Lucien Le Moine
About Lucien Le Moine
Founded in 1999 by Mounir and Rotem Saouma, Lucien Le Moine is an expression of the Burgundian drive to lovingly craft only the very best wines from the very best terroirs, regardless of any external factors. These are wines of truly relentless excellence.
The concerted aim of this house is to produce no more than 100 barrels of 1er and Grand Cru wine each vintage, varying from year to year as Mounir samples each vineyard before deciding which meet his lofty standards. Often only securing a single barrel per vineyard, their 100 barrel release in 2017, for example, covered 68 different wines.
The Winemaking
Lucien Le Moine has no running contracts with growers (although they will often source grapes repeatedly from the best), and they have no prerequisites with regards to how the vines were managed. Fascinatingly, this producer is not a winemaker, as such, as they purchase wines after fermentation. Instead, the art for which Mounir and Rotem Saouma have become so revered is the élevage - the process of ageing, filtration, racking etc. in their facility in Beaune.
Given their focus on post-fermentation processes, they work very closely with one specific barrel supplier, who sources the very finest wood from the great forests of France and wider Europe. Such is their care and determination, that each individual barrel is composed and toasted slightly differently to match and season each specific wine - attention to detail and artisanal craft reaches its apogee at Lucien Le Moine.
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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Burgundy | 1 | 94-97 (VN) |
Inc. GST
SG$5,564.93 |
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Vinous (94-97)Good medium ruby. High-pitched violet perfume lifts the aroma of ripe black cherry. Wonderfully suave, intense and refined, with a pungently fresh quality that reminded me of cut grass. This highly concentrated wine has perfectly integrated acidity, as well as a stronger limestone character than usual. In a rather masculine style but also seamless and suave. Finishes with outstanding length and class, the tannins totally buffered by fruit and minerals. Mounir Saouma noted that this wine has been great since the beginning. |
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Burgundy | 2 | 90-92 (VN) |
Inc. GST
SG$1,740.16 |
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Vinous (90-92)Dark red-ruby. Good mineral lift to the aromas of red berries, tobacco and cardamom. Bright, fine-grained wine with moderate depth and sweetness but lovely inner-mouth floral lift to its raspberry and stone flavors. Still a bit compressed but this may be gaining in richness. The firmly tannic finish offers good persistence. |
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Burgundy | 1 | 91-94 (BH) |
Inc. GST
SG$3,025.23 |
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Burghound (91-94)A very pretty and airy nose features notes of red cherry, raspberry and spice with a shading of soft wood and earth. On the palate though this is not nearly as concentrated though there is still perfectly good concentration and a sleek muscularity on the vibrant, detailed and lingering finish. While this is by no means light, it is a Charmes built more along the lines of finesse than power. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | 92-95 (BH) |
Inc. GST
SG$3,232.33 |
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Burghound (92-95)This is very ripe, indeed to the point where the cassis, warm earth and softly floral-scented aromas exhibit hints of mocha. In much the same fashion as the Clos St. Denis there is a relatively sleek mouth feel to the solidly intense and muscular larger-scaled flavors that possess a lovely sense of harmony and excellent complexity on the lingering finish that is a bit less youthfully austere than usual. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | 94+ (WA) |
Inc. GST
SG$3,044.87 |
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Wine Advocate (94+)The 2016 Echézeaux Grand Cru wafts from the glass with a deep bouquet of smoked meats, cassis, blackberries, incense and rich soil tones. On the palate, it's full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with rich but supple tannins, a deep and concentrated core of fruit, lively acids and a long, thrillingly carnal finish. This is a beautifully made Echézeaux from this challenging frost vintage. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | 93-95 (VN) |
Inc. GST
SG$3,798.00 |
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Vinous (93-95)(the crop level here was barely 15 hectoliters per hectare, according to Saouma): Full, bright ruby. Higher-toned and considerably more expressive on the nose than the Echézeaux, offering aromas of black raspberry, licorice and violet along with suggestions of more exotic ripeness. Densely packed and seriously concentrated, but a bit youthfully imploded owing to its crushed-rock minerality; conveys a strong impression of dry extract but little early sweetness. As young as this wine is, it's much more harmonious today than the Echézeaux. Finishes very long, with serious but fine-grained tannins. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | 93-95 (BH) |
Inc. GST
SG$4,725.63 |
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Burghound (93-95)(Don't Miss!) There is enough reduction to mask the fruit but not the sauvage elements Mazis is famous for. There is a bit more size, weight and power to the big-bodied flavors that brim with both minerality and dry extract, all wrapped in a dusty, mouth coating and tightly wound finish that is austere but not rustic. Once again ample patience will be required as this is very clearly built-to-age. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | 92-94 (VN) |
Inc. GST
SG$1,537.38 |
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Vinous (92-94)(destemmed): Bright, full ruby. Deep, almost liqueur-like aromas of cassis and black cherry; there's something old school about this. Hugely concentrated and mouthfilling, with its very ripe flavors of cassis, blackberry, dark chocolate and violet complicated by saline minerality. Finishes dense, saline, floral and very long, with big but utterly smooth tannins that reach the incisors. This is a major mouthful of wine already but it will need time to lose some baby fat. With its slightly high-toned character and impression of fat, this wine struck me as rather 2015-like. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | 91-93 (VN) |
Inc. GST
SG$3,976.82 |
|||||
Vinous (91-93)Bright ruby. Slightly compact aromas of black cherry, licorice, menthol and dark chocolate. Very ripe on the palate but with terrific inner-mouth tension, showing as much red fruits as black and therefore a bit less heavy than usual for this cru, which Mounir Saouma says is normally a bit too Côte-Rôtie-like for his taste. The fine-grained but firm tannins spread out horizontally and build, with late notes of cocoa powder and violet emerging. Good verve here. |
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|
Rhone | 5 | - |
Inc. GST
SG$1,150.41 |
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|
Rhone | 13 | 96 (VN) |
Inc. GST
SG$925.87 |
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Vinous (96)Limpid violet. Displays seductively perfumed raspberry preserve, exotic spice and lavender oil qualities on the nose, along with hints of incense and smoky minerals. Juicy, seamless and energetic on the palate, offering intense red berry liqueur, fruitcake and floral pastille flavors that show outstanding clarity and spicy cut. Fine-grained tannins frame a strikingly long, penetrating finish that shows superb red fruit- and mineral-driven persistence. |
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Burgundy | 1 | 94-97 (VN) |
In Bond
SG$5,050.00 |
|||||
Vinous (94-97)Good medium ruby. High-pitched violet perfume lifts the aroma of ripe black cherry. Wonderfully suave, intense and refined, with a pungently fresh quality that reminded me of cut grass. This highly concentrated wine has perfectly integrated acidity, as well as a stronger limestone character than usual. In a rather masculine style but also seamless and suave. Finishes with outstanding length and class, the tannins totally buffered by fruit and minerals. Mounir Saouma noted that this wine has been great since the beginning. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 2 | 90-92 (VN) |
In Bond
SG$1,545.00 |
|||||
Vinous (90-92)Dark red-ruby. Good mineral lift to the aromas of red berries, tobacco and cardamom. Bright, fine-grained wine with moderate depth and sweetness but lovely inner-mouth floral lift to its raspberry and stone flavors. Still a bit compressed but this may be gaining in richness. The firmly tannic finish offers good persistence. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 91-94 (BH) |
In Bond
SG$2,720.00 |
|||||
Burghound (91-94)A very pretty and airy nose features notes of red cherry, raspberry and spice with a shading of soft wood and earth. On the palate though this is not nearly as concentrated though there is still perfectly good concentration and a sleek muscularity on the vibrant, detailed and lingering finish. While this is by no means light, it is a Charmes built more along the lines of finesse than power. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 92-95 (BH) |
In Bond
SG$2,910.00 |
|||||
Burghound (92-95)This is very ripe, indeed to the point where the cassis, warm earth and softly floral-scented aromas exhibit hints of mocha. In much the same fashion as the Clos St. Denis there is a relatively sleek mouth feel to the solidly intense and muscular larger-scaled flavors that possess a lovely sense of harmony and excellent complexity on the lingering finish that is a bit less youthfully austere than usual. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 94+ (WA) |
In Bond
SG$2,740.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (94+)The 2016 Echézeaux Grand Cru wafts from the glass with a deep bouquet of smoked meats, cassis, blackberries, incense and rich soil tones. On the palate, it's full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with rich but supple tannins, a deep and concentrated core of fruit, lively acids and a long, thrillingly carnal finish. This is a beautifully made Echézeaux from this challenging frost vintage. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 93-95 (VN) |
In Bond
SG$3,425.00 |
|||||
Vinous (93-95)(the crop level here was barely 15 hectoliters per hectare, according to Saouma): Full, bright ruby. Higher-toned and considerably more expressive on the nose than the Echézeaux, offering aromas of black raspberry, licorice and violet along with suggestions of more exotic ripeness. Densely packed and seriously concentrated, but a bit youthfully imploded owing to its crushed-rock minerality; conveys a strong impression of dry extract but little early sweetness. As young as this wine is, it's much more harmonious today than the Echézeaux. Finishes very long, with serious but fine-grained tannins. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 93-95 (BH) |
In Bond
SG$4,280.00 |
|||||
Burghound (93-95)(Don't Miss!) There is enough reduction to mask the fruit but not the sauvage elements Mazis is famous for. There is a bit more size, weight and power to the big-bodied flavors that brim with both minerality and dry extract, all wrapped in a dusty, mouth coating and tightly wound finish that is austere but not rustic. Once again ample patience will be required as this is very clearly built-to-age. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 92-94 (VN) |
In Bond
SG$1,355.00 |
|||||
Vinous (92-94)(destemmed): Bright, full ruby. Deep, almost liqueur-like aromas of cassis and black cherry; there's something old school about this. Hugely concentrated and mouthfilling, with its very ripe flavors of cassis, blackberry, dark chocolate and violet complicated by saline minerality. Finishes dense, saline, floral and very long, with big but utterly smooth tannins that reach the incisors. This is a major mouthful of wine already but it will need time to lose some baby fat. With its slightly high-toned character and impression of fat, this wine struck me as rather 2015-like. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 91-93 (VN) |
In Bond
SG$3,595.00 |
|||||
Vinous (91-93)Bright ruby. Slightly compact aromas of black cherry, licorice, menthol and dark chocolate. Very ripe on the palate but with terrific inner-mouth tension, showing as much red fruits as black and therefore a bit less heavy than usual for this cru, which Mounir Saouma says is normally a bit too Côte-Rôtie-like for his taste. The fine-grained but firm tannins spread out horizontally and build, with late notes of cocoa powder and violet emerging. Good verve here. |
|||||||||
|
Rhone | 5 | - |
In Bond
SG$998.00 |
|||||
|
Rhone | 13 | 96 (VN) |
In Bond
SG$792.00 |
|||||
Vinous (96)Limpid violet. Displays seductively perfumed raspberry preserve, exotic spice and lavender oil qualities on the nose, along with hints of incense and smoky minerals. Juicy, seamless and energetic on the palate, offering intense red berry liqueur, fruitcake and floral pastille flavors that show outstanding clarity and spicy cut. Fine-grained tannins frame a strikingly long, penetrating finish that shows superb red fruit- and mineral-driven persistence. |