Variety: Syrah, Viognier
Region: Northern Rhone, France

Within the hallowed soils of Côte-Rôtie, a trio of wines stand out as the greatest. These are known affectionately as the La-La’s; single-site wines from Côte-Rôtie’s greatest champion – Étienne Guigal. Étienne and his son Marcel resurrected the reputation of the region with their dedication to quality and reflections of the very special terroir of Côte-Rôtie, and the various soil profiles within this small, precipitous region.
Translating to ‘the roasted slope’, this is one of the steepest winegrowing areas in the world, with vignerons unable to utilise any form of machinery on these sheer inclines, and all viticultural procedures are undertaken by hand. In fact, the natural erosion that occurs forced the adoption of a pulley system up the hills, to return the deposited soil to the crest of the hill. In addition, the Rhône Valley’s natural phenomenon, an incredibly powerful wind called the Mistral means that the bush trained vines of the area need to be tethered to the ground with stakes, and trained low to the ground to prevent them being torn out by the sheer force of the wind.
Established in 1946 by Étienne, custodianship of the domaine was taken over by son Marcel in 1961. Marcel’s talented winemaking tamed a lot of the rusticity that Côte-Rôtie had previously been known for, utilising more modern techniques that rounded out the wines, producing a far more elegant style. In the advent of wine critic Robert Parker’s appraisal of the wines in the early 1980’s, the wines were elevated to the same status as wines from Hermitage, which had previously been considered the hallmark of the Northern Rhône in terms of quality. All three of the trio have been rated 100 points in previous vintages by Robert Parker, a hugely prestigious achievement.
The two main parts of the appellation are Côte Blonde and Côte Brune, named for the colour of the main soil type in each area.
The La Mouline vineyard is located in the Côte Blonde, known for its lighter soil profile, which is conducive to the production of high-quality Viognier as well as Syrah. A Roman ampitheatre in shape, the soils are composed of a gneiss bedrock with silicone and limestone loess topsoil. The Syrah and Viognier vines are all 75-80 years of age, producing fruit in low yields but with intense concentration. Unlike La Landonne, which was formally recognised as one of 75 lieux-dits by the French government in the 60’s, La Mouline is the trademarked name of the site, which was undertaken by Guigal to get around Côte-Rôtie labelling laws that stated only officially recognised lieux-dits can be present on a label. Owing to a high percentage of Viognier in the blend, this is the most fragrant, lithe and silken of the trio. The 2012 vintage contains 11% Viognier, and has been aged in new French oak for 42 months prior to release.

Only 400 cases of La Mouline are produced every year, and it is one of the few wines at such a high price that is worth the money. La Mouline is a tasting experience like no other; intoxicating and exotic perfume, while the silken texture of the wine belies its phenomenal complexity and concentration.
Tasted in 2015 by Jeb Dunnuck of eRobertParker website, it was rated 96-98 points, with the following said of the vintage:
“Possessing slightly more purity (but maybe not the complexity) than the 2011, the 2012 Côte Rôtie La Mouline offers a heavenly perfume of cured meats, pecking duck, violets and cassis. This flows to a full-bodied, seamless, absolutely hedonistic Côte Rôtie that has good acidity, ripe, polished tannin and a great finish. Of the three single parcel Côte Rôties, it’s the most approachable, but will still drink beautifully for three decades or more.”