Storia
Family inspiration
Emerico Ottin was the first generation of the Ottin family to produce Pinot Noir. His example provided a central inspiration for the creation of the business, and Pinot Noir L’Emerico was conceived as a lasting tribute to him.
Development of the range
The first vintages of Petite Arvine and Torrette Supérieur were produced in 2007, followed by Fumin in 2008. In 2011, Ottin began producing Petite Arvine Nuances from a small vineyard in Saint-Christophe whose bunches showed a natural predisposition to develop noble Botrytis cinerea.
Pinot Noir L’Emerico debuted with the 2016 vintage. Syrah Non Expedit followed in 2020, and Chardonnay Canto X in 2021. Elio and Nicolas’ shared enthusiasm for Chardonnay gave the decisive impetus to the latter project, conceived as a long-term undertaking based on research, dedication and increasingly precise interpretation of the local terroir.
The former ecclesiastical land
The land associated with Non Expedit and Canto X once formed part of the Church’s property. Following the Kingdom of Italy’s suppression of religious orders and confiscation of ecclesiastical assets, a local family purchased it on advantageous financial terms but faced excommunication for doing so.
The name Non Expedit recalls the Holy See’s prohibition on Italian Catholics participating in national political life. Canto X refers to the tenth canto of Dante’s Inferno and its punishment of heretics—people who challenged the Church’s spiritual and temporal authority. It also marks the tenth wine created by Ottin.
Terroir
Ottin’s documented vineyards lie between 650 and 700 m above sea level. Most have a southern exposure; the Pinot Noir L’Emerico site faces southeast, receiving warmth in the morning and cooler conditions during the evening. This diurnal pattern is considered particularly suitable for Pinot Noir, a variety that does not favor excessive heat.
The vineyard profiles consistently describe morainic and sandy soils. Elevation, substantial temperature variation and long ripening periods are especially important for Petite Arvine. The variety reaches maturity slowly, with harvest generally occurring around the end of September, and the combination of soil and climate is associated with freshness and savoriness.
High summer temperatures and vineyard elevation are also central to Ottin’s interpretation of Syrah as a mountain-grown variety. Across the range, the intended expression emphasizes freshness, tension and mineral or savory character even in warm, dry years.
Vinificazione
All individually documented vineyards are trained to Guyot. Planting density is generally 8,000 vines/ha; the Petite Arvine Nuances parcel is planted at 7,000 vines/ha. Recorded yields range from 50 quintals/ha for Pinot Noir L’Emerico to 90–100 quintals/ha for Petite Arvine, with Fumin at 70 quintals/ha, Nuances at 70 quintals/ha, Torrette Supérieur at 80 quintals/ha, and Chardonnay and Syrah at 70–80 quintals/ha.
Harvesting is carried out by hand in boxes or small crates. Several lots are cooled immediately in a refrigerated room following picking. Fumin requires particular attention because its shoots and flowers are delicate and it is especially susceptible to downy mildew. It is harvested late; after harvest, its grapes are dried for two weeks in warm, ventilated rooms.
Petite Arvine is allowed a long ripening period so that it can benefit from the pronounced temperature variation of the elevated sites. The Nuances parcel is distinguished by its natural predisposition to noble Botrytis cinerea.
Production methods are adapted to the variety and individual vineyard rather than imposed uniformly across the range.
White grapes are pressed as whole clusters. Petite Arvine ferments for two to three weeks at controlled temperature with selected yeasts, then matures for seven months on fine lees in stainless-steel tanks without malolactic fermentation. Petite Arvine Nuances is fermented for two to three weeks at controlled temperature in 20-hl Austrian-oak vessels with selected yeasts. It then spends one year in wood on fine lees and a further year in bottle, without malolactic fermentation. Chardonnay receives gentle whole-cluster pressing, followed by ten days of fermentation in tonneaux with selected yeasts. It matures for one year on fine lees in 300-litre French-oak tonneaux and completes malolactic fermentation.
Red-wine fermentations generally use indigenous yeasts. Torrette Supérieur undergoes a light pre-fermentation maceration, spontaneous fermentation and continuous pump-overs. It completes malolactic fermentation and matures for 12 months in 20-hl Austrian-oak casks. The extraction regime is intended to respect the fruit rather than force concentration.
Fumin ferments spontaneously for three weeks in contact with its skins, completes malolactic fermentation and matures for 12 months in 30-hl barrels. Pinot Noir L’Emerico receives a pre-fermentation cold maceration followed by approximately ten days of alcoholic fermentation, with pump-overs alternating with punch-downs. It completes malolactic fermentation, matures for 18 months in French-oak barriques and is bottled without filtration.
Syrah Non Expedit is fermented with 25% whole clusters using semi-carbonic maceration and indigenous yeasts. It completes malolactic fermentation and matures for one year in 20-hl French-oak casks.
Filosofia
Ottin’s approach centers on interpreting elevated Valle d’Aosta vineyards through variety-specific viticulture and cellar work. Research and dedication are presented as an open-ended process: the objective is to become progressively more capable interpreters of the terroir rather than to treat a new variety or bottling as a finished formula.
Freshness, savoriness, tension and drinkability are recurring priorities. For Petite Arvine, the aim is to preserve the balance between alcohol and acidity and to retain the freshness and salty character associated with the site. For red wines, spontaneous fermentation and measured extraction are used to respect the fruit rather than force concentration.
The range also links contemporary production to family and local history. L’Emerico honors the family member who first produced Pinot Noir, Torrette Supérieur is treated as a connection to Valdostan viticultural history, and Non Expedit and Canto X recall the story of former Church property acquired in defiance of ecclesiastical authority.