Why it matters
The producer
Graeme Bott moved from New Zealand to the Northern Rhône in 2010 to discover Syrah. He trained for eight years at Domaine Stéphane Ogier, where he met Julie, who is French born in the Northern Rhône region. After deciding to work together, they founded their domaine in Condrieu.
The estate spans 7 hectares across multiple Northern Rhône appellations, while total land controlled is 30 hectares, with 10 owned and 20 under contract. Annual production is approximately 150,000 bottles. Their early work began with hand planting vines and using their garage as a makeshift cellar.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Ampuis is the domaine's base, with plantings across Condrieu, Côte-Rôtie, Saint-Joseph and Seyssuel. Côte-Rôtie production comes from two parcels in Tupin Semons in the south of the appellation.
The vines are planted sur échalas, with individual stakes paired in an inverted V shape for stability. The domaine works with schist and granite terroir and aims to let those soils express themselves through the wines.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range includes Crozes-Hermitage Rouge and Crozes-Hermitage Blanc alongside Syrah and Viognier from the Northern Rhône. Both Crozes-Hermitage wines are grown on round gravels with silt and sand soils.
Crozes-Hermitage Rouge has an aging potential of 5 years from the vintage. Crozes-Hermitage Blanc is fresh, pure, focused and bright, with pear and white peach fruit, a medium body and a long finish. Its aging potential is 5 to 10 years.