| Region of production: | Côte-Rôtie |
| Winery Location: | Tupin-Semons |
| Year Established: | 1994 |
Vineyard Holdings
6.48 ha
4.5 ha in Côte-Rôtie: 90% Syrah, 10% Viognier
- Côteaux de Semons: 1.2 ha Syrah, planted in 1896 and 1987; 0.3 ha Viognier, planted in 1902;soil is granite (this parcel is also called Bassenon by the locals)
- Côteaux de Tupin: 2 ha Syrah, planted in 1941, 1973 and 1989; gneiss and granite soils
- Tupin: Syrah, planted in 1965; soil is gneiss and granite
- Les Bercheries: Syrah, planted in 1965; soil is gneiss and granite
- Verenay: 0.3 ha Syrah, planted in 1992; schist soil
Top Wines Produced
- Côte-Rôtie: 90% Syrah, 10% Viognier, blended from all parcels. Inaugural vintage 1994.
- Côte-Rôtie “Coteaux de Bassenon”: 90% Syrah, 10% Viognier from Coteaux de Semons
- Côte-Rôtie “Coteaux de Tupin”: 100% Syrah from the old Sérine vines on Coteaux de Tupin
- Côte-Rôtie “Vieille Vigne en Coteaux”: 90% Syrah, 10% Viognier; from the 1896 and 1902 plantings exclusively and only produced in the best vintages
Average Total Production
- 9,600 bottles
Summary
Jean-Michel Stephan is a small organic grower on the slopes of Côte-Rôtie. No chemicals are used in the vineyard, all weed control is done with a pickax, and there is very little sulfur added to the wines. An advocate for the methods of natural wine pioneer Jules Chauvet, Stephan’s Côte-Rôtie “Coteaux de Tupin” is made with no added sulfur dioxide. Jean-Michel Stephan is also an admirer of the old massale selections of Syrah in his turn-of-the-century vines, and he has been replanting the clones in his vineyards with selections of Sérine from his oldest vines. Jean-Michel’s vineyards are so steep that only a quarter of the vineyards can be worked with a horse, the rest is done manually.
Style & Vinification Techniques
The winemaking of Jean-Michel Stephan is decidedly traditional and natural in its approach. Red grapes are not de-stemmed, and the “Coteaux de Tupin” is made following the carbonic maceration method of Jules Chauvet: The grapes are chilled, then kept in a closed tank filled with carbon dioxide where they undergo a slow warming and intracellular fermentation. The last few days of primary fermentation see a few pigeages to finish. The other reds see a shorter cold, intracellular fermentation period, and more warm maceration. All of the wines are aged in older barriques for 18-22 months and are bottled with no fining or filtration; sulfur use is kept to a bare minimum. While the wines of Jean-Michel Stephan can show some of the variability of many “natural” wines, the quality of the terroir usually shines through the “funkier” characters of natural winemaking.
Producer Website: N/A