Ottin is Elio Ottin's estate near Aosta. He bought his first plots between Quart and Saint-Christophe in the late 1980s, when the farm kept apples, vines and livestock, and in 1999 he left his job in the regional offices to work the land full time. The first wines came out under the Ottin name in 2007: Petite Arvine, Pinot Noir and Torrette Supérieur. His son Nicolas joined in 2013 after years of study and work in Italy, France and the New World.
The twelve hectares are split into small parcels between Saint-Denis, Quart and Saint-Christophe, at 600 to 750 metres. The soils are sandy glacial moraine with almost no clay, and only around 500 millimetres of rain falls in a year, so the vines stay dry and healthy. In Saint-Denis, the family's home village, Elio's grandfather Emerico was already growing Pinot Noir in the 1970s. The farming follows organic principles without certification, and the family still grows apples.
Not tasted yet
I haven't reviewed a wine from Ottin yet. They're on my Top 100 list, which is built from awards.