The rosé every rosé lover should know: Etoile by Domaines Ott
Rosé may well be the ideal spring wine: as soon as the sun starts shining, I immediately feel like having some. From a featherweight for long, lazy lounge evenings on the beach to more muscular types to accompany a (hearty) meal. And I recently discovered a very special one: Etoile by Domaines Ott.
The name Ott may already ring a bell; it is one of—or perhaps even the most famous—wineries in Provence, and the curvaceous bottle is a frequent sight on the terraces of the Côte d’Azur.
Baby Ott
You’ll also come across Ott increasingly often in the Netherlands. BY.OTT is especially popular. ‘Baby Ott’, as fans affectionately call it, the house’s entry-level wine, is made from grenache, with a touch of cinsault, syrah and mourvèdre. It is a true Provence rosé with that characteristic, beautiful light orangey-pink colour. Clean, elegant, more spicy than fruity, invigorating and refreshing.
Domaines Ott consists of three different Provence estates: Château de Selle, Château Romassan and Clos Mireille. Château de Selle Rosé is made from the same grapes as ‘baby Ott’, but is considerably more complex. The wine has therefore—uniquely!—aged in wood for eight months. The wines are scarce and sought-after, and every year demand exceeds supply.
Cuvee Etoile
But…—ta-da!—Ott recently launched an even more exclusive rosé: Cuvee Etoile. It is the rarest rosé from Provence. Not only is it a unique blend made exclusively from the finest hand-picked grapes from Ott’s three estates—Château de Selle, Clos Mireille and Château Romassan—but, and this is truly unique, it is made solely from so-called vin de goutte: unpressed wine that flows away, running directly out of the vat by gravity.
Making rosé: how it is normally done
To explain why that is so special, here’s a brief explanation of how rosé is made. The simplest way to make rosé is to add a little red wine to white wine. But don’t say anything so banal in Provence, because you’ll be thrown straight into the Mediterranean. This is not permitted here, or in the rest of Europe (except Champagne). Another method is through a saignée or by directly pressing the grapes.
Bleeding or pressing
‘Saigner’ means ‘to bleed’ in French. With a saignée, destemmed grapes soak in their own juice for some time (usually overnight), after which the juice is drained off and undergoes alcoholic fermentation. With direct pressing, unstemmed blue grapes, provided they contain enough colour, are pressed immediately after picking. The grape juice picks up some (red) colour from the skins during pressing and then undergoes alcoholic fermentation. Rosé therefore gets its colour from the pigments found in the skin of the blue grape. The lighter the colour, the shorter the contact between the skins of the blue grapes and the colourless grape flesh—for BY.OTT, for example, this skin contact lasts only 15 minutes.
Rosé to enjoy with food
So much rosé is served on terraces that people sometimes forget it is also a wonderful wine for the table. Much Asian food pairs excellently with it, including spicy dishes, and of course rosé pairs fantastically with the local cuisine. Bouillabaisse is a match made in heaven. (A noteworthy detail: Bouillabaisse originally started as a poor person’s dish made from unsellable fish, but today it is one of the most expensive dishes on the menu at French restaurants!). Etoile is truly a food wine par excellence: you really should eat with it; it only becomes more beautiful that way.
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- Zeetong met scheermes, Japanse perzik & gefermeteerde groene peper
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- Erbij: een glas Etoile 2019: WOW!
Sole with rosé
And well, why not make it two stars straight away, because a star wine deserves that. Onno Kokmeijer of Restaurant Ciel Blue** served it with sole during the spectacular launch of Etoile, accompanied by razor clam, Japanese peach (I had never heard of it; it is green and sweeter than the most delicious peach you’ve ever eaten) and fermented green pepper. An incredible combination!
Treat yourself to a bottle?
Hopefully you’re now convinced that Etoile is a delicious and very special rosé. The only downside to this exceptional wine is that very little of it has been made—and that is subsequently distributed all over the world! Such an exclusive rosé comes with a price tag. A bottle of Cuvee Etoile costs €109.95 and is available here. Be quick! Fortunately, BY.OTT is readily available. And now happens to be the perfect weather for it. Cheers!
Image: Michael Graste
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