2010 Le Montrachet

The 2010 Le Montrachet Grand Cru is an equal blend of Chassagne and Puligny (in some years Mornir chooses to raise and bottle them separately.) It has a very expressive bouquet with scents of apple blossom, dried peach and even exotic scents of mango and passion fruit that unfold with aeration. The palate has good race and intensity on the entry with a fine bead of acidity slicing through the generous honeysuckle-tinged fruit. There is tangible weight in the mouth, real presence here, with a peacock’s tail of mineral-rich, rather spicy fruit defining the finish. Superb. Drink 2014-2035. I have intermittently encountered the wines of Lucien Le Moine over the years and even spent an evening dining with the man behind it, Mounir, on one admittedly inebriated dinner a few years ago. But it was time to visit the winery tucked away down a side-street in Beaune, and taste through an enormous selection of wines with the man himself. Since his first vintage in 1999, he has focused on buying fruit that expresses individual lieux-dits, so that his cellar consists of dozens of micro-Cuvees that take a whole morning to taste through. He is an extremely principled winemaker with strong, some might say controversial beliefs. Even before entering the barrel cellar, he opined that too many white Burgundies are picked too late and that both the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations are completed too rapidly. Mornir likes two summers to complete the elevage and feels that too many vignerons bottle too early. He also used minimal sulphur for his wines, informing me that though his wines often start out deeper in color, they tend to become paler as they mature in bottle. I asked him about his opinion on the two vintages that we tasted together, the 2010 and 2011. “The 2010 and 2011 vintages have a lot of common points: low yields, fresh summer, both starting fruity and perhaps a little uniform,” he explained. “Then a year later, their personalities started coming out. The evolution of both vintages is similar. After a year and half they began to gain depth. When we picked 2010, people were talking about a light vintage, but now that is forgotten because they are so powerful. In 2011 they did the same. The 2010s achieved maturity naturally, but in 2011 we had to chaptalize most of the wines a little. I think it is an old style of Burgundy, how the wines were made before 1995. In 2010 we talk about tannins, but in 2011 we talk about more dry extract. You feel the presence of the wine but they are not dry. The 2010s finish with firm tannins, so in terms of longevity I think they will close down in a couple of years and then need another eight years. But I don’t think this will happen with the 2011. They are more like 2001 and 2007 that show their harmony early. They will be enjoyable over the next 15 years. The purity of the terroir in 2011 is exceptional, whereas in 2010 you have the power.” Apart from my marathon morning journey through Lucien le Moine’s 2011s, we sashayed over to the 2010s to see how a dozen were shaping up in bottle. These were bottled around August 2012 with a little sulphur in June. The bottles were double decanted at 90 minutes before tasting. Importers: Vintus LLC, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000; Atherton Imports, Menlo Park, CA; tel. (650) 328-6639

(I tasted a blend of both barrels of this juice, one from Puligny and the other from Chassagne; Mounir Saouma bottled these two components separately in the 2009 and 2007 vintages, labeling them P and C): Extraordinarily complex, refined aromas of lime, botanical herbs, almond flower, iodine, crushed rock, bergamot, garrigue and pear poached in alcohol. Utterly electric on entry, then painful with extract in the mid-palate, displaying great citrus lift to the flavors of wet rock, herbs, flowers and salty minerality. The piquant whiplash of a finish stains the palate and refuses to flag. An incredible "blend" with a density of material that transcends chardonnay.

All the qualities that make white Burgundy compelling are found in the 2010 Montrachet. It is a remarkable wine. Centered, precise and boasting marvelous integrity, the Montrachet conquers all of the senses with its voluptuous personality. Ample, weighty and drenched in extract, the Montrachet is wonderfully complete from the very first taste. The 2010 is a blend of the parcels in Puligny and Chassagne. The parcel from the Chassagne side had a little bit of botrytis, which gives the wine some of its exotic flavors and oily texture. This is another utterly compelling, vivid wine from proprietors Mounir Saouma and Rotem Brakim.