2012 Collines Rhodaniennes, L'Ame Soeur, Syrah de Seyssuel, Stéphane Ogier, Rhône
Critics reviews
Jeb Dunnuck - Wine Advocate #210, Dec 2013
About this WINE
Domaine Stephane Ogier
The Ogier family had been established growers in Ampuis for over seven generations, but it was only in the 1980s that they began vinifying their own grapes. Stéphane joined the family estate in ’97, working alongside his father Michel, before taking over in 2003.
Heralded as the face of the Northern Rhône’s new generation, Stéphane continues acquiring new parcels and trying new techniques. He brings a Burgundian approach to the region’s terroir from his studies in Beaune. He works with multiple lieux-dits, vinifying each separately and using oak sparingly. This allows the characteristics of each to show. He releases many wines as single lieu-dit bottlings later in the year and others he blends, selecting from different barrels to build a style representative of both his vision and the vintage. Stéphane’s latest investment includes vineyards in Rasteau, Cairanne, and Plan de Dieu in the Southern Rhône, bringing his total land-ownings there up to 50 hectares, all destined for his Côtes-du-Rhône offering.
Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes
Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes is a sub-division of the broader regional appellation of Vin de Pays des Comtés Rhodaniens and encompasses wines produced in the Rhone valley.
Yves Cuilleron and Domaine Vins de Vienne (the Yves Cuilleron - Pierre Gaillard & François Villard joint venture) are the star performers in this Vin de Pays appellation, offering red and white wines from Syrah and Viogner. The wines are distinctly modern-styled yet filled with terroir character and show depth of fruit and powerful structure.
Syrah/Shiraz
A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries.
It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness.
South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.
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Description
Best-value Northern Rhône Red
The wines of Seyssuel may currently be classified as Vin de Pays, but I think the quality easily justifies it having its own appellation. No doubt this will happen as some stage; we will be hearing more and more about this emerging area of the Northern Rhône. A floral nose leads to lots of spicy and smoky notes across the palate. Cool, succulent dark fruit with an attractive creaminess, cleansing acidity and an anise finish. A vin de plaisir
Martin Rolph, Private Account Manager
Elegantly styled and full of quality, this strikes an instant sense of complexity with spicy wild strawberries and black cherries on the nose. A bit of hedonistic pleasure isn’t far behind though as the palate is pure and silky smooth, before soft and clean tannins give a very fresh feel to the finish.
Guy Davies, Wine Team
L’Ame Sœur is now recognised as one of the most successful of the Seyssuel projects, that is to say the vineyards that have been revitalised above Vienne on the East side of the River… the subtle differences in aspect and soil (mica-schist in essence) are captured, enticingly, in an example which glories in pavonine complexity on the finish.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer
If one is permitted to assess the quality of a vigneron by the number of eager Antipodean cellar rats helping out at vintage time, then Stéphane Ogier appears to be the man of the moment. If one takes the more traditional approach of assessing quality by analysis of what is in the glass, or what is in the barrel, then he is definitely the man of the moment. He compares it to 2010, which is praise indeed.
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