Michel & Stephane Ogier

Ogier's wines just keep getting better and better, so if you haven't yet jumped on the Ogier bandwagon, it's time to do so. Michel Ogier, and more recently his son, Stephane, are the leading craftsmen in terms of wines from the steep hillsides north of the old Roman town of Vienne. These are still entitled to only a VDP designation, but current vintages are the finest he has yet produced. ROBERT PARKER

Progressive domaine, in the hands of enthusiastic, switched-on son Stéphane. JOHN LIVINGSTONE-LEARMONTH

Over the last decade or so, Stephane Ogier has raised the bar in just about every way possible for his estate in Côte Rôtie: purchasing new vineyards, replanting existing sites, working hard to develop an AOC for Seyssuel and building a completely new cellar—all the while continuing to produce a bevy of brilliant wines. Today, the estate is unquestionably in the top handful of domaines in the Rhône Valley. JEB DUNNUCK, The Wine Advocate