2018 | Stephane Ogier | St Joseph Le Passage

A rich and deeply ripe expression with a wealth of very juicy pears and peaches and a smooth delivery of ripe.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Sourced largely from Malleval, Ogier's 2018 Saint Joseph le Passage features classic Syrah elements of asphalt, black olive, black pepper and blackberries. Medium to full-bodied, it boasts silky tannins but also a certain amount of muscle and intensity under that soft exterior. At 30% new oak (the highest proportion of new oak in any red wine in the cellar this year), the oak isn't obtrusive at all, blending seamlessly into the fruit.

• James Suckling: A rich and deeply ripe expression with a wealth of very juicy pears and peaches and a smooth delivery of ripe, spiced-pear flesh on the palate. This has attractive weight and depth.

Producer Information

Domaine Stéphane Ogier is a producer in the northern Rhône appellation of Côte Rôtie. It is especially well known for varietal Syrah from several highly regarded appellations in the region, but also making small amounts of Viognier from Condrieu and red and white Vin de Pays wine. The Ogier family has farmed the Rhône Valley for generations, including tending vineyards. The domaine was formed by Michel Ogier who had been growing grapes in the village of Ampuis in Côte Rôtie and selling them, notably to famous Rhône producers Guigal and Chapoutier. Ogier began making its own wine in the early 1980s and by 1987 was vinifying and bottling its entire harvest. Michel's son Stéphane began working at the winery in 1998 after studying viticulture and enology in Burgundy and within a few years he took over running the domaine. The estate had gone by Domaine Michel Ogier, but new vintages now commonly say either Domaine Michel et Stephane Ogier or M&S Ogier d'Ampuis. When the estate began vinifying its own grapes, it had roughly 3 hectares under vine. Beginning at the end of the 1990s more vineyards were planted or purchased, specifically several in new Côte-Rôtie lieux-dits and a small 1.2 ha vineyard in Condrieu. The domaine believes strongly in the quality of specific sites within Côte-Rôtie, comparing them to the variously tiered village, premier cru and grand cru AOCs in Burgundy. It has practiced vinifying individual parcels separately and labels often carry the name of the specific lieux-dits where the grapes comes from, though no legal classification for sub-regions exists in Côte-Rôtie. In 2015 Ogier was farming 16 ha, 8 of which were in Côte-Rôtie. It also established a small négociant business which provides the fruit for the Le Temps Est Venu Côtes du Rhone. The wines have been critically praised with several vintages of the Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Belle Helene, from the Côte Brun lieu-dit, earning 100 points from Robert Parker.

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