Champin le Seigneur Cote-Rotie

Champin Le Seigneur Côte-Rôtie

  • Côte-Rôtie AOC, 
  • Rhône, 
  • france

Latest Awards

  • 93 points Vinous , December 2022
  • 95 points Wine Spectator , February 2022
Background

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.

TERROIR & VINTAGE NOTES

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.

Winemaking & Aging

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).

Tasting Notes

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.

95
Points

A beauty, offering a dark and alluring core of steeped plum and blackberry fruit inlaid with a graphite edge and flanked on both sides by dark bay leaf, cast iron and singed juniper accents. Stays very precise through the finish. Best from 2024 through 2038. —J.M.

Wine Spectator - February 2022

93
Points

Deep violet color. Displays aromas of ripe dark fruits, pungent flowers, cracked pepper and woodsmoke, with a hint of smokiness in the background. Juicy and expansive in the mouth, offering appealingly sweet blackberry and cherry-cola flavors and building spice and smoked meat nuances. Closes very long and smooth, with sneaky tannins adding shape to a repeating dark berry note. -J.R.

Vinous - December 2022

91-93
Points

Vibrant aromas of fresh black/blue fruits and candied flowers are accompanied by suggestions of allspice, licorice and smoky minerals. Juicy and precise on the palate, showing firm cut to the appealingly sweet blueberry, cherry, violet pastille and spicecake flavors. Finishes seamless and long, with sneaky tannins adding shape and gentle grip. One-third new barriques. – J.R.

Vinous - May 2020

Appellation

Côte-Rôtie AOC

grape varieties

95% Syrah, 5% Viognier

Sizes

750ml

technical details
  • ABV: 14%
  • Closure: Cork
winemaker

Jean-Michel Gerin

Domaine Jean-Michel Gerin

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Champin le Seigneur Cote-Rotie Champin le Seigneur Cote-Rotie

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