“The Clos Mireille's 124 acres of vines are planted in schist and clay soils within view of the sea. This wine is reticent at first, though a magnetic hint of salted cherry paste suggests what's to come. Indeed, with a day of air, pithy grapefruit flavors and cinnamon spice come out to play, sliding into sea-salt and floral notes in the finish. It certainly shows its complexity, but the intensity of the flavors doesn't pull it away from restraint. The tannins seemed to stick to my teeth, making my mouth water for simple, fatty pork carnitas, shredded and recrisped, pulled off the hot iron with fresh corn tortillas.”

“Château Romassan sits at the foot of the hilltop village Le Castellet, a few miles north of the Bay of Bandol. The Otts rely on mourvèdre for the bulk of their rosé (this one includes 30 percent cinsault and 15 percent grenache), and, though 2021 was another hot summer here, Romassan’s poor limestone and sandstone soils produced a deeply savory wine. This pale Bandol seems to have inhaled the local scrubland and seaside breezes, presenting that savory edge alongside husk cherry, grapefruit and pale melon flavors. Firm and versatile, it would pair nicely with anything from bouillabaisse to a Niçoise salad; or take it abroad alongside chicken yakitori.”

“Soft and ripe mulberry fruit aromas entice the drinker to a wine which opens out to bruised plums, sloes and wild blackberries. The fruit is creamy, dark and inviting with crunchy red-fruit acidity, leading to long, mouthwatering salinity and inky tannins. Structured sweet oak, warm spice and pepper, plush with extracted bite, showing the transition from youthful charm to complex maturity.”

“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.”

“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.”