Some unlikely encounters can transform a life and give rise to an extraordinary adventure. The story of Christophe Semaska and the vines of Château de Montlys in Saint-Cyr-sur-le-Rhône is a perfect illustration. Destroyed by the phylloxera crisis at the end of the 19th century and then abandoned after the First World War, the vineyard had not produced wine for nearly seventy years.

In 1988, Christophe, a native of the region and with no prior experience in viticulture, nevertheless decided to take on this challenge. Driven by unwavering determination, he patiently set about rebuilding the vineyard, stone by stone, and founded Domaine Christophe Semaska. Self-taught, he planted his first hectares of Côte-Rôtie on these steep, ideally exposed hillsides, giving birth to his first cuvées.

Over the years, the estate has continued to grow, enriched by new terroirs and collaborations with winegrowers who share the same commitment to quality. The range has expanded to include other appellations—Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, Rasteau, Côtes-du-Rhône, IGP Coteaux de Vienne, and Vins de France—in a constant pursuit of complexity, balance, and authentic expression of terroir.

In 2019, the estate was joined by Clément Semaska, Christophe’s son and a graduate oenologist from Changins, who brought fresh momentum and initiated the conversion of the entire vineyard to organic farming in 2021.