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. JLL.
“Jean-MIchel Stéphan is the Independent Spirit of Côte-Rôtie, setting out his stall as the maker of unadulterated, at times innovative wines. He works in a cramped cellar with no adornments or signs around, and most usually it’s children’s toys that are spread around the outside . . . . ‘I make wines on the fruit, without Sulphur,’ he states. ‘I want fruit and maximum freshness’ . . . . The Côteaux de Tupin wine comes from his father’s vineyard, planted in patches in 1941 and then between 1993 and 2000. This is pure Syrah and is in essence a carbonic maceration wine. Whole bunches are kept in a cold chamber for a day at 3°C, and the vat is then saturated in carbonic gas until the cap rises, whereupon the crop is held at 10°C for 20 days to allow intracellular fermentation. There are a couple of cap punchings on the last two days to ensure the sugars have finished their fermentation. Until 2003 this did its malo and ageing in new Allier oak casks over two years. From 2004 half is new oak, half two-year-old wood – a good move . . . . there are around 1,200 [bottles] of the Côteaux de Tupin . . . . The Côteaux de Tupin is Jean-Michel’s favourite: ‘I adore this style . . . that slips down with pretty aromas . . .’” John Livingstone-Learmonth, The Wines of the Northern Rhône, ©2005 |