2010 Lucien Le Moine Chevalier-Montrachet

Lucien le Moine is a rarity in Burgundy. It is a garagiste producer of Grand Cru and Premier Cru Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with a cult reputation for highly individualistic wines. Its founders and owners are the husband and wife team of Mounir Saouma and Rotem Brakir, who started the label only in 2000. Saouma became fascinated with Burgundy while working in a Trappist Monastery in Jerusalem, and later studied oenology in Montpellier, France. His wife Rotem comes from a cheese-making family and she studied agriculture and oenology in Dijon. The couple owns or leases no vineyards of their own but they purchase small batches of juice or very young cuvee from outstanding Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards in the Cote d’Or. The couple does all the work themselves and produce, at most, 30,000 bottles a year. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “the richness and complexity of (their wines) are stunning.”

Chevalier-Montrachet is one of the four justly famous Grand Cru Chardonnay vineyards in Puligny-Montrachet appellation in Burgundy. The 18-acre vineyard is located up the slope from Le Montrachet and shares Le Montrachet’s excellent southern exposure, though Chevalier-Montrachet’s soil is considerably thinner and more rocky. Burgundy writer Clive Coates has noted that Chevalier-Montrachet is “full, firm” and has “a great deal of depth and elegance.” The largest landholders are Bouchard Pere et Fils, 7.5 acres; Leflaive, 4 acres; and Louis Jadot, 1.5 acres.

This white variety originated in Burgundy, but is now grown around the world. Its flexibility to thrive in many regions translates to wide flavor profile in the market. Chardonnay is commonly used in making Champagne and sparkling wines.