2019 Domaines Ott "Chateau de Selles" Côtes de Provence Rosé

In the world of wine, rosé has it easy: If it’s pink and pretty, it’s already on its way to being well accepted. Rarely does a rosé jump out of the glass and demand attention. But this one seems to have packaged up a Mediterranean breeze along with the scents of strawberries and garrigue, unleashing it with every sip. My nine-year-old, doing her own independent appraising, said, "It smells warm-not like the wine is warm, but like it comes from a warm place." That place is inland from the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, 345 acres of stony soils and limestone terraces, a remote location Marcel Ott purchased in 1912. Today, cousins Christian and Jean-François Ott tend the vines, working with the backing of parent company Louis Roederer, which funded the building of a new winery at the estate in 2017, designed by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt. All those elements came together in a rosé that channels the place it’s grown in an elegant and understated way, yet with a persistence that speaks to its structure and strength. Impressive now, this will be even better with a year or two in bottle.