Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A delicious 2022 Cote-Rotie that is already open and expressive. Deep blackberry, red-berry and blueberry aromas. The silky tannins are already beautifully integrated. The tannins gently build at the long, polished finish, where there’s a touch of stony minerality. Bottled in the spring of 2024 after one year of maturation in oak barrels, followed by a few months in tank.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from a mix of terroirs, the 2022 Côte Rôtie Mon Village is vivid ruby-hued with a classic Côte Rôtie nose of sweet red and black fruits intermixed with pressed flowers, cured meats, and spice. This complex, medium to full-bodied, elegant effort has the sun-kissed fruit of the vintage, beautiful overall balance, and a great finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aged for one year in barrel, the 2022 Cote Rotie Mon Village constitutes about half of Stéphane Ogier’s production. It features aromas of fresh dark berries, violets and spices with seamlessly integrated oak. It has a medium to full-bodied palate, displaying a taut, dense structure complemented by fresh, velvety tannins and leading to a refined, ethereal finish with hints of dark berries. Currently slightly introverted and firm on the finish, this wine will benefit from 2-4 years of aging in the cellar before it is enjoyed.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The cultivation of vines here began with Greek settlers who arrived in 600 BC. Its proximity to Vienne was important then and also when that city became a Roman settlement but its situation, far from the negociants of Tain, led to its decline in more modern history. However the 1990s brought with it a revival fueled by one producer, Marcel Guigal, who believed in the zone’s potential. He, along with the critic, Robert Parker, are said to be responsible for the zone’s later 20th century renaissance.
Where the Rhone River turns, there is a build up of schist rock and a remarkable angle that produces slopes to maximize the rays of the sun. Cote Rotie remains one of the steepest in viticultural France. Its varied slopes have two designations. Some are dedicated as Côte Blonde and others as Côte Brune. Syrahs coming from Côte Blonde are lighter, more floral, and ready for earlier consumption—they can also include up to 20% of the highly scented Viognier. Those from Côte Brune are more sturdy, age-worthy and are typically nearly 100% Syrah. Either way, a Cote Rotie is going to have a particularly haunting and savory perfume, expressing a more feminine side of the northern Rhone.