FFW 2021 Wine Catalogue

RHÔNE NORTHERNRHÔNE

CÔTERÔTIE, CUVÉERÉSERVE DOMAINE STÉPHANE OGIER 2016 DRINK2023-2032

MEET THE GROWER Stéphane Ogier AMPUIS Relatively new to the world’s winemaking elite, Michel Ogier, Stéphane’s father, started making wine in the 1980s - he’d previously been selling to the region’s top négociants - Chapoutier and Guigal. Stéphane has continued this quality. With somany holdings Stéphane vinifies each plot selection separately, expertly capturing each Côte Rôtie Lieux Dits’ terroir, style and character. His cuvées of famous lieux dits such as Fongeant, Leyat, Côte Boudin, Champon, and Vialliere are all wonderful with diverse characters, some subtle and somemarkedly different. His wines have an incredible fine-grained tannin character, that surpasses most other growers in their ripeness and silky texture – just what his wines are known for. Stéphane works tirelessly in the vineyards and with scientific precision in the winery, ensuring his hard viticultural work pays. His “La Réserve” will now only be released when “ready” after 8 years or so and not en primeur; an idea we rather like. Although the Brits can’t be blamed for drinking the wines too young, many French restaurants can!

6x75 £280

Tasting with Stéphane providedme with a virtual tour (de force) of Côte Rôtie. The blend of “La Réserve” had yet to happen so we tasted numerous constituent parcels which Stéphane vinifies separately before blending to create La Réserve. The parcel selection of La Réserve changes each year but Stéphane said likely to be included are the following Lieux-Dits which we tasted individually: Leyat - with its purity and heady concentration andmenthol finish; Fongeant - with its sweet ripe red fruit charm on the nose; the wonderful Côte Boudin - expressive and fragrant with prominent eucalyptus and red fruits, gamey sweetness on the palate, silky tannins

and a hint of spice; Champon - which is aged for two years separately due to its concentration, prominent red and dark fruit and grippier tannin - a cuvée that suits the use of more oak; La Vialliere - extremely fresh and focussed with high fruit definition of raspberries and blackcurrants, amouth- watering cuvée from the northern end of Côte Rôtie on schist soils. It’s safe to say that whatever the proportion of the blend, La Réserve will be a study in concentration, fresh withmenthol and eucalyptus influences, silky tannins and prominent sweet red fruits.

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