La Mouline

The Producer

Guigal owns more vineyards in Côte Rôtie than anyone else, and produces the barrels himself. That last point is unusual. How many domaines have their own barrel-making workshops? This allows Guigal to control the barrels from wood to bottle, which is essential for wines that are aged in new French oak for 36 to 42 months.

Etienne Guigal worked at Vidal Fleury for 15 years before establishing the house in Ampuis in 1946. His son Marcel took over the estate in 1961, and grandson Philippe, who studied oenology in Burgundy, became winemaker in 1997. Best of Wines believes that few domaines have shaped the region's reputation as decisively as Guigal - Côte-Rôtie.

History & Heritage

La Mouline quietly existed for nearly 20 years before the public took notice. This single vineyard wine made its debut in 1966, but it was in the early to mid-1980s that everything changed. Robert Parker tasted Guigal's La Las and endorsed it in print. Côte Rôtie, which had long been in the shadow of Hermitage, was suddenly in demand around the world.

Why is this important to today's buyers? Because it has become a pattern. Guigal kept investing, kept buying land (Vidal-Fleury in 1985, the estates of de Vallouit and Jean-Louis Grippat in 2001 and Domaine de Bonserine in 2006) and stuck to a philosophy of long growing. The wines you buy today are the same wines tasted in the 1980s.

Terroir & Climate

La Mouline is located on the lighter and sandier Côte Blonde site in Côte Rôtie. The soil is a decomposed micaceous shale mixed with sand and limestone, not at all like the iron-rich shale of neighboring Côte Brune. The difference is noticeable in the glass as well. Côte Blonde gives flavor and silkiness. Côte Brune gives strength.

Why are soils important? Light, well-drained soils promote finesse, not power. Add to this the south-east facing terraces (some of which slope at 60°), the warming effect of the Rhone River and vines dating back to 1893, and you have one of the most characterful single vineyard plots in the northern Rhone.

Grape Varieties

The blend of La Mouline is as follows:

• 89% Syrah, dark fruit, pepper, structure.
• 11% Viognier, fermented in the same tanks as the Syrah.

This percentage of Viognier is the highest of the three La Las wines (La Landonne is 100% Syrah, La Turque is about 7%). Co-fermentation is very important; this is a true marriage of vineyards, not a later blending. Viognier lifts the flavors into apricot and floral territory and softens the tannins. La Mouline can therefore be drunk more openly at a younger age than its brethren.

Winemaking

The decisive choice for La Mouline is élevage: it is aged in 100% new French oak barrels (small 225-liter Bordeaux-style barrels) for about 42 months. In other words, three and a half years. Most wines would be crushed by that much new oak. La Mouline soaks it up.

Why? Because the concentration of old vines on Côte Blonde and the late vintage ripening time that Guigal adheres to give the wine enough flesh to integrate the oak rather than wear it out. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel for about three weeks, then the wine is pumped over and bottled without filtration. The barrels are made in Guigal's own workshop, which is unique in the wine world.

What are the best vintages of La Mouline

La Mouline is a very consistent scoring wine. Exceptional vintages are (last 4 decades): 1985, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2018.

Tasting Notes

The first thing that catches the eye is the nose. Violets, raspberries, ripe apricots and the distinctive notes of smoked bacon that always characterize the great Côte Rôtie. It lifts the nose into the realm of floral and stone fruit, which is not the case with pure Syrah.

On the palate, La Mouline is silky rather than musky. The tannins are present, but they are subtle, and the acidity squeezes the palate, leaving a lingering trail of black pepper, smoked meat and dark cherry. The young vintage needs air to reach its full potential. Aged bottles have more notes of tapenade, leather and undergrowth. A beautiful wine, but deserves patience.

Food Pairing

La Mouline's silky smoothness and flavorful lift require dishes that combine richness and finesse. Here are some dishes with which it pairs particularly well:

• Roasted squab or duck breast with cherry or blackberry sauce, where the fruitiness echoes the viognier.
• A simple roasted saddle of venison.
• Lyonnaise beef daube cooked over low heat where the acidity of the wine cuts through the fat.
• Aged Comté, Beaufort and walnut cheeses.

Serve at 16-17°C. If you're feeling extravagant, a classic partner for the wine would be truffle dishes.

Serving Suggestions

La Mouline at 16-17°C. Any warmer and the alcohol will dominate and mask the flavors. Decant young wines for at least 90 minutes and mature bottles (over 15 years old) for 30 minutes. To get a good sense of the aromas, it is better to use a large bowl shaped like a Burgundy glass rather than a Bordeaux glass.

Vintages

La Mouline has remarkable consistency from vintage to vintage, but the style changes: warmer years, such as 2018 and 2019, bring more ripeness, riper Viognier apricots and denser flavors that can be approached earlier; cooler years, such as 2016; and more classic vintages, such as 2012 and 2013, The more classic vintages are more aromatic and structured, with spicier black pepper and firm tannins that require aging.

For medium-term aging, warmer vintages of 12-15 years are suitable. For longer aging, more structured vintages require patience for 20 years or more. Older bottles tend to cost more, which is justified given how slowly this wine unfolds.

Cellaring Potential

Most La Mouline wines take 10 to 15 years to truly sing, and the best ones can last 25 to 30 years if stored well. The driving force behind this wine are firm but fine tannins, healthy acidity and concentration, which are due to old vines and paltry yields per hectare. 12-14°C, stored on its side, away from light. Over time, fruitiness shifts from raspberry to tapenade and forest floor.