mystery Provencal brandy--can you help?

[drdawn]

Took my aunt to a Provencal restaurant in Paris and had a wonderful desert based on a rum baba using a Provencal brandy. I asked the waiter the name of the brandy, and, having a serious translation problem, managed to ask him to show me the bottle of the brandy. He produced a bottle and I dutifully wrote it down. It was this.... Domaines Ott Chateau de Selle vieux marc de rose.....

Trying to find it on the internet and i keep getting bottles of rose! The glass was dark so I couldn't see the actual liquid inside. Did we get lost in translation? Was the waiter making a cruel joke? In any case if anyone who knows about these things can make a suggestion as to what this otherwise very good restaurant may have served me it would be much appreciated. I would like to buy a bottle for my aunt for Christmas.

I can't describe the taste other than delicious though I can say it was closer to a deep golden color as opposed to a darker brown....

[jerseydevil]

drdawn, the Domaines Ott Marc de Rose you had is one of my favorite brandies. I try to bring back a bottle whenever I can get to Paris, and it lasts all too short a time. Marc is a rustic local brandy, rather like grappa, made from grape pomace, seeds, and stems left over from the winemaking process--Provence produces lots of rose, and Domaines Ott is one of the larger and more popular producers. I don't know what the Domaines Ott Marc de Rose tastes like in a dessert, but the brandy itself is quite strong, with slightly sweet and very smoky (tobacco) aftertaste that I personally love but is likely to be an acquired taste for most people I would guess. I used to be able to buy it at Fauchon in the Place Madeleine in Paris, but on my last visit there this past August it had vanished. I have never found it here in the states and beleive it is not imported in any large quantity, but you might be able to find it through an importer in New York if you search the web--based on what the last bottle cost me 2-3 years ago and current exchange rates I would guess it would run in the $90-100 range per bottle. If you cannot find it, there is a lot of wonderful marc out there--am sitting her drinking a Marc de Gigondas I bought in August in Languedoc, and it is just great stuff. Happy hunting!

[zin1953]

It's not that much of a mystery . . .

Domaines Ott is a well-known, long-established wine producer in Provence. See http://www.domaines-ott.com/

For specific information on the Marc de Rosé, see http://www.domaines-ott.com/en/nos-vins/v_div_vieuxmarc.php

Their US importer is Maisons, Marques, and Domaines (MMD) -- see http://www.mmdusa.net/

However, I have never seen Domaines Ott's Château de Selle Marc de Rosé for sale in the US. I do not *think* that it is imported. Check out http://www.mmdusa.net/BrandOverview.p...

A call to MMD would give you a definitive answer. They are headquartered in Oakland, California:

MAIN OFFICE
Maisons Marques & Domaines
383 Fourth Street, Suite 400
Oakland, California 94607
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[drdawn]

thanks all...I was confused by the word "rose", and had assumed "marc" meant something related to brand... not used to navigating this stuff. Thank you very much and I will post if they happen to import it.

[drdawn]

Thanks all...I was confused by the words "rose", and "marc" (not knowing about this stuff assumed it meant something related to brand). thanks... will post if they happen to import.

[duck833]

I suspect you had some Marc, kind of like French grappa.

[lindsley]

drdawn, I hope you find out from someone what you had in Paris. Several years ago in St Remy de Provence I bought a bottle of Noix de la Saint Jean, aperitif a base de vin, by Henri Bardouin. I have tried desperately to find it as well, with no luck. Hope someone smart can help you....