Romanee Saint Vivant 2007 Lucien Le Moine

Professional reviews

Robert Parker (95)

The two barrels of Le Moine 2007 Romanee St.-Vivant smell mysteriously, decadently, and alluringly of fallen leaves, forest floor, faded flowers, and fresh black fruits. This soothes the palate and reveals meltingly fine tannins, while at the same time offering brightness and invigoration of fresh fruit. The range of mineral, floral, and animal nuances perceptible through this wine’s stream of fruit is almost indescribable. With aeration – and there was still a lot of trapped CO2 here even at more than 21 months after harvest! – its texture became wonderfully silken and flavors even more nuanced. “It seems to be a very strong wine,” observes Rotem Brakir, “and yet it’s fragile.” That said, it was tentatively slated to be the last-bottled of its collection. I would anticipate up to two decades’ of fascination here, but I would monitor the wine’s evolution watchfully in part for the pleasure of drinking some after only a few years in bottle.