Stéphane Ogier

An Ogier has been growing grapes in Ampuis, Côte Rotie for the past 7 generations. It was only with Stephane’s father Michel that the Domaine started taking its current shape when he started bottling his own wine in 1983 rather than selling it off to the local Co-op.

Stephane joined in 1997 and its under his direction that things really took off with Robert Parker attributing 100 points to several vintages from then on. Stephane also expanded the original estate with vineyard purchases across Northern and Southern Rhône appellations.

They are one of the largest estates in the region at 45 ha of vines and he uses three modern, well-equipped cellars to make his impressive range of wines. He has also invested in buying vineyard holdings in Cairanne, South Rhône as well as Seyssuel just outside Vienne (site of ancient Roman vineyards).

Always considered in the winery, Stephane has reduced the amount of new oak used to age his wines and introduced a variety of barrels such as demi muid, even Austrian oak, into the vinification process. The result is compelling and perfectly timed with the warming impact of climate change, giving us more focused whites and precise, expressive reds.