1978 Côte Rôtie, La Mouline Domaine Etienne Guigal
Critics reviews
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate, 1st Jan 1997
Jancis Robinson, 14 Apr 1994
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate, 1st Jan 1997
About this WINE
Syrah/Shiraz
A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries.
It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness.
South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.
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Description
I have had this wine more than two dozen times (lucky me), and it is one of the most thrilling wines I could ever drink. I loved it when it was an infant, and now that it may, or may not be, fully mature, I still think it is the quintessential expression of Guigal's La Mouline. The color remains an inky garnet, with no perceptible lightening at the edges. The celestial aromas include copious quantities of black raspberries, coconut, smoked duck, Asian spices, and violets. It overloads the olfactory senses. On the palate, this wine reveals unreal concentration, layers of thick, juicy fruit, beautifully integrated acidity and tannin, and a sumptuous finish that lasts for more than a minute. This seamless beauty is one of the greatest wines made in this century. If I were forced to drink just one wine ... let it be this!
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate, 1st Jan 1997
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