Now over 30 vintages in, Jean-Michel Stephan is a bona fide master of natural winemaking in the Northern Rhone. He has the winemaking chops of peers Michel Gonon and Marcel Juge, and the hallowed terroir of Côte-Rôtie. The wines he crafts mark the culmination of a lifetime pursuit to craft flawless wines with absolutely no additives. Instantly identifiable, they are marked by balance and energy that few in the region can harness. They are, quite simply, transcendent examples of the incredible depth and beauty of Syrah.

Jean-Michel comes from a long lineage of regional farmers. His Grandfather was a successful commercial fruit farmer, with land that stretched up and down the Rhone River. Back then the steep hillside vineyards of the area were considered so unimportant that they were given away for free when flat fertile farmland next to the Rhône river was purchased. This is how the family acquired many of the plots that Jean-Michel works with today, most notably Les Binards!

He could have easily gone into the family fruit and veg business but as a teenager, Jean-Michel caught the wine bug. He left home to work in the vineyards of the Brun family in Beaujolais, where he discovered his passion for vineyards and winemaking. He also formed a lifelong friendship with the young Jean-Paul Brun. He attended agricultural school in Beaujolais where he met Marcel Lapierre and Yvan Métras who along with Brun, were amongst his early mentors in natural winemaking

In 1986, Jean-Michel decided to plant his own vineyards; he had his first harvest in 1991. For the first few years, he sold the grapes off to Guigal, while working as his assistant winemaker. He produced his first wine in 1994. Jean Michel’s wines have always been produced from organically-farmed fruit and vinified with nothing added

This was considered very crazy by his fellow vigneron. After all, no one had ever produced Cote-Rotie like his before. It took him many years (and several wrong turns) to perfect his risky sans sulfites (no added SO2) style. T struggle payed off. In some circles, he is thought of the greatest practitioner working with Syrah and there are few bottles that can convert those skeptical of natural wine so thoroughly as Jean-Michel’s.

The domaine farms five hectares of Côte-Rôtie spread between three different parcels: Côteaux de Bassenon, Côteaux de Tupin, and a tiny plot in Côte Brune. The focus of his holdings is the ancient Syrah clone of Serine, and most of his vines are very old. The estate is certified organic and most plots are raised using biodynamic practices.

Each parcel is vinified separately using carbonic or semi-carbonic maceration depending on the vintage, without the addition of any yeast, enzymes, or SO2. Les Binards comes from the lower part of Tupin and is aged for 12 months in stainless steel tanks while the Couteaux Bassenon spends 24 months in very neutral barrels. Nothing is ever allowed to get in the way of the purity of his exceptional fruit.

It's a wonderful recipe for showcasing terroir: old vines, steep slopes and extremely careful farming. The results are stunningly unique yet traditional wines, balanced between wild forest fruit, savory spice, earthy minerals and mountain herbs. Lower in ABV than is typically the wines are explosively aromatic. They are filled with a vibrant energy that are a testament to the qualities of natural winemaking as well as to the enormous talent of the man behind them.

As you probably know or have already guessed, these wines are exceedingly rare. They transcend the false binary of traditional vs. natural and are sought after by those who love truly great Syrah. These are the types of wines that will leave an indelible memory of the moments spent drinking them.