The state-of-the-art new Côte-Rôtie winery at Domaine Michel & Stéphane Ogier

Hidden Gems of the Rhône: La Rosine by Stéphane Ogier

There are a fair few wines that really make my pulse quicken from the Rhône, what I call true ‘hidden gems’ that combine incredible value with impeccable quality and a great pedigree, and this series is intended to highlight these.

While not exclusively these, a recurring theme throughout ‘Hidden Gems’ will be lesser wines coming from established estates and highly acclaimed winemakers, estates and winemakers whose top wines can generally only be enjoyed by those with deep pockets.

These gems are often from less fashionable sites, or from just outside venerable appéllations but with similar terroir, or wines that defy local wine laws that allow the winemaker to fully express their talents unconstrained, but all going through exactly the same processes and the same care and attention those other, far more expensive wines do.

Côte-Rôtie (translating as ‘roasted slope’) is one of the great Northern Rhône wine enclaves, second only to Hermitage (arguably). It is made up of 500 hectares of prodigiously steep, south-facing terraced vineyards rising up from the river itself. Its reds are long lived, powerful and complex, made from Syrah sometimes exclusively but also blended with the white grape Viognier for an deeper aromatic intensity.

Ogier are relative newcomers in the region and up until 1987 sold their fruit from the Ampuis sub-region to Chapoutier and Guigal. This was profitable business but patriarch Michel had loftier ambitions. After 1987 he began vinifying and bottling his wine under the Domaine Michel Ogier label. In 1997 his son Stéphane joined the business and his vision has been transformative to the estate, shouldering aside the traditional hegemony in Côte-Rôtie to become one of the most acclaimed winemakers in the region.

Stéphane Ogier in his natural habitat

Stéphane’s single vineyard Côte-Rôties are the stuff of legend. Burgundy-trained he uses oak sparingly instead allowing the individual terroirs to show their unique charms. To experience those expect to pay several hundred pounds a bottle, and his more generic Côte-Rôties are still £60+. But there is a more affordable way to experience this man’s genius winemaking - La Rosine.

La Rosine Syrah is sourced from 30-year-old Syrah vines in decomposed granite soils lying immediately adjacent to the south of Côte-Rôtie, and, whisper it, the occasional parcel of declassified fruit from younger vines in Côte-Rôtie. It is classified (deep breath) Collines Rhodaniennes Indication Géographique Protégée so short of full AOC status but the wine truly transcends that lowly category. While not as long-lived as a full-blown Côte-Rôtie it has a lot of the vibrancy and complexity of one, but without the heft.

It will still give you a decade at least in the cellar mind you. With younger incarnations be sure to decant and breathe thoroughly to allow the wine to shed its stoicism. When it does expect a beguiling nose redolent of jasmine, violet, kola nut, wild blackberry, fresh cherry and more savoury elements of black olive tapenade and meat jus. The palate is strident with firm tannins but counterbalanced by fine freshness that beautfully frame the berry fruit, game, and florality that wind down into a long, peppery finish. Concentrated, medium-bodied with great energy serve this with grilled meats, herb-crusted lamb, charcuterie and rich cheeses. Expect to pay between £20-£30 a bottle.

But wait there is more. As well as the complex mosaic of vineyards dotted in Côte-Rôtie Stéphane farms, he also has two vineyards in Condrieu. This enigmatic region sits right at the Northern tip of the region as a lone enclave of 100% white wines and is considered the birthplace of Viognier. Like Côte-Rôtie, the whites of Condrieu are eye-wateringly expensive, so a wine that offers the decadent pleasure of it but without that price tag should be sought out by any lover of great white wine.

Enter stage-left Viognier de Rosine. Like its stablemate it is sourced from a vineyard just outside Côte-Rôtie, a tiny 3-hectare plot that is manually harvested before fermentation in traditional foudres using naturally occuring wild yeasts. This drinks like a full-blown Condrieu that just screams carpe diem as you pull the cork. unfurling wantonly with honeydew melon, ripe white peach, saline and a twist of elderflower and honeysuckle. This translates seamlessly into the palate, with added hints of spiced orange, lychee and just a hint of fresh ginger that evolved into a long, manuka honey-tinged finish. There is a lovely tension and balance throughout. Drink it young but it will develop for 5-8 years after harvest and harvest with rich lobster, creamy chicken and grilled fish dishes. Made in smaller quantities than its red sibling so harder to track down but priced around the same.

And still I am not done. Stéphane has more recently expanded his holdings into the Southern Rhône and has parcels in Rasteau, Plain-de-Dieu and Visan and produces a brilliant Côte-du-Rhône from them in his new winemaking facility in the South. Called ‘Le Temps est Venu’ (the time has come) you can pick it up for around £15 and it is a brilliant red, crammed with joie-de-vivre and energy, just like the man himself.

Written by Alex James Cole