The Northern Rhone, one of our favorite destinations for great wines that has not yet been over commercialized! It is so small and changes so infrequently, you step back in time there as the majority of the farming there has to be by hand because of the steep terraces the vines cling to! Sure, some producers flash some modern muscle with technique, but on the whole, the region is steeped in tradition! SO, when something or someone new comes along, it is a BIG DEAL, especially when it is a really good producer on the scene AND a new up and coming sub-region for the appellation.
Ever here of Seyssuel? Well, you will today so keep on reading to see what I am talking about.
ALSO, the white wines here all have their malo fermentations blocked, including the Viognier based Condrieus! The results are fantastic, you get the deep flavors you expect from a white Rhone, but you also have a nice baseline of acidity that does not interfere or overwhelm as the oily textures of white Rhone grapes is also intact, just less pronounced.
First off, the young couple Graeme and Julie Bott are making a name for themselves as their star rises in the North. They both met while working at legendary Côte-Rôtie producer Stephane Ogier. Julie Bott is from a local family and worked on the business side. Graeme Bott, from New Zealand, worked in the vines in the cellars as the winemaker and cellar manager. Graeme also had a stint at Klonakilla, the legendary Australian producer that makes one of Australia’s greatest Syrah that is a direct homage to Côte-Rôtie. From their humble beginnings planting vines by hand and using their garage as a makeshift cellar, they’ve grown their estate into an award-winning property spanning 7 hectares across prestigious appellations like Condrieu, Côte-Rôtie, Saint-Joseph, and Seyssuel, a small area gaining a lot of traction in the region and currently under “Cru” consideration.
We tasted several of their wines last week and were blown away at the sheer quality, precision, and most of all the purity of these gorgeous wines! These are wines from a warm climate and the freshness here is remarkable, each wine is 12-13.5% tops, including the Côte-Rôtie!
We have wines from them UP and down the price spectrum, from the intro to the estate flagship wines from the hallowed appellations! Here is the full list, but I broke it up below per wine into two sections to make perusing this LONG offer easier. Sorry it is SO long but I promise you it is worth the scroll!
ALL WINES ARE US LOW (some by A LOT!) Buy wines HERE
Values
First Flight Syrah VdF 2021 () JLL $31.99/29.99 on 3+
First Flight Viognier VdF 2022 **** JLL $31.99/29.99 on 3+
Mid range
Crozes-Hermitage Rouge 2021 92VM / **** JLL $44.99/41.99 on 3+
Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2021 **** JLL $47.99/43.99 on 3+
Saint-Joseph rouge 2020 *93VM / ()JLL $54.99/51.99 on 3+
Saint-Joseph Blanc 2021 ***** JLL $54.99/51.99 on 3+
The Flagships
Kamaka Syrah 2021 ‘Terroir de Seyssuel’ *94VM/***JLL $87.99/83.99 on 3+
Cornas 2020 94VM $89.99/84.99 on 3+
Condrieu 2021 **()JLL $89.99/84.99 on 3+
Côte-Rôtie 2020 *94VM/***JLL $126.99 /121.99 on 3+
Condrieu Lieu-Dit l’Aleau 2020 ****JLL $137.99/132.99 on 3+
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WINE DETAILS
Crozes-Hermitage Rouge 2021 92VM / *** JLL
$41.99 on 3+
$44.99 reg US Low
Our Tasting Note
Med+ ruby, lighter edges. Med+ nose, cracked peppercorns, fresh red cherry, red plum, spices of licorice and tobacco with violet florals. The palate is med bodied, medium, ripe and supple tannins, the flavor intensity is med+, fresh red to dark red fruits, spices and florals, with a good dose of peppercorn spices. Med+ and pure on the finish.
% of Alcohol: 13.5%
Vineyard: 100% Syrah planted mid-late 2000s from Les Chassis sud at La Roche de Glun, vineyard worked organically
Soil: Round gravels with silt and sand
Winemaking: destemmed, 3-4 day cool crop maceration and steel tank ferment, wild yeasts,
Aging: 10 months in French oak barrels, 10% new, 90% 1-6 year
Aging potential: 5+ years.
*Saint-Joseph rouge 2020 93VM / *()JLL
$51.99 on 3+
$54.99 reg SALE US Low
*comp at $67
% of Alcohol: 13.5%
Vineyard: 100% Syrah planted late 2000s-early 2010s, from granite soils at St Pierre-de-Boeuf & Chavanay
Winemaking: 50-80% destemmed, 3-4 day cool cap maceration and steel tank ferment, wild yeasts
Aging: 15 months in French oak barrels, 10-15% new, 85-90% 1-6 year
Aging potential: 8 to 10 years.
**Kamaka Syrah 2021 *94VM / *JLL
‘Terroir de Seyssuel’
IGP Collines Rhodaniennes
$83.99 on 3+
$87.99 SALE US Low
$94.99 reg
*comp at $105
% of Alcohol: 12.5%
Vineyard:100% Syrah (planted 2017) from 1.6 hectares on schist soils at Seyssuel, Chasse-sur-Rhône, all own harvest,
Winemaking: destemmed, 3-4 day cool crop maceration and steel tank ferment, wild yeasts
Aging: 15 months in used French oak barrels
Aging potential: 10-15 years
Cornas 2020 94VM
$84.99 on 3+
$89.99 reg SALE US Low
$99.99 reg
*comp at $110
% of Alcohol: 13.5%
Vineyard:100% Syrah (planted 2005) in granite soils
Winemaking: 30% whole cluster, 3-4 day cool crop maceration and steel tank ferment, wild yeasts
Aging: 20 months in French oak barrels, 10-15% new, 85-90% 1-6 year
Aging potential: 15+ years
**Côte-Rôtie 2020 *94VM / *JLL
$121.99 on 3+
$126.99 reg SALE US Low
$144.99 reg
*comp at $138
% of Alcohol: 13.5%
Vineyard:100% Syrah, 40-year-old vines in granite and schist soils
Winemaking: 75-85% destemmed, 3-4 day cool crop maceration and steel tank ferment, wild yeasts
Aging: 20 months in French oak barrels, aged 10-15% new, 85-90% 1-6 year 228-litre & 400-litre oak casks
Aging potential: 15-20 years
*First Flight Syrah VdF 2021 () JLL
$29.99 on 3+ / $31.99 reg US Low
*comp at $39!
100% Syrah , 90% destemmed, 3-4 day cool crop maceration at 12°-15°C, 2+ week vinification, wild yeasts, short daily pumping over to keep cap moist, ends at 30°C, aged 5 year 228-litre oak casks 8-9 months
Our Tasting Notes: Fresh, red fruited, dark red cherry, black tea, white pepper, tasty, joyful, easy with a crunch. Medium bodied, medium + palate and finish
First Flight Viognier VdF 2022 **** JLL*
$29.99 on 3+ / $31.99 reg US Low
100% Viognier (planted 2010-15) from loose granite soils on plateau above Condrieu & Ampuis, crop harvested early to preserve acidity, 50% from own or rented vineyards, whole bunch pressing, tank fermented at 18°C, then into 65% 2-3 year 400-litre oak casks, 35% steel vat, max temperature 19°C, raised 9 months, malo blocked
Our Tasting Notes: Floral, fresh for Viognier, some lime, medium body, long, elegant finish
Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2021 **** JLL*
$43.99 on 3+ / $47.99 SALE US Low
$54.99 reg
*comp at $54!
80% Roussanne, 20% Marsanne (early 2010s vineyards) from Les Chassis purchased harvest, 2 day cool decantation, can start fermentation in steel vat, wild yeasts, at 1050 specific gravity into 3-5 year 400-litre oak casks for rest of fermentation, raised 6-8 months, malo blocked
Our Tasting Notes: Asian stone fruits, more mellow, stoney mineral notes, med+ body, med+ palate intensity and finish
Saint-Joseph Blanc 2021 ***** JLL*
$52.99 on 3+ / $56.99 SALE US Low
$67.99 reg
**comp at $70!*
70% Roussanne, 30% Marsanne (av age 15 years) from granite soils at Chavanay & St Pierre de Boeuf, 80% own harvest, 20% purchased harvest, whole bunch pressing, 2 day cool decantation, tank fermented at 18°C until specific gravity 1040, wild yeasts, then into 2-3 year 400-litre oak casks, max temperature 19°C, raised 9 months, malo blocked
Our Tasting Notes: Almond, salt, white plum, floral, med/med+, long finish
**Condrieu 2021 () JLL
$84.99 on 3+ / $89.99 SALE US Low
$99.99 reg
*comp at $110!
100% Viognier (early 2000s), 80% own 1.5 hectare vineyards at Condrieu, Vérin, sanded granite soils on La Caille at Condrieu, 20% purchased harvest, whole bunch pressing, tank fermented at 18°C until specific gravity 1040, then into 3-6 year 400-litre oak casks, max temperature 19°C, raised 9 months, 2-3 gm SO2 to block malo
Our Tasting Notes: Nose is elegant and takes some time to rise, the perfume starts after some agitation and air, hits the spot on the palate, solid mid-palate and med+ finish. Good acidity for the grape, on the finish you get that and the textual notes you expect.
Condrieu Lieu-Dit l’Aleau 2020 ***** JLL*
$132.99 on 3+ / $137.99 reg US Low
$145.99 reg
*comp at $175!
100% Viognier (2016-17) from 0.32 hectare on S-E facing sanded granite soils on L’Aleau at Vérin, touches Château Grillet vineyards, no sun after 18.00 hrs which helps to avoid burnt grapes, fermented, raised 3-4 & 9 year 400-litre oak casks, raised 8 months, malo blocked, spends a year in bottle before release
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Graeme & Julie Bott
Graeme Bott is a New Zealander who came to the Northern Rhône in 2010. Back home he had done wine studies, and worked at Hawkes Bay when he was 17, in the mid-2000s. The next hot variety at Hawkes Bay at the time was Syrah, so that became his focus, drawing him to the Holy Grail, Côte-Rôtie. An old cellar master of Stéphane Montez gave him two addresses there – Montez and Stéphane Ogier, the latter whom he joined, working six months a year there, and six months a year with Tim Kirk of Clonakilla, another skilled Rhône varietal enthusiast and practitioner.
After three years of split tasks, he evolved at Ogier into full-time as cellar master, having met his wife-to-be Julie there. They created their company in 2015, just after the first purchase of brush land, a smidgin, at Condrieu. This is now 0.32 hectare on L’Alleau, in the heart of the old part of the Condrieu appellation, next to Château Grillet, planted in 2016-17 and isssued under its own name for the first time in 2019. It is a signature wine for them, the 2021 a **** STGT wine.
The first vintages were all made with purchased harvest – 2016 3,000 bottles, 2017 6,000 bottles. From 2018 they have used own vineyard harvest, from Seyssuel notably. They also own 0.16 ha of 1989-93 Syrah at Sémons, and have planted on 0.24 hectare on the top site of Lancement, whose first wine is the 2022.
The aim is to arrive at 10 hectares over time - by 2024 the total had risen to nearly 8 hectares. Vintages 2016-2018 were vinified in garages, and from 2019 the Botts have rented the ex-Didier Côte building with much more space at the southern exit of Ampuis.
Elegance is favoured, which means that the whites, mercifully fermented with wild yeasts, are crisp, on the steel, their malo blocked, the Condrieu made in that style, which for me, reguires a little more gras, maybe a day or two more on the vine, even if Graeme likes to bottle early, and allow for a gain in bottle rather than cask. Alternatively, one can set it aside for three years.
The reds are promising, perhaps a little pristine, the two with most character the Seyssuel Kamaka and the first issued in 2022 Côte-Rôtie Fongeant, which was really genuine, with spark and bustle in that year. The Kamaka, 2017 Syrah on a mix of mica-schist, slate & gneiss soils at Seyssuel and Chasse-sur-Rhône, has slotted in at **** or even ***() levels, and mixes iron and floral tendencies. Kamaka is the the Maori word for rock.
The classic Côte-Rôtie has a clean-winded style, the 2020, 2021 and 2022 **** wines. The St Jo red is from granite soils at St Pierre-de-Boeuf & Chavanay, and the best two recent years have been 2022 and 2018; it is more authentic and superior to the Crozes-Hermitage red, which one feels is in the portfolio to cover that sort of market, even if the 2022 was an improvement on previous vintages.
Among the other whites, there is a Kamaka Viognier, first vintage an elegant **() 2022, from 2017 Viognier. Its launch was delayed by a series of frosts and hail in the three years 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Looking to their own vineyards, Julie has been learning to work with a horse, with attention to the soils a natural result of that. The couple are media savvy, and more will be heard from the Botts in a rush.
~John Livingstone-Learmonth
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