At the very top of the hill overlooking the northern Rhône town of Ampuis, you’ll find the modest yet rising-star estate of Christophe Billon. Since 1991, Christophe has crafted honest, authentic Syrah wines from these steep, terraced vineyards. His family’s roots go back generations in Ampuis; the family’s oldest parcel of vines was planted by Christophe’s grandfather in 1942. The family crafts four Côte-Rôtie cuvées, each generously structured and stunningly pure, and each a faithful representation of the power and purity of these “roasted slopes.”

The vineyard ‘La Brocarde’ sits northwest of the village of Ampuis, sitting midslope next to and bordering ‘Côte Brune.’ Steeply graded with vines facing east, the plot’s soils are rich in schist, with some mica, plus veins of iron oxide, highly mineral. Most estate vines are planted in terraces, separated by ancient, dry stone walls.