Winemaker Notes
An intensely aromatic, powerful nose that still shows finesse in its floral violet and blackberry aromas. The palate is supple, with divine balance between the finesse of the aromas and an explosive richness due to the concentration of the wine.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Sweet red and black fruits, smoked game, violets, spring flowers, and peppery goodness all emerge from the 2021 Côte Rôtie La Mouline, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a pure, layered, elegant mouthfeel, ripe tannins, beautiful overall balance, and a great finish. It's a gorgeous, complex, oh, so satisfying La Mouline that doesn't have the depth or density of the greats from here but has classic La Mouline character and is already impossible to resist. Based on 89% Syrah and 11% Viognier and aged four years in new barrels.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
At this stage, the 2021 Côte-Rôtie La Mouline is the most reduced of the three cuvées, offering up a bouquet of oak, sweet spices, dark berries, fresh licorice and violet. Medium- to full-bodied, concentrated and seamless, it’s layered and refined, with a sweet core of fruit framed by velvety tannins and a deep mid-palate that leads to an ethereal, endless finish. This is a sumptuous rendition. Rating: 95+
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Wine Spectator
Bright notes of spices and perfumed fruit give this a lovely lightness, with winey red currant flavors enrobed in toasty, salty cedar. Stylish tannins carry the long finish, with echoes of smoked sage and oregano. Give this time for all of the elements to further integrate. Syrah and Viognier.
The Guigal domain was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in the ancient village of Ampuis, home of the wines of the Côte-Rôtie. In these vineyards that are over 2400 years old, you can still see the small terraced walls characteristic of the Roman period. Etienne Guigal arrived in this region in 1923 at the age of 14. He made wine for over 67 vintages and, at the beginning of his career, participated in the development of the Vidal-Fleury establishment.
Despite his young age, Marcel Guigal took over from his father in 1961 when the latter was victim to a brutal illness rendering him blind. Marcel's hard work and perseverance enabled the Guigals to buy out Vidal-Fleury in 1984, although the establishment retains its own identity and commercial autonomy. In 2000, the Guigals purchased the Jean-Louis Grippat estate in Saint-Joseph and Hermitage, as well as the Domaine de Vallouit in Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage.
In the cellars of the Guigal estate in Ampuis, the northern appellations of the Rhône Valley are produced and aged. These are the appellations of Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage. The great appellations of the Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Tavel and Côtes-du-Rhône, are also aged in the Ampuis cellars.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The cultivation of vines here began with Greek settlers who arrived in 600 BC. Its proximity to Vienne was important then and also when that city became a Roman settlement but its situation, far from the negociants of Tain, led to its decline in more modern history. However the 1990s brought with it a revival fueled by one producer, Marcel Guigal, who believed in the zone’s potential. He, along with the critic, Robert Parker, are said to be responsible for the zone’s later 20th century renaissance.
Where the Rhone River turns, there is a build up of schist rock and a remarkable angle that produces slopes to maximize the rays of the sun. Cote Rotie remains one of the steepest in viticultural France. Its varied slopes have two designations. Some are dedicated as Côte Blonde and others as Côte Brune. Syrahs coming from Côte Blonde are lighter, more floral, and ready for earlier consumption—they can also include up to 20% of the highly scented Viognier. Those from Côte Brune are more sturdy, age-worthy and are typically nearly 100% Syrah. Either way, a Cote Rotie is going to have a particularly haunting and savory perfume, expressing a more feminine side of the northern Rhone.