In a recent tasting of benchmark wines I came across two wines which I thought were exceptional. The first wine was a 2009 Lucien Le Moine Clos de la Roche Grand Cru.
Clos de la Roche is one of the best terroirs in Morey-St-Denis. Lucien Le Moine is a high quality negociant house who picks one hundred barrels or so from each vintage. There is no winemaking here. They are bought after fermentation. 2009 was a warm and highly regarded vintage.
In Burgundy, the view is that Grand Cru wines need to fire on three cylinders; fruit, tannins, and acidity. And this is what this wine does, almost. This is a concentrated, yet elegant wine with strong aromatics of rose petals and red cherry. There are interesting secondary flavours here, bacon stands out for me. The fruit has started its downhill run, but only just. The wine is quite tannic, like a Gevrey-Chambertin. So: fruit 9, tannins 10, acidity 7. The finish is long.
Score: 96/+++
The second wine was a 2016 Podere S. Giuseppe Brunello di Montalcino Stella di Campalto
The grapes come from a 25 year old vineyard, organically/biodynamically farmed. The combination of Stella di Campalto's uncompromising farm management and the Podere San Giuseppe winery make this one of the standout Brunello producers.
The wine is red and black fruited, black olive and some herbal notes. It is still quite youthful. The wine is incredibly elegant, while underneath its flavours sits restrained power. It is so harmonious. The tannins are very firm. The wine is 100% Sangiovese, but in the tasting a number of us thought this wine to be Nebbiolo.
The best Sangiovese I have ever had.
Score: 97/+++
These two wines are expensive. Are they worth two or three Mt. Edelstones? I think so.
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