Domaine Stephan

Natural wines are a rarity in Côte-Rôtie and those of Jean-Michel Stephan are of exceptional quality. Jean-Michel started in 1991 when he took over 3 hectares of vines to settle is own domaine, with his first vintage being 1994. Today his vineyard is 6 hectares (1.5 hectares being his own vines) among which 4.5 are on the Côte-Rôtie appellation. His biggest plot is located on the slopes of Bassenon while the rest is spread between Tupin, les Bercheries and Verenay. Jean-Michel puts a lot of effort in preserving the fruit’s freshness and elegance and his wines are among the most sought-after in the region.

The vines are farmed organically with biodynamic inspirations. From the beginning, Jean-Michel never used any chemicals in both the vineyard and the cellar and all the new plantations he made have been done with a massal selection of Serine.

Fermentations start with indigenous yeasts and all is done as natural as possible. The wines undergo a carbonic maceration and extractions are cold and very gentle with no punching down. Wines are then aged for 12 to 24 months in old barrels. They’re never fined or filtered. No sulfur is added at any time.