Domaines Ott
Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards - 2022 Winner
Domaines Ott Étoile
France
Vintage:2020 (Past)
2019 (Past) | 2021 (Past) | 2022 (Past) | 2023 (Current)
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Reviews
Decanter 93 Points
“Very pale, creamy pink. The restrained floral notes of this wine's youth have developed into more evident perfumed Sorrento lemon and orange blossom aromas, a characteristic also found in the Romassan rosé. On the palate, the fruit has developed a creamy soft richness, with white saline-mineral freshness and a long salted lemon tang. As the wine opens up there are notes of ripe, dark redcurrant and sour cherries and bitter almonds with a hint of sweet hazelnuts. Lovely fullness of fruit and great intensity, with a gorgeous lacy elegance and vibrancy.”
Wine Spectator 91 Points
“This elegant rosé offers beautiful aromas of white blossom and orange zest that give way to melon, white raspberry, tangerine and wet stone flavors. A mouthwatering acidity gives this focus, enhancing the purity of flavors with a supple texture that carries into the spicy, heather-laced finish.”
Wine & Spirits 93 Points
“A blend of fruit from all three of the Ott cousins’ estates—Château de Selle and Clos Mireille in the Côtes de Provence and Château Romassan in Bandol—this is full-bodied and spicy. Mostly grenache with 20 percent mourvèdre, with a quarter of the blend vinified in spherical earthenware vats, the wine is rich in red raspberry and cherry flavor, with a little cherry-skin bitterness that points up an earthy savor. Lean and flinty, with a stony minerality, this deserves a decant before serving, or a year or two in the cellar, to show its details.”
The Wine Advocate 94 Points
“An assemblage of 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre blended from three estates (Chateau Romassan, Chateau de Selle and Clos Mireille), 25% of the 2020 Vin de France Rose Etoile was aged in spherical ceramic vessels, while the rest went into stainless steel. It's an extremely pale pink in hue, with coppery inflections, while the nose offers hints of crushed stone, lime zest and grapefruit. Hints of nectarine give the briefest impression of ripeness on the medium-bodied palate, which quickly reverts to bright citrus, a crisp, streamlined feel and a long, zesty finish. It looks as if it could drink well for a few years...”
Vinous Media 95 Points
“Diaphanous pink. Highly expressive, mineral-tinged red berry, honeydew melon and nectarine aromas show excellent focus, and a suave floral nuance emerges with air. Palate-staining peach nectar, raspberry and honeysuckle flavors are given lift and back-end cut by a minerally undercurrent. Concentrated but impressively lithe as well. There’s a resonating mineral quality on the penetrating finish, which leaves behind a lingering floral note.”
Overview
Domaines Ott was founded in 1912 by Alsatian engineer Marcel Ott. Today, the wineries are owned and managed by Champagne Louis Roederer, producing some of the world’s most prestigious wines. These wines are made at three distinctively different estates: Château Romassan (Bandol), Clos Mireille and Château de Selle (both Côtes de Provence).
Étoile reveals the identity of these three Provençal terroirs whilst accentuating their elegance, tension and incredible spirit:
- The schist terroir at Clos Mireille is reflected in the delectable saline character of this cuvée
- The limestone soils at Château de Selle give this wine its finesse
- The calcareous sandstone and sandy marl soils at Château Romassan imbue Étoile with structure and power
Tasting Notes
A very Provençal rosé, very Ott in style yet with its own unique perfection, its own distinctive character. A winemaker’s wine, it explores an unexpected and exciting side of Provence.
The wine as a crystal-clear appearance tinged with pink mother-of-pearl. The captivating first nose is suggestive of grapefruit and vanilla. It then opens up with a lovely lemony and mineral freshness and an explosion of citrus and exotic fruit aromas. The complex ensemble is lifted by touches of wild peach, raspberries and mimosa. The wine is silky, luscious and tangy on entry to the palate, then becomes fuller, fatter and rounder with hints of mango and passion fruit. Its freshness, underpinned by the zesty character of lime and mandarin peel, leads to a saline finish with a subtle peppery persistence.
Harvest Notes
2020 was another year characterised by particularly mild annual temperatures. The average 800mm of rainfall was concentrated mainly from October to March. After a very mild winter, budburst was observed in the first fortnight of March. The mild weather at the end of May ensured that the flowering went off perfectly. The emergence of the clusters was uniform in all the vineyards. June brought long hot days. Due to the healthy conditions, we decided to stop our natural treatments, as well as the ploughing work, to prevent any stress to the vines, which continued along their life cycle, accompanied by hot summer days. Harvest began on August 12th to ensure that the 2020 vintage would have perfect balance and freshness.
Technical Information
Varietals: 80% Grenache & 20% Mourvèdre
Aging: 25% aged in spherical ceramic vats to accentuate the purity of the fruit