Ottin
Ottin Pinot Noir L’Emerico
Ottin was founded by Elio Ottin in 1989, who at the age of 23 acquired his first plots of land between the municipalities of Quart and Saint-Christophe. He was handed rough, steep terrain with coarse-grained soil, but with a passion for farming he revived the land to unearth minerals and sandy soils that now create the hallmark terroir of these Valdostan mountain wines. A system pivoting around the environment rather than the land, Ottin’s energy is produced by 100% renewable sources, and in every sip, their wine communicates a history that reflects enrichment, belief in the land, and its producer’s personality.
In 2007, Elio Ottin produced his first vintage of wines, totaling 30,000 bottles that included three types: Petite Arvine, Pinot Noir, and Torrette Superieur. The vineyards are located 650-700 meters above sea level with south-facing exposure and vines (planted between 1990 and 2014) trained on guyot with a density of 8,000 vines per hectare. The following years he added Fumin (a native monovarietal wine) and in 2011 Nuances, a selection of Petite Arvine vinified in large neutral oak barrels. The Fumin vineyards, planted in 2006, are located at 700 meters in altitude with south-facing exposure, and also trained on guyot.
Tasting Notes
Full bright classic ruby red. Fresh ripe wild berries and elderflowers are joined by Mediterranean scrub’s balsamic scents and dark shades of cocoa and cloves. Long, harmonious, and elegant on the palate. A deep, complex, many-sided wine.
Cultivation
Integrated pest control and organic farming wherever possible. The vineyards are fertilized exclusively with manure from their own cows, while winter hay is cut from the meadows surrounding the cow shed.
Vinification
Manual harvest in crates and instant cooling in refrigeration room. Pre-fermentative cold maceration, followed by approximately 10 days alcoholic fermentation with punch down and pump over the cap. The wine is fermented on wild yeast and undergoes malolactic fermentation.
Aging
Maturation lasts 18 months in French oak barriques, afterwards the wine is bottled unfiltered.
APPELLATION
DOC Valle d’Aosta
VARIETAL
100% Pinot Noir
ABV
13.5%
ALTITUDE
650-700 meters
SOIL
Sandy soils
PHILOSOPHY
100% Renewable Energy
AVERAGE AGE
8-32 years
ANNUAL PRODUCTION
3,000 btls