Côte-Rôtie `Mon Village`, Domaine Stéphane Ogier

Up until 1982, Stéphane’s father, Michel, sold all the fruit to local négociants and only began making some wine at the domaine in 1983. All this changed in 1997 with the return of Stéphane after five years’ study in Burgundy when he immediately set about increasing the domaine’s size with the purchase of parcels of vineyard and unplanted land in Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu and Seyssuel as well as in the Southern Rhône on the Plan de Dieu. His years in Burgundy have heavily influenced his vinification techniques. Stéphane likes to ferment all the parcels separately, now producing 12 different Côte-Rôtie alone. He de-stems the reds depending on the vineyard and the vintage and whilst still maturing most of the range in 228 litre barrels, uses significantly less new oak than in his youth. He looks for tension in his whites, occasionally partially blocking the malolactic fermentation when needed.