Lucien Le Moine - Bonnes-Mares, Grand Cru

Bonnes-Mares, Grand Cru

Bonnes-Mares is a wine of paradox.  The Cote de Nuits area has two faces – it faces east, with a part of it is facing a bit north, and a part a bit south.  The border between north and south is the border between Morey-St-Denis and Chambolle Musigny.  Here sits Bonnes-Mares, on both sides, and exposed both to the north and south .  There is also an important difference in limestone within the Bonnes-Mares vineyard, with some white and some brown limestone.   Mounir thinks of Bonnes-Mares as the ambassador of all the Cote d’Or – taste 15 wines from the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits, and when you come to Bonnes-Mares it will have all the fruit, tannin, sweetness, and spice of the wines you just tasted.  Because of its multi-dimensional power and beauty, Bonnes-Mares has become one of if not the signature wine from Lucien Le Moine.

  • 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.

    •  "The 2009 Bonnes Mares opens with gorgeous aromatics that lead to a muscular core of fruit. The wine finds its inner elegance on the mid-palate and finish, where hints of candied fruit and violets come together, adding lift and elegance. The combination of aromatic expressiveness and nuanced fruit elevate this to a very high level. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2034." 93-96 Points Wine Advocate

    •   "Moderate reduction kills an evaluation of the nose. However there is marvelous density to the serious and muscular broad-shouldered flavors that brim with tannin buffering dry extract and flat out incredible length, indeed it's possible that this, along with the Richebourg, possesses the longest finish of any wine in the range. A stunner of a Bonnes Mares built for the long haul." 93-96 Points Burghound

    •  "Good deep red. Highly nuanced but reticent aromas of cherry, smoky minerality, wild herbs, brown spices, mocha, pepper and earth. Then a creamy-sweet, super-rich raspberry bomb in the mouth, with exotic floral high tones and sweet oak giving it early appeal. But this very ripe wine is powerful and very young." 93-96 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.  

    • "A background touch of wood toast sets off a pure, complex and notably ripe nose of red and blue pinot fruit, earth and a hint of game that is also picked up by the intensely mineral suffused big-bodied and muscular flavors that possess a supple mid-palate but tighten up on the palate staining, detailed and wonderfully persistent finish." 92-94 Points Burghound, “Don’t Miss”

    • "Good deep red. High-toned aromas and flavors of raspberry, blood orange and stone. At once creamy and deep, with terrific inner-mouth energy and building sweetness of fruit. Very densely packed wine, finishing with substantial dusty tannins and terrific back-end lift." 92-95 Points International Wine Cellar

    • "Marked by toasty oak and spice aromas, this rich, sumptuous red has a core of black cherry and mineral notes that build nicely on the palate. There's an innate power, though this remains stylish and harmonious. Fine length." 93 Points Wine Spectator

  • 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.  

    • "Good deep red. Reticent, high-pitched aromas of musky brown spices and pungent minerals. Densely packed, broad and silky but youthfully unforthcoming and unevolved, with no easy sweetness today. Brown spice and mineral elements currently dominate underlying fruits and flowers. Best right now on the very long and aromatic back end, which features an impressive structure for aging and lovely verve and lift." 93 Points International Wine Cellar

    • "A very densely fruited nose that possesses seemingly one layer after another of both red and blue fruit aromas, earth hints and a discreet note of minerality that is picked up by the rich, full, sweet and sappy flavors and I really like the mouth feel here as there is a textured quality to the explosive finish. The mid-palate concentration is such that the firm tannins seem buried and if not invisible, then less prominent than they will be in time. Terrific." 92-94 Points Burghound