Le Montrachet 2007 Lucien Le Moine

Le Montrachet 2007, Lucien Le Moine, Burgundy, France – en jeroboam

(Not commercially available but see Wine Searcher for other vintages)

OK, OK, so it came as the 12th wine during a marathon dinner at the domaine.

And yet, for a dinner positively swilling in fine wine of the highest order, I have never seen a jeroboam (the equivalent of four bottles) disappear so swiftly or comprehensively.

Because this was quite breathtaking wine. Sumptuous, arresting aromatics all golden, buttery and nutty. Absurdly complex, almost exponential in its power. And yet utterly graceful too. As if this oversize bottle had welled up from the mineral depths of the earth and performed a pirouette worthy of a prima ballerina. To put it another way, this is one of those rare wines that makes time tick slower, suffusing the world with a golden glow, momentarily.

The 2007 was a very good year for white Burgundy, marrying freshness with expression, and this is a great iteration of the vintage. Mounir and Rotem Saouma make low-intervention, long-matured wines capable of long ageing and which combine maximum expression with great respect for the terroir. This is a great testament to their art.

I was in Burgundy for the annual Hospices de Beaune wine auction. We tried a series of Lucien Le Moine wines while there. Focusing on the 2014 vintage and tasting in the vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin, the most impressive wines were Estournelles-Saint-Jacques (ethereal), Les Cazetiers (arresting, incremental, scented), Griotte-Chambertin (tense), Mazis-Chambertin (muscular) and Clos de Bèze (taut). Over in Corton, we tried a super-pure Corton Blanc 2014 vinified in amphora, and a stunning Corton Charlemagne 2014. In the cellar, we tasted through the 2015s – a warmer vintage but not necessarily superior. Those wines that showed well from barrel were the Chambolle Les Amoureuses (sinewy), Morey Clos St-Denis (purposeful, great scent), and in whites the Meursault Perrières (stunning, mineral), Chassagne Les Caillerets (vibrant), Corton Charlemagne (immense, steely).

Other wines at the dinner which impressed were Château Margaux 1999 (mouth-coating scent, piercing, super classy and still very young), Chambolle Amoureuses 2002 (smoky, tense, elegantly textured), Châteauneuf-du-Pape Magis 2010 (toasty, rich), Bâtard-Montrachet Lucien Le Moine 2004 (great energy, buttery texture), Chambertin Clos de Bèze 1999 Lucien Le Moine (fading a bit but super savoury) and Paolo Scavino Bric del Fiasc 1996 in double magnum.

But this Le Monrachet stole the show.

(9.50-10/10, Peter, Nov 2016)