Vintus

Volnay "Les Caillerets", Premier Cru

The commune of Volnay lies roughly at the midpoint of the Côte de Beaune, bordered by Pommard to the northeast, Monthélie to the West and Meursault to the south. Its vineyards cover 517 acres on a southeasterly-exposed slope; 284 of these are occupied by 26 premiers crus stretching across the mid-slope from Pommard to Meursault, and 243 are in village level vineyards flanking the premiers crus at the crest and the foot of the slope. Volnay is the only commune of the Côte d’Or whose village lies above, rather than below, its vineyards.  The 35 acre Caillerets vineyard can produce some of the most beautiful Volnays.

At the top of the hill, not far from Volnay, Mounir thinks "Les Caillerets" has the best terroir in the Côte de Beaune.  It has beautiful limestone soils, and has a little bit of everything - a little wind, a little sand, and a little water.  As a result it produces perfectly balanced, harmonious wines.

• 2009 Vintage

   There is more talk and interest about 2009 in Burgundy than in any vintage since 2005.  Mounir Saouma has warned us to be careful, however.  He loves this vintage, and in fact believes it is the greatest he has seen in his two decades in Burgundy.   He believes the fruit had everything from the start, and the wines from the beginning were healthy and beautifully balanced.  The major issue was to understand and respect the wines, and avoid working them, since they already had everything they needed in superb balance.  Overly working the wines, he believes, resulted in a loss of freshness and delicacy.

    2009 is the first vintage at Lucien Le Moine that Mounir did not do any lees stirring whatsoever, and as usual he never racked the wines in their nearly two years in barrel.  He didn’t add sulfur until a few months before bottling, and yet his wines are still completely fresh; some whites he describes as even having a tint of green.  The Lucien Le Moine 2009s across the board are beautifully pure and focused, with the exquisite harmony of truly great wines.

  • "Underneath the smoky, spicy oak, there's a layer of pure blackberry and black currant fruit. Coffee and mineral accents also come into play, and this remains sleek and resonant. Balanced, with a finish that goes on and on. Best from 2016 through 2035."  95 Points Wine Spectator

  •  "The 2009 Volnay Les Caillerets, from a parcel at the top of Santenots and Clos des Chenes, opens with a big, earthy bouquet. This is an intense, powerful wine with huge fruit that builds towards an inexorable finish. The Caillerets needs quite a bit of time in bottle to come together, but it is likely to always remain rather brawny, even if the tannins suggest a degree of further polish is within reach. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029." 92-94 Points Wine Advocate

  •  "Here too the nose is strongly reduced. There is ample minerality and dry extract though to the stony, precise and refined flavors that culminate in a dry, clean, linear and pure finish that delivers outstanding persistence. A classy wine of harmony and style that is built to age." 91-93 Points Burghound

  •  "Good bright red. Very reduced on the nose. Juicy and serious, with a medicinal quality to its cherry and mineral flavors. Strong saline tones to the fruit. Finishes with lovely cut and length. In an awkward stage to taste today but this should be terrific." 91-94 Points International Wine Cellar

• 2008 Vintage

  There is a big difference in how most people in Burgundy see 2008 and how Lucien Le Moine sees its 2008s.  In a typically unique perspective, Mounir Saouma believes 2008 is a great vintage in Burgundy, one of the greatest of the decade.  2008 was the third in a series of historically normal vintage conditions.  Over the last hundred years, on average the rainiest month in Burgundy has been June and the driest month has been September; rain in the summer is common, occurring more than half the time.  The light, fine skin of Pinot Noir benefits from the freshness in the summer, needs it, and it helps the fat Chardonnay on its way to maturity as well.  The idea that only the “modern” vintage – hot and dry – can be great is a big issue for Mounir.

  In June 2008, within a given week rain always alternated with hot sunny periods.  The results were small bunches of grapes that were getting mature while keeping acidity, and slowly ripening.  Ultimately, there was a naturally low yield, an excellent sign, with 20% fewer grapes than a normal year, providing sweet fruit and high levels of tannin.  Very importantly, Mounir believes that in recent times Burgundy has lost its simplicity to some extent – when you tasted the grapes in 2008, there was no issue with rot.  Most people looked at their vineyards, were terrified of the rot and pressed very lightly to get clean juice, only did short macerations with not a lot of lees, didn’t stir, and then fined or filtered to bottle clean wines. 

  Lucien Le Moine did the opposite.  They pressed hard, bringing a lot of lees into the wine.  To balance the high acidity and some of the unripe bunch areas due to the cool weather, they topped with fine lees every ten days instead of topping with wine.  They did not stir, and so the lees would take a full week to fall to the bottom of the barrel, slowly imparting complexity and richness.  For about five years, Lucien Le Moine has been the last producer in Burgundy to bottle, and they were again with the 2008 vintage.  Malolactic Fermentation was not as late as usual because of the lees that was added, and finished in April/May instead of June/July.  Lucien Le Moine has never never acidified or de-acidified, so while some people de-acidified 2008, they didn’t touch the wines, and watched them over the summer become sweeter, fatter and more balanced, more attractive.  They started bottling around May 2010, and finished beginning of October 2010, after the harvest of 2010. 

  Looking at surrounding vintages, the 2005 is ageable, full of body, massive, tannic, with high acidity.  2006 has almost late harvest flavor, very deep, beautiful maturity, and nice acidity.   2007 is transparent, the perfect example of terroir in Burgundy, but will not age perhaps as long as 2006.  The 2008s are going to be the year for people who care about Burgundy.  They will be appreciated the next two-three years, for their very fresh fruit and balanced bodies.  Then they will sleep for a few years, but not like 2005s which are so big they will need a long time to awaken.  The 2008s will come back as classic wines of Burgundy, but not in a spicy, sous-bois manner; they will be traditional, but have a little bit of flashy fruit.  A very particular combination. 

  Lastly, the particularity of the Lucien Le Moine 2008s – a lot of wines are cloudy due to the lees; make sure to stand them up before decanting. 
   

  • "Slight reduction in the nose of Le Moine’s two barrels of 2008 Volnay Caillerets gives way with an airing to smoked meat and to cherry and red currant whose tart freshness invigorates the palate. Chalky and saline notes typical for this site are present in spades, along with clean, marrow-like meatiness, and there is a sense of lift and energy in the finish that add to the impression of a red Riesling. I suspect this will perform beautifully for 12-15 years. Having finished its malo already in May, the additional time this wine had to get its act together should not, Saouma reminds me, be discounted in considering the enthusiasm expressed in my tasting note." 92-93 Points Wine Advocate

  • "Bright medium red. Pungent, sexy, wild aromas of raspberry and smoked meat. Then ripe, sweet and tactile, with a silkiness and mineral perfume that reminded me of a Chambolle Amoureuses. The long, rising finish features a captivating floral topnote." 91 Points International Wine Cellar

• 2007 Vintage

  As Mounir Saouma says, “2007 saw a fresh summer – when we say fresh summer, we mean well-balanced rain and sunny days.   There were cool but not cold days, days with some rain and sun, but not exaggerated either way.  And you see in the wines there is beautiful acidity, but not as much as 2008, and nice sweetness, but not as much as 2006.” 

   

  This character of mid-way but not extreme in many areas resulted in wines that took a long time to reveal their nature.  “The wines started fruity and the tannins were firm, and slowly we started seeing a kind of melding between sweetness and acidity after the malolactic a year later; we started seeing the real character of the wines after 14 months.  

   

  This development of the vintage is the reason that 2007 was the latest bottling Lucien Le Moine has ever done, and why they were the last producer in all of Burgundy to bottle.  Typically Lucien Le Moine starts bottling in January or February; in 2007 they started in February, but the majority of bottling took place from May to September.  Mounir aged all his 2007 wines on their lees, without sulfur, and never racked.   

   

  Mounir compares 2007 and 2006 a lot; they will both be vintages that are approachable and will last, and their technical numbers are similar, but they are physically and aromatically in completely different worlds.  “2006 is more about sweetness and for some people a heavier character; 2007 is more about freshness.  We will enjoy 2007, but it doesn’t take anything from the aging. 

   

  Some general commentaries on the Crus in 2007:  for people who love freshness and silkiness, with tannins that melt away, the Vosne-Romanées, Volnays, Chambolle-Musignys, and Morey-Saint-Denis show ethereal balance and almost transparent tannins.  For those that think 2007 is a light and easy year, the Gevrey-Chambertins, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Pommards and Cortons will show them depth and power. 

  • "Dark and enticing, with pure blackberry, black currant and floral notes, all matched to an elegant though dense frame. This has flesh and length, showing spice and mineral on the finish." 92 Points Wine Spectator

  • "This too displays a sauvage character but it’s more subtle, allowing more elegant aromas of spicy and stony red and black pinot fruit to introduce layered, delicious and solidly concentrated flavors that possess a suave mouth feel before culminating in a mouth coating and persistent finish. Lovely." 90-92 Points Burghound

  • "Good deep red. Cherry, spices and stone on the nose, along with a faint malic note. Juicy red fruit flavors show good energy but are a bit disjointed today. Best on the subtle, creamy finish, which features fine tannins and considerable finesse." 89-91 Points International Wine Cellar

• 2006 Vintage

  Mounir Saouma’s approach to the 2006 vintage differed from many. His growers picked late, allowing the fine September weather to draw out the maturity of the grapes and compensate for a cool, wet August.  It was a risk, and not a typical vintage for Mounir, who usually harvests earlier than most, giving him the good acid levels he likes.  The reds express the typicity of their terroirs, and will be enjoyable to drink earlier than the 2005’s, but also possess the heft and structure to age nicely.  

  • "A gorgeous and seductive nose of very fresh red pinot fruit that is layered, airy and pure while complementing the light to barely medium weight, delicate and detailed flavors brimming with an underlying minerality and fine finishing intensity. This is a really lovely effort that is on the understated side in this range." 89 Points Burghound