Inky ruby. A heady, powerfully scented bouquet evokes cassis, blueberry, licorice and mocha, with a smoky nuance building with air. Silky and seamless on the palate, offering deep dark fruit liqueur flavors sharpened by gentle acidity and a peppery note. Clings with impressive tenacity on the spice- and mineral-tinged finish, leaving a sweet floral pastille note behind. Decidedly rich for this bottling, but that's the vintage.

Quality 963 | Brand 958 | Economics 898 | buzz brand
Quality: Predicted life of 12 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group, which averages 8 years Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 26 of the world's top wine lists, including The Modern Economics: Above its peer group average price of £91 for the 2009 vintage Production: Higher yields than its peer group average of 36 hl/ha

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

Served blind alongside a Rostaing Côte Blonde. Very sweet and rich (from a ripe year). Opulence leading the way to a dry, Syrah-ish long finish with more structure than the Rostaing. Rather glorious. (JR)

Utterly perfect in every sense, the 2009 Côte Rôtie la Mouline is a huge, opulent, incredibly sexy wine that literally causes my heart rate to jump 10 beats or more. Smoked meats, wild flowers, peach pit, smoke and layers of huge Syrah fruit give way to a full-bodied, concentrated, heavenly red that has a dense, thick mid-palate, sweet tannin, and a blockbuster finish. If I had to pick a desert Island wine, this would be it!

Just as good, but made in a completely different style, the 2009 Cote Rotie la Mouline (which incorporates a whopping 11% of Viognier) offers an insane bouquet of roasted meats, toast, spice, caramelized meats, coffee bean and deep, concentrated and layered blackberry and cassis-styled fruit. As with the 2010, it has off-the-chart richness, a stacked mid-palate and a gorgeous polish to its tannin. Give it another 3 to 4 years and drink it over the following 2-3 decades.