Stéphane Otheguy Village: Les Côtes D'Arey Appellation: 1.5ha Côte Rôtie Condrieu Saint Joseph Grower: Stéphane Otheguy Downloadable PDF Since 1994, Stéphane Otheguy has leased 1.5 hectares of vineyards from Vincent Gasse that are divided between the three northern Rhône appellations of Côte Rôtie, Condrieu and Saint Joseph. Stéphane left a career in education to study eonology at Macon after which he began working for Vincent Gasse. He spent seven years with M. Gasse farming in the organic and bio-dynamic methods that M. Gasse espoused and in 1994 when M. Gasse decided to retire Stéphane Otheguy took over and began making wine from these same vineyards. M. Otheguy is a member of Nature et Progres, an organization that oversees and certifies organic farming. The vineyards that Stéphane cultivates are among the most difficult in France to farm organically. They are extremely steep and rocky, making the use of machinery impossible and requiring a great deal ofintensive manual labor. His winemaking techniques are traditional or natural. The reds are fermented in open top containers. He has one of wood and one of cement. He does not introduce cultured yeast and fermentations are not controlled. For the extraction of the red wines, the cap is punched down (pigeage). The wines are unfiltered and unfined. Côte Rôtie "Massales" Côte Rôtie “Massales” is produced from 50-60 year old vineyards on the lieu-dits Leyat and Bonivière. The vineyards are planted to the pre-clonal selection of Syrah known locally as Sérine. Only ten percent of the Côte Rôtie vineyards are still planted to this historic plant. Condrieu The Condrieu is produced from a vineyard near the medieval town of Malleval. The vines are pruned to 4 bunches per vine. Both the alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentations are carried out in barrels where the wine matures for at least a year before bottling. The Saint Joseph vineyard is also near the medieval town of Malleval. This is the very northern part of the appellation and the vineyard is particularly granitic. The firmness and structure of this wine show its potential for aging.