Lucien Lemoine

History of Lucien Le Moine

The Lucien Le Moine adventure begins far from Burgundy, in Mounir Saouma's native Lebanon. In 1989, at the age of 22, he left his country amid great turmoil and joined a Cistercian monastery near Jerusalem, where he lived for seven years. It was there, in contact with monks who had come from the monastery of Septfonds in the Allier (who arrived in Jerusalem in 1890 with their books and their vine stocks), that he discovered his passion for wine. He learnt the ancient techniques described in the Cistercian manuscripts: gentle pressing, ageing in barrels without racking, bottling by gravity at the full moon. This exceptional training would forever nourish his winemaking philosophy.

Mounir then settled in Beaune, where he completed his training with oenology studies in Montpellier and several years at a Burgundy négociant. Aided by Bernard Noblet of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, he took charge of several estates (notably the Château de Chassagne) and began crafting his own wines. In 1999, together with his wife Rotem Brakin, he founded their négociant-éleveur house, which they named Lucien Le Moine, as an affectionate reference to the nickname the monks gave him (Lucien) and to his own (le moine, meaning "the monk"). The beginnings were modest: 33 pieces across 19 crus in 1999. Today, the house vinifies 38 crus for approximately 70 to 100 barrels per year, and its name appears on the finest wine lists in the world.

Terroirs and Vines of Lucien Le Moine

Lucien Le Moine is a négociant-éleveur, meaning that the house does not own its own vines in Burgundy, but selects each year the grapes or musts from a network of more than 80 carefully chosen partner growers. Mounir Saouma fully embraces this particularity, which he claims as a strength: in his view, "buying grapes is vulgar, one cannot have the same knowledge of the land as the producers, so we trust our growers". The house focuses exclusively on the finest climats of the Côte d'Or, from the Premiers Crus of Beaune, Volnay, Pommard, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet in the Côte de Beaune, to the prestigious Grands Crus of Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot, Gevrey-Chambertin and Corton.

The selection of partners rests on a simple principle: finding the best producer for each cru and negotiating a single barrel with them. This "haute couture" approach guarantees maximum quality in every cuvée, while deliberately limiting volumes to a maximum of three barrels per cru. Beyond Burgundy, the Saouma couple has also extended their expertise to the Rhône with Clos Saouma in Châteauneuf-du-Pape (acquired in 2009), where they own approximately 12 hectares in addition to 12 hectares in Côtes du Rhône-Villages, vinified under the Rotem & Mounir Saouma label.

Winemaking at Lucien Le Moine

The white wines are purchased directly after pressing and then ferment and are aged in the house's cellar on ruelle Morlot in Beaune. The red wines are purchased after maceration, already in barrel, and it is the ageing that takes place at Lucien Le Moine. This specialisation in ageing is the key to the house's signature. Mounir Saouma has his own bespoke barrels made using his own staves, in partnership with cooper Stéphane Chassin, choosing a very fine grain and adapting the wood to each cru. All barrels are new, but the wood never weighs heavily on the wines thanks to this artisanal precision.

Ageing takes place on thick lees and without racking: Mounir favours 5 to 7 litres of lees per barrel, where the average is 1 or 2 litres, in keeping with the principle that "purity is not achieved by intervening too much". The wines are neither fined nor filtered. Bottling is done by gravity, using nitrogen to avoid any oxidation, and according to the lunar calendar (at the full moon when the lees settle naturally). The result: wines of crystalline purity, intense, deep, endowed with a precise aromatic signature and an exceptional ageing capacity, without any heavy oakiness despite the use of new barrels.

The Cuvées of Lucien Le Moine

Bourgogne Blanc: an entry-level regional cuvée, crafted from grapes sourced from the Côte de Beaune. A fresh, complex Chardonnay marked by notes of pear, lemon and white flowers, endowed with superb minerality. A precious introduction to the world of Lucien Le Moine.

Bourgogne Rouge: a regional Pinot Noir selected from the finest villages of the Côte d'Or, sometimes crafted from Fixin and Marsannay. A deep and complex wine marked by black cherry, damp earth and careful ageing in barrels.

Meursault Premier Cru Genevrières: one of Meursault's most emblematic Premiers Crus. A taut, saline Chardonnay with a precise mineral backbone, aged according to the house's haute couture method to reveal the full nobility of the climat.

Meursault Premier Cru Charmes: an opulent and deep Premier Cru from Meursault, where the Lucien Le Moine signature brings precision and tension to a naturally rich climat. A wine of great complexity, built for ageing.

Meursault Premier Cru Perrières: the pinnacle of Meursault whites, whose mineral and vertical expression finds in Mounir Saouma an ideal interpreter. A Chardonnay of crystalline purity and infinite length.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru: the house vinifies several Premiers Crus from Puligny depending on the vintage, including Les Pucelles, Les Combettes and Les Folatières. Floral, chiselled Chardonnays with an airy mineral structure, the signature of this noble appellation.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru: a selection of Premiers Crus from Chassagne (Morgeot, Caillerets) depending on the vintage. Complete Chardonnays combining richness, white fruit, citrus and saline minerality.

Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru: the iconic white Grand Cru of the hill of Corton. A powerful and mineral wine of impressive depth, with a chalky sap and monumental length, built for very long ageing.

Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru: a Grand Cru from Chassagne and Puligny, a wine of volume and presence, profoundly floral and muscular, crafted with the precise ageing technique characteristic of the house.

Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru: a rare and confidential Grand Cru, more intimate than the Bâtard. A Chardonnay of great finesse, combining tension, florality and complexity — a perfect embodiment of the haute couture philosophy.

Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru: neighbour and equal of the Montrachet, a Grand Cru of exceptional rectitude and nobility. A mineral, deep wine of infinite length, one of the greatest whites in the world.

Montrachet Grand Cru: the absolute pinnacle of white Burgundy, an absolute myth vinified by Lucien Le Moine. A wine of monumental intensity, depth and length, an architectural monument combining power, chalky sap and infinite refinement.

Volnay Premier Cru Les Caillerets: one of Volnay's greatest climats, considered a quasi Grand Cru. A Pinot Noir of thoroughbred elegance and crystalline aromatic purity, built for long ageing.

Beaune Premier Cru Clos des Mouches: an iconic Premier Cru of Beaune, one of the appellation's greatest climats. A deep, silky and elegant Pinot Noir with a fine structure and a thoroughbred finish.

Pommard Premier Cru Les Grands Epenots: an iconic Premier Cru of Pommard, combining power, depth and noble tannic structure. The Lucien Le Moine ageing brings rare aromatic precision, magnifying the sunny character of the appellation.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Amoureuses: a legendary Premier Cru of Chambolle, considered by many as a quasi Grand Cru, the direct neighbour of the Musigny. An airy, silky and perfumed Pinot Noir, one of the most coveted cuvées of the house.

Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Les Suchots: an emblematic Premier Cru of Vosne-Romanée, neighbour of the Romanée-Saint-Vivant. A deep and exceptional Pinot Noir with noble sap and remarkable aromatic complexity, the signature of this prestigious appellation.

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru: a Grand Cru from Gevrey with fleshy sap and radiant fruit. A wine combining Burgundian power and delicacy, built for long ageing in the house style.

Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru: a particularly noble Grand Cru from Gevrey, neighbour of the Chambertin. A Pinot Noir with a thoroughbred tannic structure and fruit of great purity, sublimated by the haute couture ageing.

Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru: a historic Grand Cru from the Côte de Nuits. A deep, dense wine with rich sap and thoroughbred tannins, the accomplished expression of this Burgundian monument.

Échezeaux Grand Cru: a Grand Cru from Vosne-Romanée of aristocratic finesse. A perfumed, complex wine endowed with an elegant structure and remarkable length.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru: a Grand Cru straddling Chambolle-Musigny and Morey-Saint-Denis, praised by critics for its liquorice character. A wine of force and elegance, blending the delicacy of Chambolle with the depth of Morey, with a near-infinite ageing potential.

Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru: a legendary Grand Cru from Vosne-Romanée, the direct neighbour of the Romanée-Conti. A Pinot Noir of infinite finesse, depth and length, among the rarest and most precious cuvées vinified by Lucien Le Moine.