"Jean-Michel Stéphan, a man who respects and draws inspiration from the past, while also being modern and innovative, created his estate in 1991. It stretches over 4.5 ha in the Côte-Rôtie, including such legendary vineyard sites as Tupin, Semons and Bassenon. His vineyards are made up of 30% Sérine (considered the original stock of Syrah, a pure grape variety which makes wines finer, more full bodied and more complex), 10% Viognier and 60% Syrah, a cloned variety in this case. In terms of viticulture, ploughing is done by horse when possible (otherwise… with a hoe!), and soils are fertilized with natural compost. The goal here is to make natural wines, thus vinifications are done without sulfur, with whole bunches, followed by ageing in old barrels. Jean-Michel makes a few bottles of Condrieu and some Vin de Pays on the side, but his true love is the Côte-Rôtie – indeed there are few vignerons who have committed themselves with such precision and passion to one appellation..." -Cave Pur Jus

With the arrival of the next generation, Jean Michel decided to plant an additional 5 hectares of vines outside of the Côte-Rotie appellation together with his son Romain. They chose to plant a mix of the traditional grapes: Syrah, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Viognier. There are five different vineyards in five different nearby villages - between Chasse-sur-Rhône and Roussillon. The Vin de France wines are all vinified sans soufre in tank with the same natural winemaking philosophy as the Côte-Rôtie, yet released in the spring after six months of aging.