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).

Château de Selle is located in the Côtes de Provence appellation, located inland on limestone hillsides, enjoying abundant sunshine. The proportion of stone in the soil is 40 to 50 percent, making it an arid soil and, despite the presence of some extremely fertile clay deposits, yields are low. Château de Selle has an area of 345 acres, of which 160 acres are planted. Year after year, the cultivated area of the estate wins over part of the rocky terrain. The earth is mechanically tilled while retaining a natural balance, the original proportion of stone being maintained after crushing. The crushing process is carried out on a yearly basis.

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.

Once again, the 2022 vintage did not bring much water to our Provençal vineyards. This was very difficult for the vine and was also a real challenge for the winegrower. Over the course of its history, Domaines Ott has evolved to cope well in such conditions. With low rainfall levels up until late June and very high summer temperatures, all of our efforts were focused on keeping our clusters in an environment that was as cool as possible. To obtain perfectly ripe grapes, we were still hoping for some rain before the harvest. This long-awaited rainfall did not arrive until August 17th—coincidentally, the day harvest began. But we did not have just rain, we also had some hail, which was fortunately accompanied by heat and wind. Harvest finished on September 29th. 

This pairs well with flambéed or glazed monkfish with vegetables, grilled poultry in a sauce, or fruit desserts.