2020 Côte-Rôtie Champon

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.