Domaine Alain Voge

In 1905 Henri Voge, Alain Voge's great-grandfather, crossed the Rhône to settle on the right bank in Cornas, where he bought his first pieces of agricultural land. Between 1905 and 1930 the two Henri Voges, Alain's great-grandfather and grandfather, expanded the family domain in Cornas as fruit merchants and winegrowers, and from 1930 to 1960 Henri and Louis Voge, Alain's father, carried on the family's farming. Alain Voge (1939-2020) returned from Algeria in 1961 and began working with his father. In 1965, assisted by his mother, he took over the management of the farm and the vines, and after a disagreement with a wine merchant he developed the sale of bottled wines. He gave up his work as a nursery owner in 1978 and as a distiller in 1980, after which growing vines and making wine were his sole professional activities. In 1972 he campaigned to defend the winegrowing area against a new zoning ordinance and the spread of urbanisation, and in 1986 he again defended the area of the Cornas appellation, which was threatened by revision. In 1981 he launched a large redevelopment of his Cornas vineyard on the hillsides of Chaillot and La Côte. In 1995 he took on the vines of the Fraisse family's domain on a tenant-farming basis, and in 1999 a new winemaking cellar was built. In 2004 the SARL Alain Voge was established with Albéric Mazoyer as managing director. Michel Chapoutier is an investor and, as of 2022, a partner in the business.

• 1905: Henri Voge settles in Cornas and buys the family's first agricultural land
• 1965: Alain Voge, with his mother, takes over the management of the farm and the vines
• 1980: vines and wine become Alain Voge's sole professional activities
• 1981: redevelopment of the Cornas vineyard on the hillsides of Chaillot and La Côte
• 2000: a new vineyard is planted at 380 metres in the locality of Saint-Pierre, in the highest part of Cornas
• 2004: the SARL Alain Voge is established, with Albéric Mazoyer as managing director
• 2011: a new tasting cellar opens to customers and visitors

Lionel Fraisse is the estate manager. He arrived at the domaine in 2012 after a career in academic publishing, worked as Albéric Mazoyer's right-hand man, and replaced him in 2018 when Mazoyer retired. Fraisse is the nephew of Robert Fraisse, a long-standing friend of Alain Voge. He was elected president of the Saint-Péray AOC in 2024. Laurent Martin joined the estate in 2004 as vineyard manager and also handles winemaking, maturation and bottling; in 2019 Fraisse and Martin vinified their first vintage together as the domaine's leads. Mazoyer, who had previously worked with Jean-Luc Colombo and Michel Chapoutier, began the conversion of the Saint-Péray vineyard to organic growing in 2006.

• Lionel Fraisse: estate manager since 2018, at the domaine since 2012
• Laurent Martin: vineyard manager since 2004, also in charge of winemaking, maturation and bottling
• Albéric Mazoyer: managing director from 2004 until his retirement in 2018
• Marion Couchet: since August 2025, assists with administrative management, sales administration, cellar-door visitors, communications and representing the estate

As of 2022, the domaine farmed 8 ha of Cornas, 4 ha of Saint-Péray and 1 ha of Saint-Joseph, and its winemaking and élevage took place in houses in the heart of the village of Cornas. In Cornas, the Syrah for Les Vieilles Vignes grows at about 200 metres on south-south-east-facing slopes, with roots in old, worn granite known locally as gores; Les Chailles comes from the foot of the granite slopes, where the soils are more fertile. In 2000 a new vineyard was planted at 380 metres in the locality of Saint-Pierre, in the highest part of the appellation. In Saint-Péray, the Marsanne for Fleur de Crussol comes from 80-year-old vines on a south-east-facing slope of granite mixed with limestone colluvium, opposite the Château de Crussol. The Saint-Joseph comes from a very steep, south-facing granite slope at Mauves, replanted from 1999. Les Peyrouses, a Côtes-du-Rhône, combines wine from the domaine's youngest vines, under ten years old, or from trickier terroirs in difficult years, with organically produced wine the domaine buys from a terroir as close as possible to Cornas. The whole estate obtained certification for organic and biodynamic vine growing in 2016.

• Cornas: 8 ha of Syrah on granite slopes, from the foot of the hillsides up to Saint-Pierre at 380 metres
• Saint-Péray: 4 ha of Marsanne, including the 80-year-old vines of Fleur de Crussol
• Saint-Joseph: 1 ha on a steep, south-facing granite slope at Mauves
• 2006: Mazoyer begins the organic conversion of the Saint-Péray vineyard
• 2016: the whole estate is certified for organic and biodynamic vine growing

The Cornas range has four Syrah cuvées. Les Chailles, named from the 2003 vintage, blends grapes from several localities and is matured for 18 months in 228-litre barrels with no new wood. Les Vieilles Vignes, the domaine's oldest wine, was created in the 1970s from vines averaging 60 years old; it is fermented with 20 percent whole bunches and matured for 20 months in 228-litre barrels, 10 percent of them new. Les Vieilles Fontaines comes from 80-year-old vines in the locality of La Fontaine, was first made at the end of the 1980s, and is produced only in exceptional vintages, with 24 months in 228-litre barrels, 15 to 20 percent of them new. Chapelle Saint-Pierre, from the vines of Saint-Pierre, is fully destemmed, matured for 20 months without new oak and made only when perfect balance is achieved. In Saint-Péray, all four wines are 100 percent Marsanne. Fleur de Crussol, first made in 1999, is fermented in 400-litre oak barrels with 20 percent new oak and matured on fine lees for 17 months. Ongrie, first called Cuvée Boisée and then Terres Boisées and renamed for the 2015 vintage, is fermented in 228-litre and 400-litre barrels and matured on fine lees for 13 months. Harmonie, first produced in 2001, is made at low temperature and matured on fine lees in concrete vats for about 8 months. Les Bulles d'Alain is a traditional-method Brut Nature sparkling wine, aged on laths for four years with no dosage. The Saint-Joseph Les Côtes, named from the 2015 vintage, is matured in 400-litre barrels for 16 months with no new barrels, and Les Peyrouses completes the range in the Côtes-du-Rhône.

• Cornas Les Chailles: 18 months in 228-litre barrels, no new wood
• Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes: 20 percent whole bunches, 20 months in barrel, 10 percent new
• Cornas Les Vieilles Fontaines: 80-year-old vines at La Fontaine, exceptional vintages only, 24 months in barrel, 15 to 20 percent new
• Cornas Chapelle Saint-Pierre: fully destemmed, 20 months in barrel without new oak
• Saint-Péray Fleur de Crussol: 400-litre barrels, 20 percent new oak, 17 months on fine lees
• Saint-Péray Ongrie: formerly Cuvée Boisée and Terres Boisées, 13 months on fine lees
• Saint-Péray Harmonie: concrete vats, about 8 months on fine lees
• Saint-Péray Les Bulles d'Alain: traditional method, Brut Nature, four years on laths
• Saint-Joseph Les Côtes and Côtes-du-Rhône Les Peyrouses

In 1987 Alain Voge made his first barrel fermentation of a still Saint-Péray, using the Burgundy technique. Since taking over in 2018, Lionel Fraisse has reduced the use of new oak in both the red and white wines, aiming for what he calls a more 'vertical, fresh style.' Writing in Decanter in 2022, Matt Walls found the domaine's Cornas fruit-forward in youth and, compared to its peers, tending 'towards freshness and definition rather than muscle and heft,' and judged that Fleur de Crussol, once excessively oaky, had become well balanced as the oak was dialled back. Les Vieilles Fontaines scored 97 points from Wine Spectator in both the 2015 and 2016 vintages, and Walls gave the 2017 Les Vieilles Vignes 96 points.

• 1987: first barrel-fermented still Saint-Péray, using the Burgundy technique
• Since 2018: less new oak in both reds and whites under Lionel Fraisse
• Wine Spectator: 97 points for Les Vieilles Fontaines 2015 and 2016
• Decanter (Matt Walls): 96 points for Les Vieilles Vignes 2017

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.alain-voge.com/en/chronology, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/the-team, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/cornas/les-chailles, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/cornas/les-vieilles-vignes, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/cornas/les-vieilles-fontaines, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/cornas/chapelle-saint-pierre, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/saint-peray/fleur-de-crussol, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/saint-peray/harmonie, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/saint-peray/les-bulles-d-alain, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/saint-peray/ongrie, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/saint-joseph/les-cotes, https://www.alain-voge.com/en/cotes-du-rhone/les-peyrouses. Secondary source: Decanter (Matt Walls, 14 June 2022), https://www.decanter.com/premium/domaine-alain-voge-cornas-st-peray-verticals-482264/. Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.