(made with 50 percent whole clusters) Bright purple. A complex, intensely perfumed bouquet of fresh black and blue fruit, candied licorice and Asian spice scents develops a sexy floral note as the wine opens up. Vibrant and appealingly sweet on the palate, offering intense, smoke-tinged black currant, boysenberry, floral pastille and spicecake flavors energized by a refreshing snap of juicy acidity. Blends richness and vivacity with a deft hand and finishes extremely long and gently tannic, leaving a sappy blue fruit note behind.

One of the more restrained and fresh vintages of this cuvée out there, the 2013 Côte Rôtie La Mouline still has a classic Mouline floral, gamey, and spicy bouquet to go with medium to full-bodied richness and depth on the palate. With good concentration, notable complexity, sweet tannin, and plenty of length, it needs 3-4 years of bottle age and will keep for 15+.

The 2013 Cote Rotie La Mouline shows none of the vintage’s sometimes dry tannins. It offers crisp black fruit—plums and blackberries—underscored by hints of pencil shavings, espresso and grilled meat. Suave and long, it should drink well for a couple of decades.

Aged for 40 months in new oak. Hickory smoke, violets, tobacco, black-cherry fruit, pepper and a touch of stemmy herbal character. Super-fine tannins, and quite light body with a finish that isn't as expansive as the palate. Still young, so the length may well develop. (RH)

Half bottle sample: Blackish purple. Not opulent! Introvert. Rich but not as obviously rich as some vintages but the sample was taken last week so it’s a bit suppressed. From cask: (It took them ages to find it! Running all over the cellar and Olivier the oenologist was called back from lunch.) Dark purple. Clean and positive but still not the richest. Quite mild for a Mouline. But correct. Just a bit introvert and lacks the lushness of some vintages. (JR)