Lucien Le Moine
Criots-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2016
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.
Color
White
Grape Varieties
Chardonnay
Appellation
Criots-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Reviews
Vinous - October 31, 2018 “Musky, sulfidey aromas of peaty Islay Scotch and smoky minerality. Fat, large-scaled, pliant and mouthfilling, with the peaty quality carrying through on the palate. As big as this wine is, it still manages to open out further and gain in thickness on the back end. The finish is plush, satisfying and very long, with just a touch of warmth. Mounir Saouma noted that this classic Montrachet-like Chassagne-side grand cru needs to be fully ripe to approach the other hyphenated Montrachet grand crus in quality. It’s certainly plenty ripe here, but I’d still like to have seen a bit more energy.”
Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
Corton Renardes Grand Cru
Corton Renardes Grand Cru
Corton Renardes displays the sweet side of Corton, as opposed to Corton Bressandes. It has more viscosity, more tannin, color and sweetness than Bressandes. It is both an easier wine to understand that Corton Bresandes, and more immediately attractive.
Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru “Les Terres Blanches”
Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru “Les Terres Blanches”
Les Terres Blanches is a 2.4 acre vineyard in the steepest area of Nuits-St.-Georges, and not far from the top Nuits-St.-Georges vineyards of Les Vaucrains and Les Saint-Georges. There are few producers in this small vineyard, and this very rare Nuits-St.-George white proves intriguing for its Nuits-St.-Georges character in spite of its variety and color.
Meursault 1er Cru “Porusot”
Meursault 1er Cru “Porusot”
Mounir likes to call Meursault Porusot the ambassador of Meursault – it takes from everything around it, Gouttes d’Or, Genevrieres, Charmes, and other vineyards, and shows a little bit of all their characters. It is a wine that doesn’t rest, it keeps changing all the time. Sweet yet flinty, as well as phenolic, it is an intellectual’s wine. Mounir was delighted to bottle Porusot for the first time in 2009.
Meursault 1er Cru Les “Gouttes d’Or”
Meursault 1er Cru Les “Gouttes d’Or”
The first Premier Cru heading south into Meursault, Gouttes d’Or is characterized by displaying a full body offset along with a firm structure.
Meursault 1er Cru “Genevrières”
Meursault 1er Cru “Genevrières”
Genevrières is defined by viscosity. The vineyard is mid-slope, and in the Lucien Le Moine Genevrières there is always notable acidity (even in low-acid years) and alcohol. “Mr Too Much of Everything” is how Mounir likes to describe this wine. It ferments slowly, and for some reason it always has a touch of cloudiness – something never precipitates out. It’s a wild child.
Meursault 1er Cru “Charmes”
Meursault 1er Cru “Charmes”
Charmes is larger than both Perrieres and Genevrières put together, extending all the way down to the Meursault-Puligny road. The upper part of the vineyard produces extremely compelling Meursaults, with a soft flowery character that is less racy than Perrieres and less spicy than Genevrières, but just as intense.
Puligny-Montrachet 1er “Champ Canet”
Puligny-Montrachet 1er “Champ Canet”
Mounir describes Champ Canet as a frustrated Puligny. It has a lot of vivacity, it is racy and salty, influenced strongly by Meursault. You can think of it almost as a Meursault Perrieres in Puligny.
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Champ Gain”
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Champ Gain”
Champ Gains is high on the hill, and produces a wine in which a sense of dryness overshadows the sweet fruit - the sweetness that comes out is not an easy sweetness, and while you get apricot and other fruits on the palate, there is always a sense of dryness pulling them back.
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Folatières”
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Folatières”
The Folatières climat lies near the summit of this slope, above Clos de la Garenne roughly midway between Meursault and Montrachet. It is the largest of Puligny’s premiers crus and is always sweet, has a lot of ripeness, showing apricot and other similar flavors. After 18-20 months the minerality comes out in the wine.