#lamouline

While I would much rather be drinking Côte-Rôtie, tonight I’m remembering my visit to the iconic E. Guigal’s famous vineyards in the Northern Rhône! These pictures show the portion of the Côte Blonde lieu-dit from which the grapes that go into the La Mouline - my favorite of the 3 La Las - are located. This extraordinarily steep vineyard is heavily terraced and has rocky soils. It is also warmer than the other vineyards, features a higher percentage of Viognier (10-11%), and is produced using the more gentle pumping over technique as opposed to punching down. These differences result in a wine that is generally a bit more elegant and ready to drink earlier than either La Landonne or La Turque. While La Mouline has been one of my favorite wines since the first time I tried it, visiting the property and seeing the tremendous effort required to harvest these steep vineyards made me appreciate it even more! ___________________________________#guigal #eguigal #lamouline #coterotie #northernrhone #syrah #vin #wine #winelover #winelovers #vineyard #vineyards #sommelier #instagood #pictureoftheday #picoftheday #instadaily #travel #instagram #winetravel #cheers #vino #wset #sommlife #instawine #winery #winestagram #likeforlikes #like4likes (at Ampuis, Rhone-Alpes, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqq1TzfHUt-/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1desrofe8x7k8

So I had every intention of posting a #tbt today, but fortunately life intervened! We opened a 2008 #guigal #lamouline and then the floodgates opened! The 2013 Bond St Eden would have been wine of the night most nights, but tonight even the supposedly off vintage 2008 La Mouline was hauntingly good. So good that we had to open a second bottle, which was somehow even better than the first. Subtle pepper notes combined with smoked meat and pleasant barnyard aromas won us over before the first sip. The La Mouline attacked our palates with plush red fruit, soft tannins and a finish that seemingly went on forever. The 2013 Bond St. Eden was outstanding and would have been the standout most nights, but not tonight. The 1998 #janasse #chateauneufdupape was very elegant and more like a burgundy than a #gsmblend #wine #winelover #winetasting #winelovers #wineporn #winestagram #sommelier #sommlife #wineinstagram #instawine #wineoclock #winenight #wineoftheday #wineblogger #coterotie #napavalley #janasse #chateauneufdupape #graileys #followforfollowback (at Graileys) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpqVtN7nCtH/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=bzp0uhdhvqgb