Cote Roti La Mouline 2016 E.Guigal

Tasting Notes

On first pour, the nose is mesmerizing. Viognier violets, raspberries and apricots sit on top of the Syrah. On the palate, the wine is silkier than one would expect from Côte-Rôtie, with flavors of sweet red fruits, smoked meats and black pepper. Tannins are present, but they have been smoothed out by 42 months of aging in new oak. It's drinkable now if you let it air out, but we'll wait. This wine deserves another 10 years in the cellar.

Grape Varieties

La Mouline has the highest proportion of Viognier of the three La Las of Guigal:

• Syrah about 89%.
• Viognier about 11%, co-fermentation

So why ferment white and red grapes? Viognier stabilizes the color and, more importantly, lifts the aromas. Floral, almost apricot notes? That comes from the Viognier. It is the Viognier that makes La Mouline the most aromatic of the three Côte-Rôtie single vineyard wines.

Cellaring Potential

Drink between 2026 and 2045. La Mouline 2016 has enough acidity and fine tannin structure to age gracefully, and 42 months in new oak barrels gives it the structure it needs time to integrate. Store at 12-14°C. As it ages, the fruit develops into truffle, leather and black olive.

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.