2011 Cotes du Roussillon Bila Haut Occultum Lapidem

Imagining the sweetness and purity of diverse berry fruits found in the corresponding “L’Esquerda” bottling allied to the saline savor of the corresponding “Vignes de Bila-Haut” will give you an idea of what awaits from the glass of 2011 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France Occultum Lapidem (for more about whose sources and vinification consult my review in this report of the 2012). There is, unsurprisingly, at least as much sheer complexity on display here as in any of Bila-Haut’s wine, with mace, vanilla, licorice, wisteria and rowan taking things in a sweeter and spicier direction than found in their other 2011s. Enveloping richness and an almost velvet feel – so fine are the tannins here – make for a soothing finish whose deeply meaty and salty savor hold my salivary glands in thrall, reminding me of the scallop-like sweetness possessed by some of the finest and most minerally-inflected of white wines. This sensational value should drink beautifully through at least 2025. Michel Chapoutier’s Roussillon domaine – for further details on which, consult my report in issue 183 – has garnered well-earned praise as a beacon of Roussillon quality, and while the recent dismissal of this estate’s original winemaker, Gilles Troullier, can scarcely have left either the affected parties or any lovers of wine happy, I suspect that Chapoutier will find a way to maintain Bila-Haut’s position near the apex of regional quality. (For more about this change, and an account of Troullier’s own domaine wines, see under his name in this report.) The 2012 hail that afflicted Maury also ravaged Lesquerde, reducing total production volume at Bila-Haut significantly; and this scourge – along with the generally vine-stressful ripening pattern of the vintage – also influenced the percentage of Syrah (higher) and the quality of tannin (lower) in Chapoutier’s reds. But then, it’s almost unfair to those Bila-Haut 2012 reds to have to be tasted alongside their 2011 counterparts, which offer amazing quality and value even by the quite remarkable standards set at this estate. As for Bila-Haut’s “little” white from 2012, that wine is in a class by itself – how did they do it?! (In addition to the collaboration with Jasper Hill owner-vintner Ron Laughton of Victoria, Australia that is Agly Brothers – whose latest releases are reviewed in this report – Chapoutier has once again rendered Banyuls under his own name and is also bottling inexpensive wines sourced in part from Roussillon under the label “Marius,” releases reviewed in this report under those names.) Importer: H. B. Wine Merchants, New York, NY; tel. (917) 402-0456