2020 Côte-Rôtie La Belle Hélène

At Domaine Stéphane Ogier, I had the pleasure of closing the gap in the Vinous’ database, tasting and comparing the wines of 2020, 2021 and 2022. Without the slightest doubt, 2020 is a towering success here, yielding some of the finest wines ever produced from this address–so layered, so fragrant, so deep and miles away from the more flamboyant and tannic 2019s. It’s hard not to fall in love with Ogier’s 2020s. The ravishingly beautiful Côte-Rôtie Fongeant, Côte-Rôtie Lancement and Côte-Rôtie La Belle Hélène knock it out of the park. It’s also worth noting that Ogier stopped using new oak for any of his Côte-Rôties beginning with the 2018 vintage. Furthermore, he increasingly gravitates toward Austrian oak demi-muids. At Ogier, two thousand twenty-two shares some stylistic similarities with 2020, but it’s yet to be seen if this vintage can reach the same quality. My initial assessment suggests that although 2022 is shaping up to be another excellent vintage here, the wines probably won’t reach the same stratospheric heights they achieved in 2020. In contrast to these two outstanding vintages, the challenging 2021 is represented by only two nonetheless solid Côte-Rôtie cuvées, Mon Village and Réserve. Two thousand twenty-one yielded fresh and pleasant wines, but they don’t offer the same depth and ripeness compared to 2020 or 2022.

Stéphane Ogier represents the seventh generation of his family in Ampuis. Ogier has taken the M & S Ogier d'Ampuis estate, established by his father, Michel, in 1983, to impressive heights. After attending viticultural school in Beaune (a popular alma mater for young winemakers in the region), Stéphane came on board in 1997. What started as, literally, a garage winery where 12,000 to 15,000 bottles were produced is now housed down the road in a spacious, state-of-the-art facility where over 300,000 bottles are issued. Ambitious for sure, but the demand is there. So much so that Ogier is comfortable slowing down the releases of his Côte-Rôties to allow the wines to acquire more bottle age, “which is always a good thing, even if it’s just for a few years,” he said.

Stéphane Ogier represents the seventh generation of his family in Ampuis. Ogier has taken the M & S Ogier d'Ampuis estate, established by his father, Michel, in 1983, to impressive heights. After attending viticultural school in Beaune (a popular alma mater for young winemakers in the region), Stéphane came on board in 1997. What started as, literally, a garage winery where 12,000 to 15,000 bottles were produced is now housed down the road in a spacious, state-of-the-art facility where over 300,000 bottles are issued. Ambitious for sure, but the demand is there. So much so that Ogier is comfortable slowing down the releases of his Côte-Rôties to allow the wines to acquire more bottle age, “which is always a good thing, even if it’s just for a few years,” he said.

Stéphane Ogier said that “even though the 2019s have really good acidity, they have more weight and power than the 2018s, so they’ll be drinking in a longer window.” He’s especially pleased with how appealing the 2018s have been showing “since the beginning” because of their “forward fruit. That’s great for the impatients, even if they say at first that they want to cellar the wines.” Ogier is starting to play around with holding certain wines back for a few years before release for that very reason. For example, he’s thinking that he might not release his 2018 and 2019 Côte-Rôtie Réserve “for maybe even five years, we’ll see,” in the hopes that more consumers will be able to drink the wines “when they’ve had a chance to become themselves and aren’t just young fruit.”

Stéphane Ogier said that “even though the 2019s have really good acidity, they have more weight and power than the 2018s, so they’ll be drinking in a longer window.” He’s especially pleased with how appealing the 2018s have been showing “since the beginning” because of their “forward fruit. That’s great for the impatients, even if they say at first that they want to cellar the wines.” Ogier is starting to play around with holding certain wines back for a few years before release for that very reason. For example, he’s thinking that he might not release his 2018 and 2019 Côte-Rôtie Réserve “for maybe even five years, we’ll see,” in the hopes that more consumers will be able to drink the wines “when they’ve had a chance to become themselves and aren’t just young fruit.”

Stephane Ogier has moved completely away from the use of barriques to demi-muids and foudres for raising his wines. He told me that he has no interest in oak "having any influence on the wines. Oak is a common denominator" he told me. "I want the wines to be as expressive as possible of their origin and too much new wood has a real way of masking that." Ogier now owns just over 11 hectares of vines in Côte-Rôtie, with substantial holdings in the appellation's most esteemed lieux-dits. Ogier has recently begun bottling small lots of those sites on their own in a terroir-expression project. Unfortunately, when I say "small lots" I mean extremely small lots. On the subject of his 2017s, Stephane Ogier told me that “it was essential to pay attention to getting fruit with too much ripeness.” He said he wasn’t concerned so much with structure “because the berries and bunches were very small so tannins weren’t going to be an issue, it was more about acidity and keeping freshness.” The wines, he thinks, are very deep and powerful, “with lots of dark fruit character” and he added that they’ll be pleasurable on the early side, with the ability but not the requirement to age. “If aging is important that’s what we have 2015 for,” he noted. The 2015s are definitely hands-off material now and in need of at least another 10 years or so of patience given their depth and structure.

Two thousand sixteen delivered what must be the most graceful and aromatically expressive set of wines that I have yet tasted from this important domaine, which is now named simply Stéphane Ogier. In Ogier’s view, 2016 “is a vintage that should be enjoyable at every stage of its life and that life should be quite long, longer than many people think.” No, it isn’t 2015, “but what is? 2010, maybe?” Ogier mused. The oak presence of the wines here has been dialed back dramatically over the years and Stéphane Ogier has now moved completely to using demi-muids and foudres with an eye to “making sure that each vineyard can express itself with as little in the way as possible.”

The ever-restless Stéphane Ogier is making some of the finest wines in the entire Rhône valley, the north as well as the south. Ogier is currently obsessing on his relatively new single-site bottlings because he wants “to learn the maximum potential expression of each lieu-dit and how they can all work together to make a better classic Côte-Rôtie.” To that end he makes very little of these wines as he doesn’t want to take the guts out of the Mon Village, especially the Réserve bottlings. Ogier feels that the strength of 2016 “is its expressive minerality and floral character. The wines are extremely elegant and a great contrast to the massiveness of the 2015s”. He thinks his 2016s will be best for drinking “way before the 2015s but that doesn’t mean that they won’t age well. They will, on their balance and energy.”

“Richer than 2010 and fresher than 2009” is the way Stéphane Ogier summed up the 2015 vintage. “Plus, the growing season gave a good yield and it isn’t often that high quality and a healthy crop happen together.” Ogier was one of a number of producers who cautioned that those looking for typicity in the 2015s “will have to be patient, because they’re going to be all about the fruit for a while, like maybe even a decade.” Wine lovers who seriously prize finesse are really going to go for the 2016 vintage, he predicts, and an extensive tour of his barrels from that vintage before I tackled the ‘15s put me in solid agreement with that sentiment. The wines are lively and pure, with a lighter touch and, at this very young stage, showing more red fruit and floral character than their 2015 siblings—“sort of a cross of 2010 and 2014,” as Ogier put it.

The wines here are always concentrated, powerful and fruit-driven but I never find them to be overtly burly or leaning too far toward dark fruit, much less superripe. Ogier told me that he studiously avoids overextraction, “especially in a vintage like ’15,” and that he has been pursuing a more vibrant style of red wine for some time now. He credits his increased work with Condrieu for a greater appreciation of finesse and a lighter touch but said that the real key to making fresh wines “is to spend a lot of time and work like crazy in the vines to make sure that the fruit is optimally ripe and clean, so you don’t have to do very much work with it after it has been picked.” He noted that people talk a lot about farming and how the wine is made in the vineyard, adding that “this is true, but it’s amazing how many people still try to fix their vineyard issues in the cellar, and they do know better.”

Now fully settled into his massive new winery at the southern end of Ampuis, Stéphane Ogier can handle his growing portfolio of wines far more efficiently than he could in his old cellar. (That facility, which is next to his parents' home on the west side of the railroad tracks smack in the middle of Ampuis, is now mostly used for equipment storage, but given Ogier's appetite for new vineyards, I suspect it will soon come in handy for bottle storage as well.) The Belle Hélène and Lancement bottlings will not be made in 2014, so severely low were the yields and strict selections in the vineyards and at the sorting table.

I tasted this year's set of wines in Ogier's spacious new cellar at the southern end of Ampuis, just across the road from the massive Vidal-Fleury winery and with a fantastic view of the Côte Blonde--and, especially, Ogier's beloved Lancement vineyard. Production here has exploded in recent years as Stéphane has been on a vineyard acquisition tear of late, picking up land in Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu, as well as in the southern Rhône. He admits that he's taking on a lot of work but said that "great vineyards don't come up for sale very often and if you don't jump on them you might regret it forever." The new cellar, which looks to be at least five times the size of his old digs in Ampuis, will allow him to be far more efficient in processing fruit and staging rackings and bottling, he told me, which means that making all that additional wine will be far less burdensome than things are right now, with smaller production. Ogier has introduced an entry-level Côte-Rôtie, by the way, and he told me that this will allow him to make an even more strict selection for his upper-tier bottlings as well as be able to offer a lower-priced wine that will provide for early drinking.

Now fully settled into his massive new winery at the southern end of Ampuis, Stéphane Ogier can handle his growing portfolio of wines far more efficiently than he could in his old cellar. (That facility, which is next to his parents' home on the west side of the railroad tracks smack in the middle of Ampuis, is now mostly used for equipment storage, but given Ogier's appetite for new vineyards, I suspect it will soon come in handy for bottle storage as well.) The Belle Hélène and Lancement bottlings will not be made in 2014, so severely low were the yields and strict selections in the vineyards and at the sorting table.

I tasted this year's set of wines in Ogier's spacious new cellar at the southern end of Ampuis, just across the road from the massive Vidal-Fleury winery and with a fantastic view of the Côte Blonde--and, especially, Ogier's beloved Lancement vineyard. Production here has exploded in recent years as Stéphane has been on a vineyard acquisition tear of late, picking up land in Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu, as well as in the southern Rhône. He admits that he's taking on a lot of work but said that "great vineyards don't come up for sale very often and if you don't jump on them you might regret it forever." The new cellar, which looks to be at least five times the size of his old digs in Ampuis, will allow him to be far more efficient in processing fruit and staging rackings and bottling, he told me, which means that making all that additional wine will be far less burdensome than things are right now, with smaller production. Ogier has introduced an entry-level Côte-Rôtie, by the way, and he told me that this will allow him to make an even more strict selection for his upper-tier bottlings as well as be able to offer a lower-priced wine that will provide for early drinking.

Stephane Ogiercompared the 2012 vintage for Cote-Rotie to 2010 in terms of power."But 2010 absolutely has a lot more tannic structure and needs patience, while the '12s will open up sooner," he told me.He believes that at the top end 2012 can be as good as 2010 "but overall that's not the case.With 2010 you were able to make excellent wines everywhere, even from young vines and less great terroirs." While Ogier likes 2011, he readily admits that he thinks that the wines will be best on the young side, explaining that they are "a lot like the 2006s but less ripe, with more herbal character and firmness but maybe better balance."The biggest challenge he faced in 2011, he added, was that yields were naturally high "and if you didn't control that you'd get green character."Ogier opened bottles of his mind-altering 2010 La Belle Helene and Lancement at the end of our session and I was especially struck by how much finesse both wines were showing, the Belle Helene in particular. There's no question that these are both wines to age and I doubt that even a long decanting would do either wine justice at this stage. The Lancement, which I scored 97 points last year, is simply a remarkable wine and one that I'd happily swap one-for-one for my 12-year-old daughter, if anyone was fool enough to offer me the chance.

Stephane Ogiercompared the 2012 vintage for Cote-Rotie to 2010 in terms of power. "But 2010 absolutely has a lot more tannic structure and needs patience, while the '12s will open up sooner," he told me. He believes that at the top end 2012 can be as good as 2010 "but overall that's not the case. With 2010 you were able to make excellent wines everywhere, even from young vines and less great terroirs." While Ogier likes 2011, he readily admits that he thinks that the wines will be best on the young side, explaining that they are "a lot like the 2006s but less ripe, with more herbal character and firmness but maybe better balance." The biggest challenge he faced in 2011, he added, was that yields were naturally high "and if you didn't control that you'd get green character."Ogier opened bottles of his mind-altering 2010 La Belle Helene and Lancement at the end of our session and I was especially struck by how much finesse both wines were showing, the Belle Helene in particular. There's no question that these are both wines to age and I doubt that even a long decanting would do either wine justice at this stage. The Lancement, which I scored 97 points last year, is simply a remarkable wine and one that I'd happily swap one-for-one for my 12-year-old daughter, if anyone was fool enough to offer me the chance.

Stephane Ogier told me that he likes "the texture and the fruit of 2011" and, like a number of other growers, compares the wines to the 2006s, "especially in terms of the tannins." But the 2006s are riper, he went on, "so in a lot of ways '11 may turn out to be more like 2000, but with more power." Ogier's Cote-Roties from '11 clocked in at 12.5% natural alcohol, by the way, which is quite healthy, "but it took a lot of work, especially green-harvesting to keep the yield down, and you had to be patient and harvest late, too." Unlike most of his neighbors Ogier prefers his 2007s to his '11s "but it's early still, so maybe the wines will gain strength, but for now they're between 2006 and 2007 in quality." All that said, he singles out his Lancement bottling from '11 as "a huge success. It's always a feminine wine so it's successful in lighter vintages, when it can really show its character. If the year is too hot then the elegance can get lost, so '11 was great for it."

Stephane Ogier calls 2010 a terroir vintage, like 2007, 2004, 2001 and 1991, "while 2009 is a vintage vintage, where the growing season is more reflected in the wines than the vineyard." He pointed out that with a great 2011 in the making, "there's a trilogy of amazing vintages here that has never been achieved except maybe 1989, 1990 and 1991. Two in a row is considered lucky, but three?" Because 2009 is "a power year" Ogier says that he favors the Belle-Helene over the Lancement in that vintage, explaining that "Lancement does better in years with less heat, where its elegance is featured." Ogier showed me the 2009 Condrieu La Combe de Malleval again since it had just been bottled when I saw it last year. It is aging slowly and still dominated by its minerality, and displaying a touch more floral character than it showed 12 months ago. I think that I underrated it then and would now score it 92; it has very good upside potential.

Stephane Ogier calls 2010 a terroir vintage, like 2007, 2004, 2001 and 1991, "while 2009 is a vintage vintage, where the growing season is more reflected in the wines than the vineyard." He pointed out that with a great 2011 in the making, "there's a trilogy of amazing vintages here that has never been achieved except maybe 1989, 1990 and 1991. Two in a row is considered lucky, but three?" Because 2009 is "a power year" Ogier says that he favors the Belle-Helene over the Lancement in that vintage, explaining that "Lancement does better in years with less heat, where its elegance is featured." Ogier showed me the 2009 Condrieu La Combe de Malleval again since it had just been bottled when I saw it last year. It is aging slowly and still dominated by its minerality, and displaying a touch more floral character than it showed 12 months ago. I think that I underrated it then and would now score it 92; it has very good upside potential.

Stephane Ogier told me that although 2009 was a ripe year, "it's nothing like 2003, for example." He sees similarities to 1999 (an excellent vintage here, by the way) because "the wines are ripe but elegant, with soft tannins that will allow them to be drinkable young or with some age." Ogier opted to bottle only one Cote-Rotie from 2008 and said that his overall production was off by a full third, mostly on account of hail "that completely ruined L'Ame Soeur." On the subject of the differences between Ogier's La Belle Helene and Lancement bottlings, he said he thought it was "a crime to drink Belle Helene young because the whole point of the wine is to be a vin de garde, while the point of Lancement is elegance and finesse." To that end the Lancement no longer gets any new oak ("I don't want the added tannins because the wine is too fine not to be overwhelmed by them") while the Belle Helene is raised in 100% new barriques for the first year, after which it is moved to casks that are two to four years old "because it's a wine that benefits from the structure of the wood tannins." The regular Cote-Rotie is always aged in about one-quarter to one-third new barriques, by the way. Ogier is slowly becoming a player in Condrieu now that he owns almost three hectares there. "I want to make a delicate, feminine style of Condrieu and I'm not afraid to not let the wines go through malo," he told me. "I don't want them to be in the ripe, weighty style that came onto the scene in the 1990s. I prefer mystery to drama." (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Stephane Ogier decided to bottle only one Cote-Rotie from '08 so all of the juice usually designated for the Lancement and Belle Helene bottlings is in that wine. He told me that he vinifies with a percentage of whole clusters "but only in ripe years, because otherwise the stems bring green tannins." He likes the perfume that can be gained by using whole clusters but is wary of going above 50% with them as "that seems to be the amount that gets me the complexity that I want without running the risk of hardening the wine." I continue to sense that Ogier prefers his Lancement bottling to the Belle Helene, and this year he commented that the Lancement is for Burgundy lovers (which he is), while the Belle Helene seems to appeal more to Bordeaux drinkers. At the end of our tasting of the 2008s and 2007s Ogier opened his superb 2006 and 2005 Cote-Rotie line-ups for comparison to the new vintages. "Two thousand five is a dense, powerful vintage that suits the Belle Helene while the elegance of '06 favors the Lancement," he offered-an observation that I share. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Stephane Ogier describes his 2006s as having "the freshness of 2004 but with more density and power. " Although he likes the way the wines are showing now he thinks they will shut down in a couple of years and will then need to be forgotten in the cellar for another five years or so. On the other hand, he believes that the 2004s will always be appealing. As for 2007, Ogier finds the wines "a lot like 2006, and much more fresh and less dense than the 2005s. They're more seamless right now than the '07s but the '07s might turn out to be more complex and intriguing. " Ogier told me that he prefers to harvest viognier early and syrah late. "My favorite white wines are probably rieslings, so I want to make whites that are fine, precise and pure. Besides, finesse is the most important element in good wine, not power. " (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D. C. ) Also recommended: 2007 Viognier de Rosine Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (86).

Stephane Ogier describes his 2006s as having "the freshness of 2004 but with more density and power. " Although he likes the way the wines are showing now he thinks they will shut down in a couple of years and will then need to be forgotten in the cellar for another five years or so. On the other hand, he believes that the 2004s will always be appealing. As for 2007, Ogier finds the wines "a lot like 2006, and much more fresh and less dense than the 2005s. They're more seamless right now than the '07s but the '07s might turn out to be more complex and intriguing. " Ogier told me that he prefers to harvest viognier early and syrah late. "My favorite white wines are probably rieslings, so I want to make whites that are fine, precise and pure. Besides, finesse is the most important element in good wine, not power. " (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D. C. ) Also recommended: 2007 Viognier de Rosine Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (86).

"The 2006s remind me of Burgundy," said Stephane Ogier. "I love their freshness of fruit, while 2005 is big and serious, for cellaring." Ogier kept his 2005s in barrel for 24 months instead of his usual 18 because, he said, the tannins needed some more softening and the material was there to handle it. "It was a year where I had to work very hard to maintain finesse. If you weren't careful you could get wines with roasted character," he explained. As for other recent vintages, Ogier noted that he loves the complexity of 2004. "That's a vintage I'd like to make every year. It reminds me of 2000, with strong pinot character. After about ten years you'll confuse it for something from the Cote de Nuits." His take on the 2003s is that "they are full of ripe fruit but one glass is enough. You need lots of friends to finish a bottle." As of 2007 Ogier will be making a Condrieu, having purchased a parcel of 15-year-old vines in Malleval. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

"The 2006s remind me of Burgundy," said Stephane Ogier. "I love their freshness of fruit, while 2005 is big and serious, for cellaring." Ogier kept his 2005s in barrel for 24 months instead of his usual 18 because, he said, the tannins needed some more softening and the material was there to handle it. "It was a year where I had to work very hard to maintain finesse. If you weren't careful you could get wines with roasted character," he explained. As for other recent vintages, Ogier noted that he loves the complexity of 2004. "That's a vintage I'd like to make every year. It reminds me of 2000, with strong pinot character. After about ten years you'll confuse it for something from the Cote de Nuits." His take on the 2003s is that "they are full of ripe fruit but one glass is enough. You need lots of friends to finish a bottle." As of 2007 Ogier will be making a Condrieu, having purchased a parcel of 15-year-old vines in Malleval. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Stephane Ogier compares his 2004s to 2000, noting that 2004 is "a giving vintage where you can see the elegant, almost pinot character of Cote-Rotie. "(Here is another Cote-Rotie producer with a soft spot for great Burgundy, based on the collection of highly desirable Cote d'Or empties he is amassing in his new tasting room. )"Two thousand five, on the other hand, must be held and allowed time to evolve," he adds. "The concentration demands it. "Ogier is especially excited about his newest wine, L'Ame Soeur, which is made from vines in Seyssuel and planted on schist. Based on my tasting of the 2005 and 2004, this energetic, mineral-driven wine offers impressive suavity and restraint. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D. C. )

Stephane Ogier compares his 2004s to 2000, noting that 2004 is "a giving vintage where you can see the elegant, almost pinot character of Cote-Rotie. "(Here is another Cote-Rotie producer with a soft spot for great Burgundy, based on the collection of highly desirable Cote d'Or empties he is amassing in his new tasting room. )"Two thousand five, on the other hand, must be held and allowed time to evolve," he adds. "The concentration demands it. "Ogier is especially excited about his newest wine, L'Ame Soeur, which is made from vines in Seyssuel and planted on schist. Based on my tasting of the 2005 and 2004, this energetic, mineral-driven wine offers impressive suavity and restraint. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D. C. )

Stephane Ogier is one of the few young rising stars of the Cote-Rotie appellation, having taken the family's wines to another level in recent vintages while starting a small negociant operation on the side. He purchases only grapes, not wine, and pays more for higher-quality fruit. Stephane told me he buys only on the north side of the village of Ampuis because he knows these terroirs better. "Besides, vineyards in the Cote-Blonde require lower yields than the growers are willing to produce," he added. Thanks in part to the success of his negoce wines, Stephane's parents have been able to retire from the fruit business. The Ogiers benefited considerably by being able to quickly chill down the 2003 fruit by leaving it in the cold room that was previously their fruit cellar. Ogier told me that his style of winemaking in 2003 was the opposite of that for the previous vintage. "In 2002 we had a cold summer and a long, slow ripening. So we tried to get maximum extraction of skin components, with no risk of overextraction," he explained. "In 2003, we chilled the grapes for 24 hours before crushing them the next morning. The grapes went into the tank at 4oC. We did a cold soak for a full week, and then we kept the fermentation temperature to 28o and did a very soft extraction to preserve freshness of fruit. "The Ogiers did only a single punchdown or pumpover per day. This address was one of the highlights of my tour of the Cote-Rotie appellation. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D. C.)

Stephane Ogier is one of the few young rising stars of the Cote-Rotie appellation, having taken the family's wines to another level in recent vintages while starting a small negociant operation on the side. He purchases only grapes, not wine, and pays more for higher-quality fruit. Stephane told me he buys only on the north side of the village of Ampuis because he knows these terroirs better. "Besides, vineyards in the Cote-Blonde require lower yields than the growers are willing to produce," he added. Thanks in part to the success of his negoce wines, Stephane's parents have been able to retire from the fruit business. The Ogiers benefited considerably by being able to quickly chill down the 2003 fruit by leaving it in the cold room that was previously their fruit cellar. Ogier told me that his style of winemaking in 2003 was the opposite of that for the previous vintage. "In 2002 we had a cold summer and a long, slow ripening. So we tried to get maximum extraction of skin components, with no risk of overextraction," he explained. "In 2003, we chilled the grapes for 24 hours before crushing them the next morning. The grapes went into the tank at 4oC. We did a cold soak for a full week, and then we kept the fermentation temperature to 28o and did a very soft extraction to preserve freshness of fruit. "The Ogiers did only a single punchdown or pumpover per day. This address was one of the highlights of my tour of the Cote-Rotie appellation. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D. C.)

Stephane Ogier describes 2001 as a very pleasingx000D vintage, higher in sugar than 2000, with riper skins and thus a bit morex000D richness and complexity. But the twox000D years, he adds, are similar in style: both produced balanced wines with good acidity. Ogier told me he prefers the style of thex000D 2001s to that of the 1999s, a vintage that needed repeated rackings in barrelx000D due to its strong reductive tendency. The 2001s, in contrast, were still on their lees yet were showing lovelyx000D purity of fruit in late November. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Stephane Ogier describes 2001 as a very pleasingx000D vintage, higher in sugar than 2000, with riper skins and thus a bit morex000D richness and complexity. But the twox000D years, he adds, are similar in style: both produced balanced wines with good acidity. Ogier told me he prefers the style of thex000D 2001s to that of the 1999s, a vintage that needed repeated rackings in barrelx000D due to its strong reductive tendency. The 2001s, in contrast, were still on their lees yet were showing lovelyx000D purity of fruit in late November. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Stephane Ogier describes 2000 as "a very elegant vintage in a pinot way, a bit like the Cote de Nuits in style. It was critical to avoid overextraction." After the maturing process was blocked by a hot, very dry August, some well-timed rain at the beginning of September quickly sent potential alcohol levels from 10.5% to 12.5%. The domain had eliminated virtually half its fruit in early August, yet still produced a larger crop than in '99 and '98. The Ogiers began the practice of destemming their fruit in 1998; they removed a good 70% of the stems in 2000. Although the Ogiers now do a longer cuvaison to gain fat and material, they stop punching down the cap as soon as the fermentation ends, relying instead on chapeau immerge(submerged cap) and remontage(pumping over) to aerate the must. The domain has also reduced the number of rackings during elevage to a bare minimum, an approach that more and more Rhone Valley producers are taking with grenache as well as syrah, especially when the wines are aged in small, new barrels. "We waited a long time to rack our 2000s," notes Stephane, adding that half of the 2000 cuvees had been racked in June, and the other half not at all. The plan was to bottle the wines with just one or two rackings, compared to four for the larger-scaled 1999s. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Stephane Ogier describes 2001 as a very pleasingx000D vintage, higher in sugar than 2000, with riper skins and thus a bit morex000D richness and complexity. But the twox000D years, he adds, are similar in style: both produced balanced wines with good acidity. Ogier told me he prefers the style of thex000D 2001s to that of the 1999s, a vintage that needed repeated rackings in barrelx000D due to its strong reductive tendency. The 2001s, in contrast, were still on their lees yet were showing lovelyx000D purity of fruit in late November. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Stephane Ogier describes 2000 as "a very elegant vintage in a pinot way, a bit like the Cote de Nuits in style. It was critical to avoid overextraction." After the maturing process was blocked by a hot, very dry August, some well-timed rain at the beginning of September quickly sent potential alcohol levels from 10.5% to 12.5%. The domain had eliminated virtually half its fruit in early August, yet still produced a larger crop than in '99 and '98. The Ogiers began the practice of destemming their fruit in 1998; they removed a good 70% of the stems in 2000. Although the Ogiers now do a longer cuvaison to gain fat and material, they stop punching down the cap as soon as the fermentation ends, relying instead on chapeau immerge(submerged cap) and remontage(pumping over) to aerate the must. The domain has also reduced the number of rackings during elevage to a bare minimum, an approach that more and more Rhone Valley producers are taking with grenache as well as syrah, especially when the wines are aged in small, new barrels. "We waited a long time to rack our 2000s," notes Stephane, adding that half of the 2000 cuvees had been racked in June, and the other half not at all. The plan was to bottle the wines with just one or two rackings, compared to four for the larger-scaled 1999s. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

The Ogiers have bottled their Cote-Roties without filtration since '97, fining only the press wine. They describe '99 and '98 as offering similar levels of acidity, even if '98 had a healthier pH. Still, said Michel Ogier, the '99 has shown a tendency toward reduction in barrel, which he takes as a positive sign. The Ogiers started harvesting about ten days after the ban de vendange in '99, then took a full three weeks to pick. The result is a stunning set of wines, including the most promising example to date of their Cotes du Rhone La Rosine bottling (from 12-year-old syrah vines planted between Ampuis and Condrieu), which underwent a three-week cuvaison with 50% of its stems and shows unusually complex aromatic character and lovely density and vinosity. Michel son Stephane was getting set to leave the day after my visit for a two-week tour of California with his buddy Stephane Montez of Domaine du Monteillet. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Stephane Ogier describes 2000 as "a very elegant vintage in a pinot way, a bit like the Cote de Nuits in style. It was critical to avoid overextraction." After the maturing process was blocked by a hot, very dry August, some well-timed rain at the beginning of September quickly sent potential alcohol levels from 10.5% to 12.5%. The domain had eliminated virtually half its fruit in early August, yet still produced a larger crop than in '99 and '98. The Ogiers began the practice of destemming their fruit in 1998; they removed a good 70% of the stems in 2000. Although the Ogiers now do a longer cuvaison to gain fat and material, they stop punching down the cap as soon as the fermentation ends, relying instead on chapeau immerge(submerged cap) and remontage(pumping over) to aerate the must. The domain has also reduced the number of rackings during elevage to a bare minimum, an approach that more and more Rhone Valley producers are taking with grenache as well as syrah, especially when the wines are aged in small, new barrels. "We waited a long time to rack our 2000s," notes Stephane, adding that half of the 2000 cuvees had been racked in June, and the other half not at all. The plan was to bottle the wines with just one or two rackings, compared to four for the larger-scaled 1999s. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

The Ogiers have bottled their Cote-Roties without filtration since '97, fining only the press wine. They describe '99 and '98 as offering similar levels of acidity, even if '98 had a healthier pH. Still, said Michel Ogier, the '99 has shown a tendency toward reduction in barrel, which he takes as a positive sign. The Ogiers started harvesting about ten days after the ban de vendange in '99, then took a full three weeks to pick. The result is a stunning set of wines, including the most promising example to date of their Cotes du Rhone La Rosine bottling (from 12-year-old syrah vines planted between Ampuis and Condrieu), which underwent a three-week cuvaison with 50% of its stems and shows unusually complex aromatic character and lovely density and vinosity. Michel son Stephane was getting set to leave the day after my visit for a two-week tour of California with his buddy Stephane Montez of Domaine du Monteillet. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Ogier harvested late in '98, getting ripe grapes and ripe stems, according to Stephane Ogier (the fruit here is crushed but not destemmed). As the '98s had little tendency to become reduced, less racking was done. Beginning with the '97 vintage, Ogier has moved his wines into barrel earlier, in some instances finishing the malolactic fermentation in barriques. Ogier's new Belle-Helene bottling, from 50-year-old petit serine vines in Cote Roziers and Cote Brune, gets an extra year of barrel aging (in 100% new oak). The utterly seamless '98 will be among the best five or six wines of the appellation when it is released in 2001. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Ogier harvested late in '98, getting ripe grapes and ripe stems, according to Stephane Ogier (the fruit here is crushed but not destemmed). As the '98s had little tendency to become reduced, less racking was done. Beginning with the '97 vintage, Ogier has moved his wines into barrel earlier, in some instances finishing the malolactic fermentation in barriques. Ogier's new Belle-Helene bottling, from 50-year-old petit serine vines in Cote Roziers and Cote Brune, gets an extra year of barrel aging (in 100% new oak). The utterly seamless '98 will be among the best five or six wines of the appellation when it is released in 2001. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Ogier brought in his fruit in '97 with potential alcohol between 12% and 12.8%, and virtually no chaptalization was necessary. There was also less alcohol lost during fermentation than he had anticipated, an observation I heard at other addresses as well. Beginning with the '97 vintage, Ogier will offer a special cuvee made from 55-year-old Cote Roziers vines and aged in 100% new barriques Interestingly, Ogier describes his '96 as less tannic than '97 and easier to taste, and predicts that this wine will be for drinking before the '97. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)