Stephane Ogier's Belle Helene and Lieux - Dits Cote Rotie + La Combe de Malleval Condrieu. Up To 96+ Points. Northern Rhone At It's Best.

To put it simply, these are right there with the best wines to come out of the Northern Rhone.

COTE ROTIE BELLE HELENE BY STEPHANE OGIER 2013

96+ points – Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, Dec 2016

Bottle Price : $499.00
Case Price : $1,497.00
Winery : Michel et Stéphane Ogier
Wine Region : France (France), Northern Rhône (France)
Bottle Per Case : 3 x 750 ml
Food Pairing : Breads, Cured Meat, Hard Cheese, Red Meat, Roasted Vegetables

“The inky-colored 2013 Côte Rôtie Belle Helene is another beautiful wine that shines more for its purity and elegance than overt power and richness. Black fruits, wood smoke, caramelized meats and hints of beef blood all flow from this full-bodied, mineral-laced, focused and chiseled Côte Rôtie that needs 5-7 years of cellaring and will keep for another 15+ years.”

I am often asked what my favourite wine is. My answer is always the same, and that is that is that wine is situational. So what may be my favourite wine at lunch, may not be my favourite wine at dinner. The weather makes a difference, my mood makes a difference and the company makes a difference to name just a few factors that determine the wines i will drink. With that said, if i had to name just 1 appellation from which i would drink for the rest of my life, there is a good chance that it would be Cote Rotie.

DO NOT FORGET TO SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE LIEUX DITS COTE ROTIE AND THE LA COMBE DE MALLEVAL CONDRIEU. THESE WINES ARE WINNERS.

What Stephane Ogier has done with his Lieux – Dits Cote Rotie series is one of the most interesting and exciting projects to be tackled in the Northern Rhone since Guigal started to make his La La’s. Ogier’s Reserve Cote Rotie is produced from 13 different single vineyard patches of Cote Rotie all vinified separately and blended at the end. What Stephane has done with the Lieux – Dits is to take the oldest vines from the 6 best plots of land and make single vineyard wines. This may cause the overall quality of the Reserve to go down slightly, but these single vineyard wines are some of the best available in Cote Rotie. Not only that, it is really interesting to taste the nuances of the different vineyard sites. All these wines are vinified in the exact same manner. Lieux – Dits roughly translates to localities and particularly, a place that is spoken of.

Ahh Condrieu. Another one of my absolutely favourite appellations. Competing with the best of the White Burgundy and Chablis appellations for the most amazing white wines in the world. Of course, not all Condrieu was created equal. Stephane is there with the 2 or 3 best producers in this appellation. The La Combe de Malleval is an amazing blend from 2 different sites. Fresh, with a beautiful bouquet. Perhaps my favourite thing about Condrieu, is that you do not have to wait to drink it. It drinks better in the 1st year or 2 of its life, than it does down the road.

I will once again point out that Valentine’s day is this Tuesday. It behooves us to make the loved ones in our lives happy! Flowers can only help. Click here to view our flower offer. All flowers will be hand delivered by WineOnline.ca driver’s on Feb 14th. This offer is only available in the GTA.

It is another less than easy winter day outside. I will once again remind that WineOnline.ca is here to make your life easier. Have great wines delivered to your door rather than making a trip out in to the winter nastiness to pick up a bottle or 2 at your local liquor store.

Have a great weekend everyone!

CONDRIEU LA COMBE DE MALLEVAL BY MICHEL ET STÉPHANE OGIER 2015

94 points – Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, Dec 2016

Bottle Price : $74.00

Case Price : $444.00

Winery : Michel et Stéphane Ogier

Wine Region : France (France), Northern Rhône (France)

Bottle Per Case : 6 x 750 ml

Food Pairing : Breads, Cured Meat, Rich Fish, Soft Cheese, White Meat

COTE ROTIE SÉLECTION DE LIEUX-DITS BY STEPHANE OGIER 2013

1 x Bertholon – 94+ Wine Advocate
1 x But de Mont – 91 Wine Advocate
1 x Cote-Bodin – 94 Wine Advocate
1 x Fongeant – 93+ Wine Advocate
1 x La Viallière – 94 Wine Advocate
1 x Montmain – 93+ Wine Advocate