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Johann Michel is a self-taught winemaker, with a long family lineage of vignerons in Northern Rhône. His great-grandfather François Michel was one of the founders of the Cornas appellation in 1938. Johann first discovered his passion for wine while tasting old bottles with his grandfather and his uncle, notable winemaker Robert Michel, who was the fourth generation of the Michel family to work as a vigneron in the village of Cornas.

Johann took over a portion of his family’s estate, making his first vintage in 1997. He now farms 4.17 hectares under the ‘Lutte Raisonnée’ method in the lieux-dits ‘Les Cotes’, ‘Bayonnet’, ‘Chaillot’, and ‘Saveaux’ under the Cornas AOC.

Cornas is one of the smallest appellations in all of France, and is known for its earthy Syrah—the only grape that can be grown on the steep sand, granite, and limestone slopes of the west side of the Rhône River. Because of this verticality, machinery can not be used, so the 40-year-old vines are tended to by hand. The ‘Lutte Raisonnée’ method is mostly organic, but un-certified, and sometimes engages the use of synthetic chemicals. He does incorporate some biodynamic practices, such as using a cooper treatment on the vines.

Johann works to keep his yields low (of which the region is already notoriously low at 33 hl/ha), resulting in intensely concentrated grapes to wines that are a true expression of this powerful terroir. His 100% whole bunch wines are aged in demi-muid barrels for around 15 months, and bottled unfined but lightly filtered.