LE MOINE 2012

  • Maison Lucien le Moine Clos de la Roche (95-97)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Musigny Grand Cru (95-97)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Mazis Chambertin (94-96)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Chambertin Clos de Beze (94-96)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Clos St Denis (94-96)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Bonnes Mares (94-96)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Griottes Chambertin (93-95)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Vosne Romanee les Malconsorts (93-95)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Echezeauxm(93-95)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Chambolle Musigny les Amoureuses (93-95)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Gaudichots 1er Cru (92-94)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Volnay Santenots (92-94)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Corton Perrieres Grand Cru (92-94)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Vosne Romanee les Suchots (92-94)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Corton Bressandes (92-94)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Gevrey Chambertin les Cazetiers (92-94)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Charmes Chambertin (92-94)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Nuits St Georges les Vaucrains (91-93)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Volnay Caillerets (91-93)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Grands Echezeaux (91-93)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Nuits St Georges les Cailles (91-93)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Morey St Denis les Genevrieres 1er Cru (91-93)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Vosne Romanee les Petits Monts (91-93)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Pommard Grands Epenots (90-92)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Pommard les Rugiens (90-92)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Volnay 1Er Cru les Chanlins (90-92)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Chambolle Musigny Charmes (90-92)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Nuits St Georges les St Georges (89-91)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Beaune 1Er Cru Clos des Mouches (89-91)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Chassagne Montrachet 1Er Cru Morgeots (89-91)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Volnay 1Er Cru les Brouillards (89-91)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Pommard Epenots (89-91)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Gevrey Chambertin Estournelles St Jacques (89-91)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Chambolle Musigny 1Er Cru les Groseilles (89-91)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Corton Renardes (88-90)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Morey St Denis Clos des Ormes (88-90)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Chambolle Musigny Hauts Doix (88-90)
  • Maison Lucien le Moine Pommard 1Er Cru Clos de Vergers (87-89)

It is always a pleasure to visit the indefatigable Mounir Saouma at his hideaway winery just off the Beaune periphique. He is a winemaker you can jest with, and he is often victim of my sardonic Essex humor (for example, when enthusing about obtaining one of five barrels of a premier cru, I dryly enquired whether the other four were sold off for distillation – I would not say that to Aubert de Villaine.) And I appreciate Mounir’s wines. They used to taste a little too fat and almost over-powering in their youth, but I think he is fine-tuning his reductive winemaking style, achieving more freshness and vitality. I tasted his 2012 reds since the whites were still undergoing malolactic. Among the tidal wave of opinions, one that he emphasized was that to capture the quality of the vintage under cork, the wines should be bottled late, and not in spring when Burgundy will resound to the clinking of glass. Mounir also told me that he paid 50% more from wines in 2012 than in 2011, but that he intends to keep prices within 15% increase.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Bonnes Mares
RATING: (94-96) points
FROM: Bonnes Mares Chambolle Musigny, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has a wonderful bouquet with bright red and black fruit, superb mineralite and freshness. The palate is precise and focused with great harmony and depth, leading to a passionate, rounded, sensual finish with an abiding sense of symmetry that I hope will be translated once in bottle.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Chambertin Clos de Beze
RATING: (94-96) points
FROM: Chambertin Clos de Beze Gevrey Chambertin, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Chambertin Clos-de-Beze Grand Cru has a slap of strawberry jam on the nose that just needs a little more eloquence and sophistication. Perhaps that will develop during the remainder of its elevage, because the palate is very impressive: rounded, powerful and deep. There are copious raspberry and strawberry coulis flavors that defined the very persistent finish. I will give this the benefit of doubt.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Chambolle Musigny 1Er Cru les Groseilles
RATING: (89-91) points
FROM: Les Groseilles Chambolle Musigny, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Groseilles has a light redcurrant and raspberry bouquet that is well-defined and feminine. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy ripe opening, good acidity with a precise if slightly herbaceous finish.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Chambolle Musigny Charmes
RATING: (90-92) points
FROM: Les Charmes Chambolle Musigny, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes has a reduced nose at the moment, although the palate is very crisp and poised with superb acidity and delivers a slight nutty and animally finish that is imbued with plenty of character. This is very fine.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Chambolle Musigny Hauts Doix
RATING: (88-90) points
FROM: Les Hauts Doix Chambolle Musigny, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Hauts Doix has a linear and very conservative bouquet. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins and brambly red fruit, though the finish is straight-laced and does not quite « take off » in the same fashion as the other Chambolle premier crus.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Chambolle Musigny les Amoureuses
RATING: (93-95) points
FROM: Les Amoureuses Chambolle Musigny, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses has a precise bouquet with blackberry, blueberry and minerals, a vivacious nose that could seduce from ten paces. The palate is precise and focused: superb acidity with a strict controlled and quite penetrating finish. Excellent.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Charmes Chambertin
RATING: (92-94) points
FROM: Charmes Chambertin Gevrey Chambertin, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru has a ripe redcurrant and cranberry-scented bouquet that is full and voluminous. The palate is ripe and sweet with a candied core of strawberry fruit and a long succulent finish. This is a quintessential Charmes-Chambertin in the making, harmonious and poised.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Chassagne Montrachet 1Er Cru Morgeots
RATING: (89-91) points
FROM: Chassagne Chassagne Montrachet, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeots Rouge has a very closed bouquet despite some rigorous shaking of my glass. The palate is taut and linear with strict tannins and a silver thread of acidity. What really comes through is the precision on the finish. Like many Chassagne Rouge, it is missing some depth and substance, but it compensates with freshness and vitality.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Clos de la Roche
RATING: (95-97) points
FROM: Clos de la Roche Morey St Denis, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru has a dark berry, wild strawberry and yellow plum-scented nose that is more predictable but perhaps better defined than the Clos Saint Denis. The palate is fleshy and rounded on the entry. It is interwoven with fine acidity and it shows great length, seguing into its tender and feminine on the finish. It is deceptively complex and one of Lucien le Moine’s best 2012s.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Clos St Denis
RATING: (94-96) points
FROM: Clos St Denis Morey St Denis, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru has a primal, animally bouquet with broody dark berry fruit – bouquet with intent, yet tightly coiled and broody. The palate is very precise with touches of balsamic and spice. It unfolds in the glass and leads naturally toward the long finish that fans out beautifully. Excellent.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Corton Bressandes
RATING: (92-94) points
FROM: Les Bressandes Aloxe Corton, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Corton Bressandes Grand Cru has woodland and smoke on the bouquet that seems aloof and distant at the moment. The palate is ripe and sweet with fine supple tannins, crisp acidity and a long, persistent, fleshy finish. This is more vin de garde than the Perrieres and Renards, so cellaring will be essential.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Corton Perrieres Grand Cru
RATING: (92-94) points
FROM: Corton, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Corton Perrieres Grand Cru has an engaging, slightly nutty bouquet that is reveals a floral component with aeration. The palate is taut and crisp with fine tannins, superb acidity and exuding great delineation on the finish. This is very classy and at the moment, out-performs the Corton Renards.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Corton Renardes
RATING: (88-90) points
FROM: Les Renardes Aloxe Corton, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Corton Renards Grand Cru is endowed with a ripe cranberry-scented bouquet that takes a while to open. The palate is backward and chewy, with fine delineation, but it is missing a little sophistication on the finish.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Echezeaux
RATING: (93-95) points
FROM: Echezeaux Flagey Echezeaux, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Echezeaux Grand Cru has a refined, floral bouquet with rose petals infusing the red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, crisp and poised with a tender, sophisticated finish. Classy? very classy.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Gaudichots 1er Cru
RATING: (92-94) points
FROM: Les Gaudichots Vosne Romanee, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Gaudichots 1er Cru has a primal bouquet with a disgestif quality infusing the black and red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins overlaying a sweet core of red fruit. There is plenty of energy coiled up within this premier cru, building nicely in the mouth with a dense, convincing finish.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Gevrey Chambertin Estournelles St Jacques
RATING: (89-91) points
FROM: Estournelles Gevrey Chambertin, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Estournelles St Jacques has a ripe brambly bouquet that opens reluctantly with aeration. The palate is well-balanced with fine acidity, succulent in the mouth, with a fleshy, pure finish. This is a respectable Gevrey, even if it might not be as memorable as other crus.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Gevrey Chambertin les Cazetiers
RATING: (92-94) points
FROM: Les Cazetiers Gevrey Chambertin, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers has a vibrant, animated bouquet with dark cherry, iodine and minerals. The palate is ripe, rounded with fine acidity, long and tender with a sublime finish that just seduces the senses. Oh la la – this is a sensual little number that is punching above its weight.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Grands Echezeaux
RATING: (91-93) points
FROM: Grands Echezeaux Flagey Echezeaux, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru has a very refined bouquet with dark plum and red cherry aromas – plenty of tension here but at the moment it is more straightforward than the expressive Echezeaux. The palate is crisp and taut, very focused with a long animated finish however, I prefer the finesse of the Echezeaux.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Griottes Chambertin
RATING: (93-95) points
FROM: Griotte Chambertin Gevrey Chambertin, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Griottes-Chambertin Grand Cru has a much more reticent bouquet than the Charmes despite rigorous coaxing. The palate is much better. It demonstrates great purity and finesse, a little more composure on the finish with hints of honey and fig on the aftertaste. This is very promising.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Mazis Chambertin
RATING: (94-96) points
FROM: Mazis Chambertin Gevrey Chambertin, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru has a sophisticated bouquet that has wonderful clarity – ebullient and vivacious, speaking louder than the Charmes or Griottes-Chambertins at present. The palate is precise on the entry with good acidity, poised with a precise blueberry and iodine finish. This should be devastatingly seductive once bottled.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Morey St Denis Clos des Ormes
RATING: (88-90) points
FROM: Clos des Ormes Morey St Denis, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Clos des Ormes has a gregarious, honeyed bouquet with fine delineation. The palate is rounded and fleshy on the entry, sweet and sensual with a very effervescent finish. This is already generous and should drink earlier than some of Lucien le Moine’s other crus.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Morey St Denis les Genevrieres 1er Cru
RATING: (91-93) points
FROM: Les Genevrieres Morey St Denis, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Morey Saint Denis 1er Les Genavrieres has dark berry and mulberry fruit on the withdrawn nose. The palate is precise on the entry with filigree tannins, great tension and a precise, clinical finish. Superb.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Musigny Grand Cru
RATING: (95-97) points
FROM: Chambolle Musigny, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Musigny Grand Cru is the first to be released by Mounir after what seems like many years dreaming. Despite the late malolactic fermentation, one can discern lifted wild strawberry and raspberry scents suffused with rocky, almost gravelly notes. There is great depth on the palate, though it is Musigny that is tender rather than powerful, seemingly understated on the finish. This will offer much more once in bottle.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Nuits St Georges les Cailles
RATING: (91-93) points
FROM: Les Cailles, Nuits St Georges, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles has a very composed and refined bouquet that comes across as natural and self-effacing. The palate is very crisp with racy acidity, very fine structure and mineralite with a touch of spice and sea-salt on the finish. Very linear at the moment, this will need 3-4 years in the cellar.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Nuits St Georges les St Georges
RATING: (89-91) points
FROM: Les St Georges, Nuits St Georges, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges (not grand cru material according to Mounier) has a primal bouquet that is well-defined and demonstrates fine mineralite. The palate is strict, saline and precise. There is impressive weight, though I prefer the sophistication of the Les Cailles.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Nuits St Georges les Vaucrains
RATING: (91-93) points
FROM: Les Vaucrains, Nuits St Georges, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains has a precise bouquet with superb tension – a bouquet that is already shimmering with anticipation! The palate has a supple effervescent entry, with orange peel and marmalade, and fine weight on the finish.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Pommard 1Er Cru Clos de Vergers
RATING: (87-89) points
FROM: Pommard, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Pommard 1er Cru Clos de Vergers has a ripe raspberry and crushed strawberry-scented bouquet that should succor more delineation by the time of bottling. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins. It feels structured and quite masculine in the mouth, though at the moment it has an abrupt finish.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Pommard Epenots
RATING: (89-91) points
FROM: Les Epenots Pommard, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Pommard 1er Cru Les Epenots has a broody, mushroom tinged bouquet – earthy but well-defined. The palate is medium-bodied with robust tannins and plenty of tart cherry and raspberry fruit on the crisp focused finish. This is cut from a similar cloth to the Les Rugiens but perhaps does not quite have the same length.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Pommard Grands Epenots
RATING: (90-92) points
FROM: Epenots Pommard, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Epenots has an ebullient nose, effervescent aromas of orange zest and citrus fruit neatly folded into the red fruit profile. The palate is ripe and fleshy on the entry. This displays good weight and already appears very harmonious with an endearing candied finish.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Pommard les Rugiens
RATING: (90-92) points
FROM: Les Rugiens Pommard, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens has a lifted airy fresh strawberry and cranberry nose with fine mineralite. The palate is taut and crisp with great precision, demonstrating a rounded body in the mouth and respectable weight and definition on the finish. Very fine.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Volnay 1Er Cru les Brouillards
RATING: (89-91) points
FROM: Les Brouillards Volnay, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Les Brouillards has a very pure bouquet: floral with redcurrant and fresh strawberry, nonchalant and unassuming. The palate is fresh and fleshy, a sweet core of effervescent red fruit and a vibrant orange zest finish. This is both lively and charming, a pretty little thing.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Volnay 1Er Cru les Chanlins
RATING: (90-92) points
FROM: Chanlin Volnay, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Les Chanlins has a conservative nose with its tie tied up tight to the collar. The palate is clean and fresh on the entry. There is certainly impressive substance at the core of this Volnay, slightly chewy in the mouth with candied strawberry and red cherry toward the finish.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Volnay Caillerets
RATING: (91-93) points
FROM: Les Caillerets Volnay, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets has a little more reduction compared to other Volnay crus, but underneath there are some lovely marine-infused red berry fruit. The palate is terse on the entry, but there is good weight and structure. Initially distant, it draws you in with its wonderful delineation and persistency on the finish.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Volnay Santenots
RATING: (92-94) points
FROM: Les Santenots Volnay, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots has a ripe raspberry and crushed strawberry nose, hints of walnut filtering through in the background. The palate is ripe on the entry that is underpinned by lithe tannins. There is wonderful acidity to this Les Santenots with a sensual, very pure finish that glides across the mouth, weightless and refined. This might be Mounir-s best Volnay 2012 in the making.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Vosne Romanee les Malconsorts
RATING: (93-95) points
FROM: Aux Malconsorts Vosne Romanee, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Malconsorts is suffused with a sense of completeness on the nose with fine rocky scents developing with aeration. The palate is fresh and refined with a keen thread of acidity, closing in toward the finish that is broody and withdrawn. This is a long-term Vosne for serious Vosne-lovers.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Vosne Romanee les Petits Monts
RATING: (91-93) points
FROM: Les Petits Monts Vosne Romanee, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Petits Monts has a ripe, generous nose with mulberry and briary aromas. The palate is precise with fine tannins, good acidity and a focused, mineral-rich finish. Excellent.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Vosne Romanee les Suchots
RATING: (92-94) points
FROM: Les Suchots Vosne Romanee, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Suchots has a delicate bouquet for a Suchots, preferable to the 2011 Suchots tasted earlier. The palate is fresh and vibrant with supple red berry fruit, candied orange peel and a long sweet, almost almond tinged finish. This should be a delight.

2012  Maison Lucien le Moine Beaune 1Er Cru Clos des Mouches
RATING: (89-91) points
FROM: Clos des Mouches, Beaune, Burgundy, France
VARIETY: Pinot Noir

The 2012 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches has a vibrant, licorice-tinged bouquet with great definition and exuberance. The palate is structured on the entry, symmetrical, nicely poised with a long, toffee tinged finish.

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