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Published: September 26th 2011
The Riviera is synonymous with summer, glamour and luxury, where the sky is blue and the wine is pink. The name that stands above all others as the champion of Provencal wine, and the most famous of all rosés (Mateus doesn't count)... is Domaines Ott. Thanks to a very kind supplier (Maison Marques et Domaines), my boss being in a good mood after a long lunch, and of course Ott itself, I was invited along with five other England-based wine merchants and sommeliers to visit one of their three estates for two days and one night in the glorious Southern French late summer.
We visited the most picturesque of Dopmaines Ott's estates: Clos Mireille. It is close enough to the coast that the vineyards stop abruptly at a beach filled with sunbathers. Apparently two properties to the west is the official French presidential retreat (the equivalent to Camp David). I didn't see Carla Bruni - apparently her family's gaff in Provence is ever better. Having schlepped it from London that day we weren't expected to do anything too taxing post-lunch, I made good use of the beach... not to mention the estate's outdoor lap pool.
We were being wined
and dined by Christophe Renard the brand manager. Essentially he travels the world promoting the easiest rosé in the world to sell, and he hosts groups of various nationalities in the three vineyards. Apparently Donald Trump and the Chinese PM have both visited - not that I would ever dare to name-drop. We were all very proud when Christophe admitted that groups of English wine merchants were the biggest drinkers.
The meals described in our itinerary as "informal" were particularly impressive. In the evening we were summoned to the kitchen courtyard to see our bouillabaisse being cooked: a huge steel cauldron being cooked over an open fire with eight different types of fish and sea life occasionally bubbling to the surface. During and after dinner Christophe served us an array of wines: the three main rosés, plus reds and whites of various vintages. Last but not least (alcoholic content-wise especially) we polished off a bottle of Domaines Ott eau de vie which chimes in at 51% alcohol. It is fair to say that as English wine merchants we were true to type.
In the morning Christophe gave the sore head brigade a tour of the vineyard and cellars.
He did go some way to giving some explanation as to how a £27 bottle of rosé could manage to be so immensely popular. Domaine Ott has always been at the vanguard of Provencal rosé; its pale colour and iconic bottle shape have been emulated throughout the region. They use the gentlest possible techniques for extracting must (juice) from the harvested grapes. We drank some of this unfermented wine from grenache grapes fresh from the vat - it was cloudy, light purple and sweet. Despite ourselves we actually liked it!
One of the hallmarks of serious-quality wines is that they are hand (not machine) harvested. If you ever try some of the 2011 vintage Clos Mireille rosé, I helped make it! For half an hour or so the smartly dressed wine merchants joined the (rather good-looking) locals in the vineyard for some old-fashioned grape picking. The whole process smacked of tokenism for me considering how much time I spent taking photos rather than actually working, but I somehow managed to avoid a whipping for my blatant laziness.
Back to the house there was time to sneak another “informal” lunch (a five course epic) before piling into a van
and heading to Marseilles airport and thereon to London.
Whenever I try Domaine Ott rosé I will be reminded of where it came from: the sun, the sea, the sand, the vines… and of course the lap pool. Paradise in a bottle!
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