smoke and complex soil tones while retaining a juicy character. Builds slowly and steadily on the back end. Plenty of chewiness and structure here but this is almost surprisingly easy to taste today. 93-95
2010 Lucien Le Moine Grands-Echezeaux
(from chalky soil): Good bright, deep red. Fine, vibrant aromas of tangy red berries, rose petal and mint. The palate offers exhilarating precision and lift to the pristine flavors of pomegranate, raspberry and crushed stone. Wonderfully taut, pure wine; still youthfully tight but the extremely long finish boasts compelling perfume and a fine dusting of tannins. An outstanding expression of limestone. 94-97
2010 Lucien Le Moine Vosne-Romanee Gaudichots
Good deep red. High-pitched, youthfully reticent aromas of raspberry, chocolate and cardamom. Dense and sweet but closed, displaying less personality today than the stunning Grands-Echezeaux. But boasts terrific stuffing and finishes chewy and very long, with substantial dusty tannins and lovely verve. 91-94
2010 Lucien Le Moine Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes
Dark red. Black raspberry, blackberry, spicy oak and a whiff of menthol on the nose. A sappy, urgent dark berry fruit bomb on the palate, but with the lighter touch that a cool year brings to this premier cru vineyard. Silky and long on the finish. Mounir Saouma believes that Chambolle-Musigny is the village in 2010. 91-93
2010 Lucien Le Moine Chambolle-Musigny Haut-Doix
Good bright red. Medicinal raspberry and cherry aromas lifted by spices and blood orange. Juicy, tight and extremely primary, with a crunchy texture to the flavors of creme de cassis and spices. Finishes tannic and very long. In a distinctly cooler style: this will merit a score at the high end of my range if it gains in flesh and pliancy during the last months of its elevage. 91-94
2010 Lucien Le Moine Chambolle-Musigny Amoureuses
Good red-ruby. Knockout nose melds dark berries, violet, rose petal and crushed stone. Dense, taut and brilliantly delineated; an essence of pinot noir, with wonderfully aromatic, intense flavors of tangy dark berries, stone and smoky minerality. Perhaps most impressive today on the pungent, slowly building back end, which delivers uncanny spicy grip and leaves the mouth drenched in floral perfume. 94-97
2010 Lucien Le Moine Bonnes-Mares
Good bright, deep red. Black cherry, red berries, mocha, minerals and menthol on the nose. Fat, sweet and rich; at once extremely primary and utterly seamless in the mid-palate, with a sappy crushed black cherry flavor dominating. Finishes with substantial ripe tannins and terrific chewy persistence. 93-96
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