Lucien Le Moine

Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru “Les Vaucrains” 2016

Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru “Les Vaucrains”

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 1er 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 upslope at 260-280 meters in the south part of Prémeaux.

Color

Red

Grape Varieties

Pinot Noir

Appellation

Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru “Les Vaucrains”

Reviews

Burghound -

“This is so deeply colored that it stains the glass. The restrained and beautifully layered nose is composed by notes of earth, game, smoke and fresh black currant. The rich, bold and massively constituted flavors brim with sappy dry extract while there is plenty of minerality evident on the very firmly structured, rustic and overtly austere finish. This is very Vaucrains in character and as such, it’s clear that this is going to need a great deal of bottle age before it becomes sufficiently civilized to enjoy.”

Vinous Media - “Bright, full ruby. Lively aromas of black fruits and violet are given an airy quality by limestone lift. Juicy, penetrating and a bit youthfully imploded, with its rich flavors of blackberry, black cherry and bitter chocolate enlivened by strong mineral energy. Finishes very long and firmly tannic, with a structure to support extended aging. Mounir Saouma said he’s likely to bottle this wine toward the end. Offers a sexy sweetness but comes across as less extreme than the Boudots, and showing less baby fat. Exciting potential here.”

Trade Materials

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Lucien Le Moine Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru “Les Vaucrains” 2016 Label

Added December 12, 2018 -

Other Wines by this Producer

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Montrachet Grand Cru

No superlatives need be stated here about Montrachet. Mounir has worked in several areas of Montrachet, both on the Pernand and the Chassagne side, and has even once bottled them separately. He does not produce a Montrachet every year, only when he feels it will be worthy of the vineyard’s renown, and can stand at the pinnacle of his white wines.

Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

The gentleman, as Mounir calls Chevalier-Montrachet, a wine that always shows lovely definition and everything in place; classic grace.

Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Bâtard-Montrachet borders Montrachet on the west, and is typically a fatter, more open and more exotic wine than Chevalier-Montrachet, with less grip and a more flowery, honeyed richness.

Criots-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru

The soils in Criots are a combination of marl, clay and chalk. In fact, the word “Criots” means chalk in French. The south-east facing slope lies at an altitude of around 780 feet - slighly lower than neighboring Chevalier-Montrachet and Le Montrachet, so the slopes tend to have a higher proportion of clay. Mounir describes this wine as “a bridge between the body of Bâtard and the class of Montrachet.

Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

The commune of Aloxe-Corton, has the unusual distinction of having over half its area covered in grand cru vineyards. These occupy 298 acres divided among 19 climats which take the Corton grand cru appellation for red wines; five among these, totalling 120 acres, take the Corton-Charlemagne grand cru appellation for white wines as well as the Corton grand cru appellation for red wines.

Corton Les Grandes Lolières Grand Cru

Sometimes this cru forms part of Lucien Le Moine’s Corton Blanc, other times it is bottled separately. A cru that is not often seen, and is a red cru above all. It has an exotic spicy side to the aromas and flavors, and a broad body that maintains its precision.

Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru “Morgeot”

This vineyard lies on this Santenay end of the road that leads down from Chassagne to Santenay, widely considered the best area for white Chassagne. The wines here are racier and have more depth than most other white Chassagne.

Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru “La Romanée”

Mounir says that Chassagne-Montrachet “La Romanée” is, to make an analogy, the most “Puligny” wine from Chassagne. It has a lot of silkiness and sweetness, and low acidity compared to other Chassagnes; it is a very clean wine, with a particular crème brûlée character that gives way to sweet fruit.

Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Embrazées"

Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Embrazées

Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru “La Grande Montagne”

This tiny vineyard is located - as the name suggests - on the steep hillside of the same name just west of Chassagne-Montrachet. La Grande Montagne itself is the most southerly of the limestone hills which make up the Côte d’Or escarpment. It is located in the heart of the band of the best Chassagne 1er Crus at the top of the slope that includes Grandes Ruchottes, la Romanée and Caillerets.