Vintus

Nuits-St-Georges "Les Vaucrains", Premier Cru

The commune of Nuits-Saint-Georges is the southernmost commune of the Côte de Nuits, and includes, from a viticultural standpoint, the small adjoining commune of Prémeaux-Prissey. There are 431 acres of vineyards which take this appellation at the village level, of which 29 are in Prémeaux. Of the premier cru vineyards, numbering 36, 28 vineyards occupy 248 acres in Nuits-Saint-Georges; the remaining eight, in Prémeaux, cover 104 acres. The Les Vaucrains is a vineyard of 15 acres lying up-slope at 260-280 meters in the south part of Prémeaux.

Mounir explains that "Les Vaucrains" is high in the hills, and a classic, balanced, and pure example of Nuits-Saint-Georges.  It is one of his favorite Premier Crus in Burgundy. 

• 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 Nuits St. Georges Les Vaucrains brings together the best qualities of Nuits. This shows wonderful richness and density while avoiding heaviness. Fresh, perfumed aromatics are woven throughout, giving the Vaucrains its elegant, understated personality. The finish is textured, multi-dimensional and totally beautiful. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2029." 91-93 Points Wine Advocate

  •  "Reduction. As one would expect, this is bigger, richer and more powerful with broad-scaled and overtly muscular flavors that are extremely serious and somber, all wrapped in a palate staining and imposingly structured finish that exhibits huge length. There isn't the refinement of the Les Cailles or Les St. Georges but for fans of power Burgundy, this delivers." 91-93 Points Burghound

  •  "Bright red-ruby. Superripe aromas of dried fruits, earthy Middle Eastern spices and flowers. In a drier style and more imploded than the Cailles but with terrific spicy, floral precision and lift. Very pretty, juicy wine; not a bit chocolatey. Saouma believes that Nuits-Saint-Georges wines should be racked as little as possible during elevage, "or they get boring." Finishes with slightly metallic tannins." 92-94 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. 
   

  • "The two barrels of Le Moine 2008 Nuits St.-Georges Les Vaucrains are memorably scented with game, smoky-sweet machine oil, hibiscus, heliotrope, and black raspberry preserves, which then inform a rich yet brightly and beautifully focused palate, leading to a finish of cut and complexity, its animal and mineral dimensions as fascinating as they are hard to pin-down in words. Overall, this silken-textured cru is more forward and winsome than its Les St.-Georges counterpart, and while I would not be surprised if it rewards two decades of cellaring, I suspect it will not insist on bottle aging." 93-94 Points Wine Advocate

  • "Exuding ripe, effusive cherry, raspberry and boysenberry aromas and flavors, this is underscored by a vein of mineral. There's great tension, balance and structure, so give this time to show all its facets. Terrific length. Best from 2013 through 2025. 20 cases imported. –BS" 93 Points Wine Spectator

  • "Good full red. Musky aromas of maraschino cherry, chocolate and minerals; very ripe and pure. Then fruity and suave in the mouth, with plenty of black cherry sweetness to support its firm tannic structure. Subtle minerality gives definition to the sweet, long finish." 90-93 Points International Wine Cellar

  • "Structured to age, this wine has depth and polish, achieving intensity of flavor without weight. The elegant tannins have the earthiness of mushrooms along with a sheen of minerality. The fruit is still held as tight as a fist, glowing from within. There's a muskiness and lasting spice that predict intriguing flavor development ahead, rewarding five or six years of bottle age." 93 Points Wine & Spirits Magazine

• 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 heavily reduced nose renders it impossible to accurately read though the big, rich, powerful and solidly muscled flavors possess good density and real volume as well as a subtle hint of minerality on the vibrant and explosive finish that delivers the best length of any of these Nuits 1ers. This is very Vaucrains in terms of size and weight yet it’s not a monster." 91-93 Points Burghound

  • "Good full red. Sappy red cherry and flowers on the nose, with an almost liqueur-like candied quality. Then fat, rich and sweet if a bit reduced, with red berry and cherry flavors dominating. A bit clenched and less sharply delineated than the Saint-Georges but impeccably balanced, sweet and long, and quite suave on the palate-saturating aftertaste."  90-93 Points International Wine Cellar

  • "A broad, muscular style, with scents of bacon fat, smoke and spice that lead to cherry and chocolate flavors. This is firm and wrapped tight in a grip of fine tannins. There's fine length, so give this time." 91 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. 

  • "Pale-medium red. Perfumed, slightly exotic aromas of raspberry, flowers and meat. Sexy and sweet in the mouth, with complex flavors of ripe red raspberry, minerals, flowers and exotic spices. A captivating midweight that finishes scented and long, combining a deep berry sweetness with a sappy impression of weightlessness." 92 Points International Wine Cellar

  • "Cinnamon, iron, wild berry and vegetal aromas and flavors mark this complex, tightly wound red, which is sinewy and a bit surly now, yet concentrated and fascinating. The tannins are fine and integrated on the lingering finish." 93 Points Wine Spectator

  • "Brims with ripe cherry, tinged with the bitterness of its pits, along with iodine, and salt. The juxtaposition here of creaminess and melt-in-your-mouth tannins with an invigoratingly fresh, crisp-edged fruit is uncanny, not to mention delightful rather than jarring. This is another instance of lip-smacking and profundity in tandem." 93 Points Wine Advocate