Millésime 2005

Wine Advocate #182 - Apr 2009

Score : 100

Similar to the powerful 1988, the inky/purple-colored, dense 2005 Cote Rotie La Mouline offers a stunning perfume of espresso roast, licorice, pepper, blackberries, and black cherries intermixed with hints of chocolate and spring flowers. Powerful, super-concentrated, and ruggedly-constructed with a boatload of tannin, this is a wine to forget for 4-5 years, and drink over the following 25-30. It is the densest, most tannic vintage of La Mouline since 1988.  Drink: 2013 - 2043. Robert Parker.
 

Wine Spectator - Sep 30, 2009

Score: 99

Extremely dense, with Turkish coffee and bittersweet cocoa notes leading the way for a huge core of macerated plum and currant fruit, with warm fig reduction and hoisin sauce notes. The long, graphite- and toast-driven finish sails on and on. Best from 2012 through 2030. 415 cases made. Designation: Collectibles. James Molesworth.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar - Jan/Feb 07

Score : 93-96

Inky chocolate and licorice-accented cherry and boysenberry scents. Currently s howing a more masculine and broad-shouldered cha racter than I expect from this cuve e , with deep ch erry liqueur and cassis flavors. Finishes with hints of espresso and black olive. Josh Raynolds.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar - Jan/Feb 08

Score : 93-95

Ruby-red. Dark berry and spices on the nose, with a deep cocoa and licorice undertone; more brooding than usual for this wine at this stage. Ripe cherry-cola and cured tobacco flavors are impressively concentrated but lack the elegance I usually get from La Mouline. Finishes with impressive chewy grip and lingering cherry pit flavor. Serve this to the wiseacres those who think that the Mouline is always the girly man of this group. Josh Raynolds.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar - Jan/Feb 09

Score : 94-96

Bright ruby. Potent, deep dark berry and kirsch aromas are complemented by pipe tobacco, anise and sexy oak spices. A strong floral quality develops with air and carries onto the palate, adding complexity to the deep blackberry and cassis flavors. The most powerful rendition of La Mouline I've ever tasted, with velvety tannins adding finishing grip. This is one for the cellar.  Josh Raynolds.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Jan/Feb 10

Score : 96

Vivid ruby. Sexy black raspberry and floral aromas are complicated by smoky minerals, Asian spices and a whiff of smoke. Silky, alluringly sweet red and dark berry flavors pack serious punch but come off as weightless, with tangy minerality adding spine and precision. Showing more elegance than last year: its finishing lift, clarity and sweetness comes across as distinctly Burgundian. This suave wine is surprisingly open-knit but I'd wait a while before opening a bottle. Josh Raynolds.