1998 Cote Rotie La Mouline

11% Viognier. 42 months in 100% new barriques. 400 c/s. La Mouline first bottled 1996. Deep garnet but brighter than La Turque. Darker fruit on the nose, plenty of oak, but also riper – dark ripe cherry with perfume emerging. More peppery and masculine. Intense and so concentrated. Then so sweet and fresh and deep on the palate. Gorgeously generous and intense without any heaviness. Very very fine grained and a long sweet finish. More open than La Turque and finishes very fresh. (JH)

Lightish crimson, perfume on the nose – truly ‘roasted’ – with quite evolved notes. Sweetness and transparency. Quite lively with good integrity but not quite enough weight. Acidity notable. Some treacle toffee saltiness. Quite long and concentrated. (JR)

Saturated ruby-red. Sappy raspberry, redcurrant, plum and spices on the nose, lifted by an exotic floral/apricotty viognier note and complicated by woodsmoke, pepper and mint. Penetrating and very tightly wound, with brisk acidity giving this extremely young wine almost painful intensity. A saline, sappy quality and a hint of green pepper underscore the extreme youth of this highly promising wine. This certainly calls for at least a decade of additional aging.