About Jean-Michel Stéphan

Jean-Michel Stephan comes from a family of market gardeners and fruit growers, so it was through his father and great-grandfather that Jean-Michel learned the lay of the land. When he began, he had only 2 hectares of AOC Côte-Rôtie land that he harvested and sold to the region’s merchant. By 1994, Jean-Michel bottled and marketed his first wines. Eventually Jean-Michel was joined by his two sons, Romain and Dorian, and today Maison Stephan is driven by innovation and tradition—the spirit of the three Stephan’s.

Jean-Michel had long been an admirer of the philosophies of Jules Chauvet, a wine merchant and scientist, whose principle was to create a wine without corrective products. Organic wines, though, were few and far between in Côte-Rôtie, due to steep terrains that are inaccessible to machines, and long, hot days. Despite this, Jean-Michel is one of only two certified organic producers in the region, where from the beginning he has made his Côte-Rôtie without correction nor additives—a true master.

Today the domaine farms 10 hectares of Serine, Syrah, and Viognier. The legendary Serine grape is only grown in Côte-Rôtie, and the rootstock dates back to the early 20th century, where it was never shared outside of the vineyard’s walls. The terrains are tough, so all work is done by hand. Once picked, each parcel is vinified separately using carbonic or semi-carbonic maceration (depending on the vintage), and without the addition of any yeast, enzymes, or SO2.

The wines of Domain Jean-Michel Stephan have an intense purity that make them instantly identifiable, marked by balance and a lifetime pursuit to craft flawless wines with absolutely no additives.