Winemaker Notes
The very pale, pearly pink hue is set off by subtle golden tints. The nose reveals a discreet salinity combined with luscious notes of citrus fruit, vanilla, violets and yellow fruit, all carried by an intense minerality. The wine is fresh and energetic on entry to the palate where it shows a taut structure supported by a lovely backbone of white fruit and citrus peel. Mineral notes come to the fore before giving way to a very persistent finish, bringing both sweetness and salinity.
This pairs well with flambéed or glazed monkfish with vegetables, grilled poultry in a sauce, or fruit desserts.
Blend: 58% Grenache, 28% Cinsault, 7% Mourvedre, 7% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Seductive nose of apples, orange rind, ripe lemons and blanched almonds. Medium-bodied with fresh acidity. Supple and juicy with a caressing texture throughout. Harmonious and well-crafted. Vibrant finish. From organically grown grapes.
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Vinous
The 2022 Rosé Château de Selle Cru Classé opens with a striking bouquet, blending dusty dried flowers with ginger, a spritz of lemon and crushed apples. It’s supple and soothing to the senses, with a textural wave of white strawberry, candied orange and sweet inner florals. A core of brilliant acidity maintains a fantastic balance as this tapers off long and potent. A mineral staining and citrus hints tease the taste buds. Please pour me another.
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Wine & Spirits
The Ott family’s story in Provence starts at the Château de Selle, the first property Marcel Ott acquired in 1912. Usually “not approachable” is a death knell during our rosé panels, but while this quiet wine doesn’t offer the most immediate pleasure, it has an arresting, seductive finish. Spicy, floral nuance plays behind lemon-curd silkiness, and there’s a clean, lasting purity that’s impressive. Enjoy it before dinner, taking your time and profiting from a Provençal timetable (i.e., run late and enjoy it).
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Wine Enthusiast
Smoothly textured, this wine with its classic dominance of Grenache and Cinsault is rich. It has a lively backdrop to the ripe red berry fruits that are freshened with orange zest.
In 1896, after a tour of France’s many vineyards, Marcel Ott, a young graduate in agronomy engineering, finally found an estate that inspired him. To set the scene, we are in Provence. The Mediterranean is lapping at the shore a mere stone’s throw away...
In these parts, growing vines is the legacy of ancient times. Alas, a short while before Marcel Ott’s discovery, phylloxera had wreaked havoc on the vines. The land was cheaper, but the vineyards would have to be replanted. The wine had lost a great deal of its soul in the vineyard’s reconstruction. Marcel Ott bought several estates and began renovating them with the determined ambition to create great Provencal wines from noble grape varieties.
Today, 120 years later, cousins Christian and Jean-François Ott dedicate their life to their ancestor’s love for the site. In 2004, Domaines Ott joined Louis Roederer and its fabulous selection of wine craftsmen.
Christian and Jean-François run three estates: Château de Selle, Clos Mireille (both Côtes de Provence) and Château Romassan (Bandol). Each of these properties has its own individual charm and personality. Each can be proud of their extremely elegant rosé, red and white wines.
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
Cotes de Provence is an extensive but valuable appellation that includes vineyards bordering the main Provencal appellations. Its sites vary from subalpine hills, which receive the cooling effects of the mountains to the north, to the coastal St-Tropez, a region mainly influenced by the warm Mediterranean sunshine.
Here the focus is on quality rosé, as it defines four fifths of the region’s wines. Following in the rosé footsteps, a lot of new effort is going into the region’s red production as well. A new generation has turned its focus on high quality Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Carignan. Cotes de Provence white wines, which represent a miniscule part of the region as far as volume, are nonetheless worthy of consideration and can include any combination of Clairette, Semillon, Ugni Blanc and Vermentino.