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

The color is a bright pale pink flecked with silver. The nose is enveloping, mineral and dominated by citrus fruit and enriched by aromas of mango, white peach, raspberry and roasted almonds. The palate shows a remarkable continuity. Very intense, it takes on breadth with grapefruit zest and empyreumatic notes and ends with a very long, mouth-watering finish and a touch of liquorice.

A balmy autumn was followed by an equally mild winter. It was the time for manuring our soils and butting up the vines. After enjoying their rest, the vines stirred into life again with a classic budburst in early spring. On the night of 8 April, some of the vines where hit by frost. But nature surprised us by allowing new buds to emerge and bear fruit. The spring was rainy and the start of the flowering was late. The summer was hot, as it has been for almost 10 years, with heatwaves of varying duration and intensity. On 19 August, the grape pickers set to work to harvest the first bunches of Grenache.