Lucien Le Moine

Lucien Le Moine is one of Burgundy’s highest-scoring and most exciting new producers. A micro-producer, in fact – making in most cases only 25-50 cases of each of the stunning wines in their range (which includes nearly a dozen Grand Crus!) Mounir Saouma and his wife Rotem Brakir started in the 1999 vintage, and have quickly produced some of the most talked-about and sought-after bottlings that Burgundy has to offer.

Rotem Brakir & Mounir Saouma

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The Whites

2006 Meursault Perrières 1er Cru $150 >>

Knockout nose combines white peach, lemon and dusty stone. Very rich, sweet, generous and open, but the combination of firm minerality and brisk citrus peel flavors gives this outstanding life in the mouth. A real high-wire act, and very long and vibrant on the aftertaste. 93ST

2006 Chassagne-Montrachet Caillerets 1er Cru $130 >>

This is more elegant and refined but less muscular and powerful with a high-toned citrus and wet stone nose where the mineral character also positively oozes from the detailed, intense and brilliantly delineated flavors that culminate in a dryer and longer finish. 89-92BH

2006 Puligny-Montrachet Folatières 1er Cru $120 >>

Reticent aromas of peach, nectarine and nutty oak. Subdued but serious in the mouth, with an intriguing, soil-driven flinty/smoky element, good floral lift... 91ST

2006 Chassagne-Montrachet Embrazées 1er Cru $115 >>

2006 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot 1er Cru $115 >>

Rich, fat and exotic, with honey and spice flavors and a distinctly glycerol texture. Finishes plump and long. 89-90ST

2006 Puligny-Montrachet Champs-Gains 1er Cru $110 >>

2006 Meursault Genevrières 1er Cru $125 >>

Musky, reduced aromas of lemon, lime, ginger, spices and nuts; already highly complex. Then intensely flavored, deep and sappy, with superb mineral grip and a tactile saline element. This boasts wonderful inner-palate tension for the vintage. Finishes with a palate-dusting impression of extract. 93ST

2006 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru $175 >>

Crushed stone, nut oil and a bit of oak on the nose, along with the metallic quality sometimes found in this grand cru (Saouma calls it "the cold side of rocky"). At once rich and gripping, with very unevolved flavors of lemon and crushed rock. Pure, wiry and extremely long. 94+ST

2006 Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru $399 >>

Superripe, slightly high-toned aromas of pineapple, peach nectar and clove, plus a whiff of mocha. Superconcentrated, velvety and sweet, showing more sheer fruit extract today than real definition and grip. A huge but somewhat monolithic wine with very strong material. 93-95ST

2006 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru $450 >>

Discreet if not invisible wood frames a reserved but high-toned and ultra elegant white flower and pungent limestone nose that merges seamlessly into fine, precise, powerful and intensely stony flavors that finish bone dry and with a vaguely saline quality. This is a positively stunning and completely classic Chevalier that is built to age and should provide at least 7 to 10 years of upside development. Bravo. One of the wines of the vintage. 94-97BH

The Reds

2006 Beaune Les Avaux 1er Cru $85 >>

2006 Pommard Rugiens 1er Cru $99 >>

2006 Nuits-St. Georges Les Cailles 1er Cru $110 >>

Deep red-ruby. A confiture of black fruits on the nose, complemented by smoke and caramel. Lush on entry, then quite firm in the middle, with black fruit and spice flavors currently dominated by a solid tannic spine. Juicy and long... 89-92ST

2006 Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux-St. Jacques 1er Cru $125 >>

Good medium red. Expressive nose offers blackberry, smoked ham and a note of game. Ripe and pliant on entry, then broad, dry and classic, with a silky, seamless texture and lovely length. 89-92ST

2006 Chambolle-Musigny Charmes 1er Cru $135 >>

Well-integrated wood allows the subtly spiced red berry fruit nose to express itself clearly, which is followed by round, generous and relatively easy flavors supported by soft and round tannins, all wrapped in a balanced, intense and persistent finish. This is very Chambolle in style and character. 89-92BH

2006 Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru $120 >>

A very spicy, and very Vosne, nose is trimmed in discreet oak where a touch of crushed herb surfaces though it does not continue onto the rich, soft and quite forward medium full flavors that culminate in a firm and dusty finish. This is really quite seductive and is blessed with excellent length. 90-92BH

2006 Clos St. Denis Grand Cru $175 >>

Deep red. Explosive, wild aromas of briary raspberry, brown spices and dried rose. Wonderfully sexy on the palate, with lovely energy giving shape to the silky texture. This has a velvety richness that reminded me of a 2005. As explosive on the back end as on the nose, finishing smooth, rich and tactile yet quite firm. 91-93ST

2006 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru $185 >>

Deep red-ruby. More masculine and less expressive on the nose than the Clos Saint-Denis but primary and pure, hinting at blueberry and crushed rocks. Ripe, thick and densely packed if a bit youthfully unformed, with terrific energy and sappiness for a wine with so much breadth. 91-94ST

2006 Chambolle-Musigny – Les Amoureuses 1er Cru $225 >>

A spicy, pure and classy nose features hints of anise, clove, red and blue pinot fruit and dried violet notes that merge into very rich, soft and round flavors that possess a sappy mid-palate that buffers the underlying tannins on the detailed, persistent and stylish finish. I like the impressive depth here. 91-93BH

2006 Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru $225 >>

Good full red. Wild blueberry, blackberry and game on the liqueur-like nose, lifted by a minty topnote. High-pitched and bracing, with terrific intensity to the pristine flavors of pure crushed blueberry and rocks. Mounts impressively on the back half, finishing tight and firm, with powerful tannins and penetrating minerality. 92-95ST

2006 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru Magnums ONLY - $450 >>

Good deep red. Pungent aromas of blueberry, smoke, minerals and game. Lush, sexy and deep, with powerful extract and sappiness to its deep core of fruit. A metallic, iodiney quality and a saline element communicate a strong impression of the soil. This firmly structured wine coats the entire palate on the aftertaste, finishing with serious tannins and a note of coffee. 91-95ST

2006 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru $275 >>

Wild raspberry, cassis, smoked meat, rose petal and exotic brown spices on the bracing, nuanced nose. Sweet and gripping, combining impressive power and a fine-grained texture. Superconcentrated, explosive and wild, showing the superb energy of the vintage's finest examples. With palate-staining finishing notes of crushed raspberry, pepper, wild spices and herbs, it's hard to spit this stuff. Wonderfully complete wine. 93-96ST

2006 Chambertin – Clos de Beze Grand Cru $399 >>

Wild, highly complex nose melds sappy crushed redcurrant and raspberry, game, tobacco, dried flowers and minerals. Like liquid silk in the mouth; dense, sweet and thick but laid-back. Builds inexorably toward the back, finishing with suave tannins, compelling perfume and terrific force. This intensely minerally, rocky grand cru shows some white wine notes on the aftertaste. But then there's calcaire here that's not very different from that of Montrachet, notes Saouma. A great '06 in the making. 93-96ST

2006 Richebourg Grand Cru $699 >>

Deep, wild, slightly reduced aromas of brooding red fruits, smoked meat and mocha. Thick, sweet and full in the mouth, but with its impressive volume leavened by a peppery lift. This viscous yet vibrant and superbly concentrated wine boasts a 2005-like texture. 92-95ST