Cinsaut Archives -

Domaines Ott Le Chateau de Selle Rose 2023 Review – Flavorful Rose

We take wine recommendations from strangers very seriously.

When we were at an agriturismo in Sicily, we met a lovely couple from the south of France that told us their favorite Provencal rose comes from one specific producer- Domaines Ott. They were adamant about it being the best, so much so that we knew we had to find a bottle.

We were lucky to sample it once at a restaurant, and finally stumbled upon a bottle of the Le Chateau de Selle Rose locally and picked it up despite its high price tag. Although we'll be the first to admit that the price we paid was a bit more than we would've preferred, this was quite the tasty rose!

When studying for WSET Diploma, I leaned heavily on rose wine to fully understand how this wine style is made. One method, rose de saignee, was always rather interesting to me as a portion of red grape juice is bled off the skins during soaking. The bled off portion is made into rose wine, and the remaining wine continues maceration on the skins to extract more color and become a red wine.

Compared to other rose winemaking styles (blending and direct press, for example), rose de saignee is often darker style as a result. The intensity of the color is a dead giveaway in most cases, and one region in particular, Tavel in the Southern Rhone (one of our favorite regions), is historically known as a top producer of rose de saignee wine.

So when I stumbled upon a bottle of Chateau de Trinquevedel Tavel in the store, I knew I had to grab it to give a rose de saignee wine a try.

If you love a good Rhone red blend the way I do, you may wonder if any other regions in the world can make a killer blend that would stand up to these famous French wines.

In South Africa, producer A.A. Badenhorst makes a pretty delicious bottle that packs a bit more of a punch than you'd expect thanks to being a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault plus Tinta Barroca and Touriga Nacional for good measure.

This one certainly did not leave us wanting more for complexity!

If you've read any other wine reviews on our site, you would know we have a soft spot for Chateau Musar from Lebanon. We first had an aged Musar at Wine Bar George in Disney Springs, and have been buying bottles wherever we can find them ever since.

The Chateau Musar 2010 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, and Cinsaut which hits all the things we love about this bottle. Despite enjoying this one in 2021, we think this one could age even more!

Chateau Musar is one of those wineries that we have to buy a bottle of every time we find them in a liquor store- especially the aged bottles which the winery does not release until they are ready to drink (making them somewhat hard to come by).

Our first experience with this winery was enjoying a lovely '98 at Wine Bar George at Disney Springs, and ever since then we've been on the hunt for bottles. We found a great Chateau Musar 2006 at a store locally and struck gold when visiting family in Ohio where we found half case of Chateau Musar 2010 and the Pere et Fils 2012 as well.

We bought one of each, went back to my mom's house, cracked open the 2012, and knew we had to go back to the store the next day to buy more- this Carignan, Grenach, Cinsaut, and Cabernet Sauvignon blend offered everything we love about the winery in an attractive price point as well!

Partida Creus is an interesting winery in Catalunya, Spain, that is run by Italians and uses grapes acquired from old and sometimes abandoned vineyards. These are then farmed organically and produce some seriously delicious natural blends.

Vinel-lo, denoted VN, is a red field blend of six different grapes in various quantities- specifically Grenache, Mourvedre, Tempranillo, Sumoll, Trepat, and Cinsaut. As wines from Partida Creus have initials in a rather recognizable format on the label, it should be noted that they have VN bottles for red (this review), white, and even sparkling- so you may come across any of these if you are simply searching out “Partida Creus VN”.

So, what is the red blend like? Well, this one had a nice complex aroma and was relatively straightforward on the palate.

Our first sample of Lebanon's Chateau Musar came at Wine Bar George while we were on vacation at Disney. At that point in time, Angie had never tried a significantly aged wine, and the 1996 Chateau Musar caught her eye as a splurge sample.

It was, in a word, lovely.

It was there that we learned that Chateau Musar is somewhat unique as a producer in that they do not release their bottles until they are ready to drink. Sometimes these can be young, other times quite old depending on the grape, growing season, and blending choices.

Cut to a year later when we found a bottle of 2006 Chateau Musar at a local store with a three-way blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsaut, and Carignan at a rather respectable price point. Without thinking twice, we bought the store's one and only bottle.

A few months later we cracked it open with our Ah So, gently poured it into our decanter, and snuck a taste while letting it breathe. It was different, naturally, but every bit the high-quality wine we expected.

Our first rose from Provence was the Mathilde Chapoutier Grand Ferrage 2018 which was a blend of many grapes including Grenache, Cinsaut, Syrah, and Vermentino (listed as Rolle).

While this one had a relatively light flavor profile, we enjoyed the bottle of this all the same- especially with a heaping plate of homemade paella!

Domaines Ott Le Chateau de Selle Rose 2023 Review – Flavorful Rose

Chateau de Trinquevedel Tavel 2021 Review – A Beautiful Rose

A.A. Badenhorst Red Blend 2019 Review – Powerful Red

Chateau Musar 2010 Review – Red Fruits, Black Fruits, and Age

Chateau Musar Pere et Fils 2012 Review – A Great Find

Partida Creus Vinel-lo VN 2019 Review – A Delightful Blend

Chateau Musar 2006 Review – A Delightful Aged Red Blend

Mathilde Chapoutier Grand Ferrage 2018 Review – A Lovely French Rose