Ogier "Le Temps Est Venu" Côtes du Rhône '22

Stéphane Ogier returned to the family domaine in 1997 after studying in Burgundy, joining his father, Michel, to work the family vineyards in Ampuis. He quickly transformed the domaine into one of the benchmark estates in Côte-Rôtie, and today works from a striking winery just south of Ampuis, watched over by the steep terraces of the northern Rhône.

His Burgundian training is important to understanding the wines: Ogier is deeply focused on parcel expression, careful élevage, and precision, with a style that combines polish and detail with unmistakable Rhône character. More recently, he built a second winery in the southern Rhône specifically for wines like “Le Temps Est Venu,” allowing him to work closer to the source of the fruit rather than transporting grapes north.

Ogier’s Côtes du Rhône “Le Temps Est Venu” 2022 is a refined southern Rhône red that applies that same philosophy of precision and balance to fruit from the southern Rhône. As the name suggests, “the time has come,” this bottling represents a new chapter in Ogier’s story: a wine with the generosity of the south, shaped by the finesse of one of the northern Rhône’s great talents.

The wine is a blend of roughly 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, sourced largely from vines in Violès on the Plan de Dieu, with additional fruit from Visan. The vines average 30 to 50 years old and are planted on soils of limestone and blue clay. The grapes are hand-harvested, sorted both in the vineyard and cellar, then spontaneously fermented as whole bunches in concrete. The wine is aged for 10 months in concrete tanks, preserving freshness, purity, and vibrancy while avoiding the heaviness oak can sometimes bring to Grenache-based wines.

It shows notes of black raspberry, red currant, dark cherry, and violet, layered with pepper, dried herbs, and garrigue. Rich but fresh, medium-bodied, with fine tannins and a mouthwatering finish, this stays beautifully balanced and energetic rather than heavy. It is an impressive example of how much pleasure and seriousness Côtes du Rhône can deliver in the right hands, and would be beautiful with herb-roasted lamb or a simple grilled sausage with lentils.