Domaines Ott Launch Étoile Rosé 2020
The Provencal estate created an extraordinary rosé wine, outside any appellation rules.
2020 is the second vintage launched of Étoile Rosé from Domaines Ott in Provence, France.
Domaines Ott unites three distinct estates and Étoile Rosé was crafted to express the essence of each estate, united in one extraordinary wine. Winemaker Jean Francois Ott said: “We decided to blend the most special cuvée of each estate – this meant the elegance of Château de Selle, the salinity and crisp fruit of Clos Mireille and the structure and the body of Château Romassan.” Indeed, the vineyards are on three different soils: Château de Selle on limestone, Clos Mireille on schist and Château Romassan on marl. The wine is made from 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre.
“We’ve been working for four generations to raise rosé wine to the same level as the best red and white wines in the world,” Ott said. “Étoile is a way for us to remind people that we have three estates and that we really work hard on the quality of our three rosé wines – the flagship of our wineries.”
Experimentation with the Étoile blend started in 2017. In 2018, the decision was made to mature the blend in ceramic vats. The wines are made separately at each of the three estates and not blended together until the January following harvest. This final ageing in ceramic of the blend until bottling in May, “really defines the fruit precisely,” Ott said. “We wanted this rosé to have finesse and fruit without working with wood.” Using ceramic vats gave the desired result: “Exactly what we wanted: body, depth of taste but also freshness and fruit,” is how Ott put it. He is not certain whether the wine will be made every year or only in particular vintages.
Étoile comes in the estate’s iconic bottle, developed by the Ott family in the 1930s and intended for regional use by all Provençal winemakers. This, however, never caught on so the bottle, modelled on a Greek amphora, inadvertently became the hallmark of Domaines Ott.
The wine is declared as Vin de France, thus local appellation rules do not apply, and the winemakers are free to experiment. Étoile retails at around £100/EUR110 a bottle.