Côte-Rôtie La Mouline
⏳ Drinking Window
2026 - 2045
🍷 Vintage Profile
The 2018 growing season in Côte-Rôtie commenced with an exceptionally wet spring that required rigorous canopy management to mitigate mildew pressures, followed by an intensely warm, dry summer with ample sunshine. Modest late-August precipitation alleviated hydric stress on the Côte Blonde terraces, allowing the Syrah and Viognier to achieve optimal phenolic ripeness, high concentration, and plush, fine-grained tannins while preserving sufficient aromatic acidity. Widely praised across global markets as a lavish, cellar-worthy vintage of generous fruit depth, the wine entered its initial drinking window around 2025 and is projected to peak from 2028 through 2045.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck breast, wild game birds, slow-cooked lamb shoulder
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the legendary Côte Blonde, La Mouline is a tiny, amphitheater-shaped parcel of ancient vines, some dating back over a century. The 2018 vintage captures the essence of this unique terroir, where the steep, terraced slopes of decomposed granite, limestone, and loess bask in intense Mediterranean sun. Co-fermented with a significant proportion of Viognier, this wine undergoes Guigal's signature, painstaking 40-month maturation in 100% new French oak. The hot, dry summer of 2018 yielded a remarkably plush, voluptuous expression of La Mouline. It weaves a tapestry of exotic floral aromas, red currant, and cured meats, underpinned by silky, seamless tannins that define this historic vineyard's feminine and seductive character.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1946 by Étienne Guigal in the historic village of Ampuis, Maison Guigal has grown into an undisputed titan of the Rhône Valley, elevated to global renown under Marcel Guigal and currently guided by third-generation winemaker Philippe Guigal. Anchored at the restored 12th-century Château d'Ampuis, the estate oversees 75 hectares of prime northern Rhône vineyards alongside a benchmark négociant operation. The family's viticulture is practiced via sustainable lutte raisonnée across dramatically steep, hand-worked amphitheaters comprising mica-schist, granite, and loess terraces. In the cellar, Guigal is famous for uncompromising patient élevage, maturing premier cuvées in custom barrels produced at their in-house cooperage for up to 40 months. Their legendary single-vineyard Côte-Rôties—La Mouline, La Landonne, and La Turque—remain global pinnacles of Syrah, mirrored in white viticulture by the opulent Condrieu La Doriane and the monumental Ermitage Ex-Voto Blanc.
🍇 Grapes
Syrah 89%, Viognier 11%
🍷 ABV
14%