Domaine Stephane Ogier "Le Temps est Venu" (Grenache) red 2018 MAGNUM

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Joe Czerwinski, déc. 2019) : 89/100. A tank-aged blend of roughly 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah (although there are fractions of Mourvèdre and Cinsault), the 2018 Cotes du Rhone le Temps Est Venu is sourced from Plan de Dieu (two-thirds) and Visan (one-third). It's spicy and leathery up front, then opens to reveal notes of ripe cherries and garrigue. It's a solid effort, with silky tannins and a backbone of cranberryish acidity that lingers on the finish. Drink date 2019-2023.

My visit to Domaine Stéphane Ogier occurred the week before many of the 2017s were to be bottled, giving a good view of the wines before they went through the trauma of bottling and (potentially) shut down. It's a vintage that Ogier likes. "We can feel it's a warm year like 2009, but we don't have the powerful tannins like in 2015. Seventeen was more balanced in terms of weather.… It's in the style of 2016 but more charming, more finesse, with a step up in terms of density and intensity over '16." As Ogier owns numerous parcels across the entire slope of Côte Rôtie, barrel-tasting here is challenging but fun and instructive, with Ogier bouncing from barrel to barrel, climbing high into the stacks to pull various samples from his different lieux-dits. The oak seems toned down in recent years, or perhaps the fruit is more assertive. "We could say God is with us the last four years," said Ogier.