Description
The house’s strongest identity is found here in Pinot Noir, another French imported grape variety. It was Elio’s father whose lover affair with great Pinot Noir set the stage for the next generations, uncommon as Pinot Noir was at the time. This is a style that is all about delicacy, weightless long lingering perfume, and spice. It is from Southern facing vineyards at some 2000 feet elevation, 30 year old vines in sandy soils. It is cold macerated for 8-10 days with roughly 10% whole cluster, then aged partly in large conical Austrian oak and part in stainless steel. Elio identifies this as being all about elegance and length, with particularly good tension in 2019. I have to say that this one sounds ridiculously good, one to load up on by the case if $25 Pinot Noir that makes your heart flutter sounds good to you too…….the 2018 was awarded with the highest scoring red wine from Valle d’Aosta in the Italian Espresso guide, for whatever the heck that may be worth to you.
“The Ottin 2017 Vallée d’Aoste Pinot Noir is faithful to the grape and to its high-altitude growing conditions. This is a light and delicate expression with a beautiful embroidery of fleeting and delicate aromas. There are brief scatterings of violet, wild rose, orange, iron ore and licorice. This Pinot Noir stresses the fundamentals of elegance, depth and nuance. It’s just terrific if you have a bottle now with some medium-rare slices of roasted duck à l’orange. This is another terrific value from the talented Elio Ottin.” 94 Monica Larner for the 2017, NOT THE 2019 OFFERED HERE
