Champin Le Seigneur Côte-Rôtie

Domaine Jean-Michel Gerin is a family owned winery located in the heart of Côte Rôtie, near the village of Ampuis in the Rhône Valley. Hailing from a family of grape growers, Jean Michel established his eponymous winery in 1983, the first in his family to make wine. While he sources much of his fruit from family owned vineyards dating back to his grandfather’s time, he has also purchased land along the way, buying his first vineyard in the famed ‘Les Grandes Places’ in 1988, followed by a second purchase in ‘La Landonne.’ Today, the estate covers a little more than 30 acres in the Côte Rôtie appellation and much smaller plots in Condrieu and the northern Rhône, which Jean-Michel farms alongside his two sons, Michäel and Alexis.

Champin Le Seigneur is affectionately named after the farmer from whom Jean-Michel purchased the vineyard plot. It is a blend of 11 lieux dits covering nine ha: Lezardes, Cognet, Gerine, Bourrier, Fourvier, La Brosse, Cote Bodin, La Taquiere, Fongeant, Verenay and Marsanne. Vines are an average of 30 years old. Grown in red schist and loess soils, both of which allow root penetration as the rock fractures and erodes.

The grapes are hand-harvested and undergo alcoholic fermentation at a cool temperature of 64°F in stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation is inhibited to preserve the wine’s acidity and freshness. The Syrah and Viognier are co-planted and co-fermented, by law. Gerin uses native yeasts for all their wines. Production yields on average 3,500 cs/year. Aged 22 months in barrique (20% new oak).

The Syrah brings in smoke, violets and red fruits. The combination gives the wine a softer entry with underlying power and finesse. Inky ruby with vibrant cherry and black currant aromas are complemented by suggestions of black pepper, violet and olive. Taut and structured on entry, then more open in the mid-palate, it offers red berry and bitter cherry flavors sweetened by a floral pastille nuance and a hint of cola. Shows very good lift and focus on the gently tannic finish, which hangs on with very good, floral persistence.