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.
Reviews:
- Vinous: (a tiny crop from a blend of climats; Saouma normally makes his wine from En Orveaux but there wasn’t any fruit there in 2016): Good medium ruby. Inviting aromas of black raspberry, tobacco, gingerbread and honey. Large-scaled, saline Echézeaux in a rather cool style, conveying modest sweetness but excellent focus. Very concentrated but youthfully imploded, and clearly in a closed phase. The cool, rather linear finish displays slightly tough tannins. This highly concentrated wine will need time in bottle to develop more generosity of texture.
- Burghound: Moderate reduction masks the fruit today. There is an excellent sense of underlying tension to the almost racy medium-bodied flavors that possess fine delineation on the firm, youthfully austere and palate soaking finish. This is quite structured but not really hard but thanks to the abundant dry extract, a wine that should be accessible in its youth.
Producer Information
Lucien Le Moine is a small négociant house in Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune region. Established in 1999, it produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from around the Côte d’Or, from village-level, premier cru and grand cru vineyards. Le Moine produces wine from several grand cru sites, including Bonnes-Mares, Le Montrachet, Echezeaux and Richebourg. As well as some of Burgundy’s most famous premier cru sites such as Les Amoureuses. Vineyards that Le Moine recieve grapes from are among the most sought-after in Burgundy. Several village-level wines are also included in the portfolio, as well as generic Bourgogne Rouge and Blanc offerings. Constantly re-evaluating its sources, production at Lucien Le Moine fluctuates greatly and never exceeds 100 barrels or roughly 30,000 bottles. Limited cellar space means that some crus can consist of a single barrel and result in only 300 bottles. Lucien Le Moine is focused on the élevage period of winemaking. Wines are aged on their lees, and malolactic fermentation is put off as long as possible to produce softer wines with fewer sulphites. Depending on the vintage, battonage is used to maximize contact with the lees. Lucien Le Moine uses 100 percent new oak from the Jupilles forest in northwest of France. The wines are bottled directly from barrel with no blending, fining or filtering.
