Jean Michel Gerin

From one parcel, 1983

The history of Domaine Jean-Michel Gerin began with a single purchase. In 1983, Jean-Michel purchased a plot of land in Côte-Rôtie, and this one transaction is considered the birth of the winery. The first wine was released four years later, in 1987, after he had taken over the family-owned vineyard previously tended by his grandfather, Marcel, and his father, Alfred.

This was followed by a period of establishing the winery's style. In 1988, Les Grandes Places was vinified separately for the first time, followed by La Landonne in 1996. Gerin produced wines by specific vineyard blocks rather than as a single-winery blend.

Following the development of the wines, the facilities were expanded. In the early 1990s, the fermentation room and oak barrel cellar were built; the bottle cellar was completed in 2000, and a new winemaking facility was completed in 2014.

Planting of the La Viallière vineyard began in 2003, and the first bottling took place with the 2009 vintage. In 2018, 30 years after Jean-Michel planted the vines, Côte Bodin was produced as a standalone wine for the first time. Two years later, the family decided to convert all their vineyards to organic farming.

Twenty hectares

Michaël and Alexis Gerin currently cultivate approximately 20 hectares, much of it in and around Côte-Rôtie. While this is not a large scale by most standards, it is considered a substantial amount of farmland within this appellation.

Côte Bodin, La Landonne, Les Grandes Places, and La Viallière are named vineyards, each undergoing a separate fermentation process. All of them are situated on steep slopes rising directly from Rhône, located behind Ampuis.

The word steep is most appropriate. When La Viallière was planted in 2003, this vineyard covered areas with slopes ranging from 40% to nearly 60%, making the use of machinery, let alone most shortcuts, impossible. On such terrain, all work is done by hand, and replanting vines on slopes of this steepness is a process that takes several years before even a single bottle of wine can be produced.

Beyond the red hills, in addition to Jean Michel Gerin, Viognier, a white grape variety grown in this corner of the northern Rhône region, is also cultivated.

The terroir

Côte-Rôtie is the northernmost appellation in Rhône Valley and one of the smallest, with a total area of approximately 320 hectares. Since all grape cultivation here takes place on narrow mountain slopes, individual lieux-dits are considered particularly important.

Climate makes up the other half of the story. At this latitude, the influences of the Mediterranean and continental climates overlap, and this combination produces wines that are tannic and intense yet silky smooth. Gerin deliberately listed these four words side by side when describing this appellation because if even one side of this equation is missing, the wine's appeal is halved.

South-facing slopes, hand-harvesting, and extended aging. Côte-Rôtie has never aimed to produce mass-market wines.

The grape varieties

• Syrah: It forms the backbone of all Jean Michel Gerin red wines.
• Viognier: Sometimes grown alongside other varieties, it is blended in small quantities into red wines to add sophistication, a practice explicitly permitted under the appellation regulations

Viognier is also used to produce this winery's white wines; among these, La Champine is bottled under the name Vin de France and is made entirely from this variety.

The winemaking

The philosophy applied in the wine cellar aligns with the hilltop philosophy, that is, treating each vineyard as a distinct entity to understand its unique characteristics. This approach began in 1988 and has continued to expand with the addition of each new vineyard.

Oak aging has always been part of the Gerin style, and these wines are made to emphasize fruit aromas rather than the weight of tannins. Those who closely follow northern Rhône have long described this winery as producing wines with well-integrated, rich oak notes.

White wines are handled in exactly the opposite way. La Champine Viognier uses no oak barrels at all; instead, the wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, which preserves the varietal character with clarity rather than allowing it to become diluted.

Recently, there have also been changes in cultivation methods. In 2020, the family decided to convert the entire domaine to organic farming, and organic certification has applied since the 2023 vintage. On steep slopes like these, organic farming does not reduce labor; rather, it requires significantly more effort.

The wines

Jean-Michel Gerin's lineup is clearly divided. On one side is Côte-Rôties, a single lieu-dit; on the other are wines produced outside the appellation, including the Viognier white wine and the wine sold as Vin de France.

Cote Rotie la Landonne is produced in one of the appellation's most well-known vineyards and has been vinified separately at this winery since 1996.

Cote Rotie Cote Bodin is the most recently released single-vineyard wine, having been bottled separately for the first time in 2018. The vines themselves are not new at all; they were planted by Jean-Michel approximately 30 years before the first separate vinification took place.

Les Grandes Places and La Viallière are other named vineyards that this domaine vinifies separately, and in addition to Rhône, the domaine has been involved in various projects, including one in Priorat in Spain. The characteristics of the wine vary from vintage to vintage. However, the vineyard plots remain the same.