Every so often, we arrive in a cellar to taste…and the results leave us absolutely breathless with admiration. Sometimes it’s a grower we know well; on other occasions, it can be someone new, and we know not what to expect. This was the case when we first met Christophe Semaska in 2010, blowing us away with his 2009 Côte-Rôtie.

Back in the day, the Château de Montlys must have been a magnificent site to behold, perched up on the hills of Côte-Rôtie, over-looking the village of Ampuis and, of course, the mighty river that is the Rhône. However, by 1988 the glory days had long gone. And when, in that year, Christophe purchased the rights to make the property’s wine, there weren’t actually any vines – they had disappeared by the end of the Great War, ravaged by disease, with no manpower to stem the tide. Just over 1 hectare was immediately re-planted, and the total is now up to 4. Christophe added a modern cellar in 2011, and the success story continues.