Cote Roti La Mouline 2020 E.Guigal

Tasting Notes

Violets, honeysuckle and Viognier with notes of apricot over dense black raspberry and crushed blueberry. The palate is broad and warm, as befits the vintage, but the Côte Blonde granite pulls it all together. The tannins are silky, almost suede-like. Smoked meats, olive tapenade and pepper provide a long finish. It's best to wait a while before opening this wine.

Grape Varieties

a Mouline is Syrah and Viognier, fermented in the same tanks. So why use white grapes in a red wine? Viognier fixes the colour, softens the tannins of Syrah and adds distinctive floral and stone fruit aromas. La Mouline has the highest proportion of Viognier of the three Guigal "la la" wines, and is therefore the most aromatic of the trio.

Cellaring Potential

Drink between 2028 and 2050. Ripe but firm tannins, concentrated dry harvest fruit, structured by 42 months aging in new French oak barrels horizontally at 12-14°C, away from light. Leather, truffle and tapenade are added as it ages.

The Producer

Etienne Guigal started picking apricots in Ampuis as a boy and managed the cellars of Vidal Fleury before founding his own house in 1946. Three generations later, Philippe Guigal is now in charge of winemaking. So why is Guigal as important as the family history? They built the modern prestige of Côte Rotie, and when Robert Parker discovered the wines of Lara in the 1980s, the appellation's worldwide fame followed. We sell Guigal wines because few estates combine such scale with such precision in their treatment of individual vineyards.

Terroir & Climate

La Mouline is located in the southern half of the Côte Rôtie, on the Côte Blonde, where the soil is decomposed fine shale mixed with sand and limestone. Why it matters. Compared to the iron-rich soils of the Côte Brun, the Blonde are lighter and sandier, producing more floral and aromatic wines. In addition, the steep, south-facing terraces (in some places the gradient is as high as 60 degrees), the warm air of the Rhone below, and the cool local breezes of Béziers combine to produce fully ripe wines without the roasted notes found in the hot southern sites.

Winemaking

The decisive factor here is elevage. La Mouline is aged for about 42 months in 100% new French oak barrels (225 liter Bordeaux-type barrels) from Guigal's own cooperage in Ampuis. This is a huge amount of new oak and time, but the wine has enough concentration to absorb it. Prior to that, the Syrah and Viognier are co-fermented in closed stainless steel tanks for three weeks while being pumped over. Late harvest, ripe phenols, and years of patient aging.

Food Pairing

Flavor and silky tannins call for gibier or slow-cooked meat, not charred steak. There are several varieties that go well with it:

• Roasted crowfish with thyme sauce, whose floral notes complement the Viognier.
• Saddle of venison with black pepper.
• Slow-roasted shoulder of lamb.
• Aged Comté or Beaufort

Decant for 60-90 minutes; serve at 16-17°C.