Ruud Verhagen

9.4

big, fat, jammy…., needs time to come around… — a month ago

Ira Schwartz

9.2

A big nose of plum, blackberries and chestnuts. In the mouth a full body wine , muscular not fat. Clean fruit backed up with leather and earth assisted by a nice dose of acid . Tannins are there and put up a wall of resistance that will likely soften with time. — 2 years ago

Merckx Ragan

8.9

Big and fruity with a touch of spice - easy drinking , easy pairing — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.6

A bottle I contributed during a trip to Napa’s Premiere Napa Valley week. This was opened at Torc, alongside a ‘97 Leflaive Les Pucelles, ‘11 Leroy Blagny, ‘89 La Chappelle and two young Napa cabs from Simon Estate. La Mouline is always my favorite due to the amount of co-ferment with Viognier.

Deserving of a 1-2hr decant, this got about an hour open in bottle by the time we got to it. I opened the ‘04 La Turque just a few weeks prior, so I had a reference point to work with. Heady aromatics, as expected…dark potpurri, spice, mesquite and mocha. On the palate, the youthful bacon-fat of Cote Rotie was gone and had channeled the classical tangy barbecue profile alongside black olive, peppered red and black berry fruit, and smoked meat at the finish. Whereas the LaTurque was almost Burgundian in profile (elegant, light), this was somewhere in-between the “bigger” LaLandonne and LaTurque…big, but balanced, likely due to vintage. Aromatics and finish here were standouts. Open now with a quick decant or hold another few years. — 4 months ago

A. R.

9.2

Excellent example of a St Jo. On opening, the nose was much more lilac and herbs. Black olives and red fruit in the mouth. After 3 hours in a decanter, big change. On the nose, bacon fat and olives. Bacon and iron in the mouth. Long finish. I would recommend *not* decanting or waiting 3-5 years. The in between made for some awkwardness. — 4 years ago

Riccardo L.

9.3

Big fat cherry notes, some wood, and a deep dark demon soul. Alliteration intentional. — 5 years ago

WC Fields

9.1

Black olives, some bacon fat, mulberry, blackberries and smoke. Big tannins. Love me some Umbria. — 2 years ago

ESF

9.1

Showed much better than previous note: inky, generous blackberry, mocha, tobacco leaf, black cherry, cassis on nose, with herbs & pepper accents - impressive complexity on the aromatics for sure… big fat mid-palate in need of sturdier tannins. Kinda fell over all the place, but in a delicious decadent way. — 2 years ago

Kevin Coup

8.9

Inky, a bit of acid. Pepper and a bit dry - pucker after a taste. I'm a big fan of Chateauneuf, but I've had better. I can't see drinking this on its own. And it will fight with any dish. You'd need something bold - spice and fat to serve it with. — 4 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.1

A bit on the quirky side. I really have no idea where this wine is in the spectrum of things. It definitely isn't done, but it has a big hole in the middle. The nose is fruitcake and cola. The entry is pretty big and rounded. Powerful fruit. At first the middle was dead, but after 30 minutes it really started to come around and showed some cinnamon, spice, nutmeg. The finish became a little more acidic. Slight toasted tannin finish. Really impressed. I have stayed away from opening these mainly because I thought they were all dead, but curiosity killed the fat cat and the result was MUCH better than expected. — 6 years ago