2016 Lucien Le Moine Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 1er Cru

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. (91-94)

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. (I also tasted the Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles before the malo started, and it's a seriously dark, powerful wine with kirsch, licorice and violet flavors supported by a strong mineral backbone. But the wine's tannins were too disturbed by the malic acidity to attempt an early assessment. I did not taste the Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint-Georges, which also had not started its secondary fermentation.)(ST) (93-95)