The wines of Lucien Le Moine

Dinner at Mirror showcasing the wines of Lucien Le Moine.  Mounir Saouma was in town for the dinner.

2006 Lucien Le Moine Bourgogne Blanc - very buttery, a little toasty, some corn, flint, a hint of plastic, a little smoke, and sweet grass.  Caramelized sugar on the nose at the end.  Decent balance for an obviously ripe vintage, with noticeable acidity.  A very pleasant drinking wine and surprisingly good for this level.

2006 Lucien Le Moine Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières - very heavy toast on the nose, almost pungent at first like a smelly armpit... lots of minerals.  After a while the sweetness emerged, but subsequently the wine closed down and didn't give much at the very end.  Ripeness was apparent on the palate.  Actually worked well with the eggplant sauce to neutralize the slightly bitter flavor profile.

2006 Lucien Le Moine Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets - lots of toasty corn in the big and powerful nose, with mineral notes.  A bit sweeter on the palate than the Puligny.  

2007 Lucien Le Moine Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes - nose was still avery closed, with mint, potpourri, a little smoke and some fruit.  A little sharp in terms of alcohol.  Good concentration here, with obvious tannins well-balanced by the acidity.

2007 Lucien Le Moine Chambertin Clos de Beze - mint, iron, blood, red fruits, a little smoke, a little of that animal smell along with minerals.  Smoother on the palate, and not bad after a while.  To be honest this wine just wasn't very accessible tonight, given the shortened aeration period.

2007 Lucien Le Moine Bonnes Mares - nose was more open than the Clos de Beze, and much more of the leather and meaty notes, along with forest, herbs, chocolate, toast and definitely some corn.  A big and massive wine.  Like the Clos de Beze, this wasn't very accesible and would benefit from more aging and/or more aeration before drinking.

2006 Lucien Le Moine Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos des Ormes - lovely and open nose, with floral, violet notes along with leather, smoke, toast and sweet fruit... a little jammy like  strawberry.  This was much more accessible and my favorite red during dinner.

2008 Lucien Le Moine Clos Saint Denis - Wow!  I had a pour of this wine from a bottle that had been opened and decanted some 12 hours earlier, and it just blew me away.  Sooo silky and smooth... and the nose was amazingly floral, full of violets.  In my slightly tipsy state, I kept wondering if I were drinking a Viognier-laced Côte-Rôtie... I wish there were more of this nectar in the bottle, but alas my glass contained the very last drops...

Full post on dinner is here.