Bila-Haut by Michel Chapoutier r.i. Cotes du Roussillon Villages Lesquerde 2018
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Deep, sustained, purplish highlights. Complex and intense; graphite with notes of ink, raspberry and cistus flower. Delicate on entry, growing steadily denser, without aggressiveness, lovely tight tannins. Firm, long lingering, finish; superb violet and white pepper olfactory after-taste.
Pair with shoulder of wild boar in spices.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
While I'm a huge Grenache fan, I always seem to prefer the 100% Syrah R.I. cuvée from this estate, although it's always close. The 2018 Côtes Du Roussillon Villages Lesquerde Rectificando Invenies (RI) reveals a deep purple hue as well as awesome notes of blackberries, blueberries, violets, blood orange, ground pepper, and lavender. These carry to a rich, medium to full-bodied wine with wonderful purity of fruit, silky tannins, no hard edges, and that rare mix of richness and elegance that's the hallmark of great wines. Give this is a decant if drinking any time soon, and it will evolve for 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Almost all Syrah, the 2018 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Lesquerde Rectificando Invenies is incredibly inky yet vibrant in color. It's also a bit stinky at this moment, marked by grilled meat, espresso and black olive aromas. It's full-bodied and firm, intense and savory, richly tannic and impressive. If not that enjoyable on this day, it should still mature into a fine wine.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
Other Vintages
2019-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
Domaine Bila-Haut is owned by the well known Rhone Valley Oenologist, Michel Chapoutier. The name refers to an old farm villa which was built high into the mountain slopes , among some old vineyards. The Domaine comprises 75 hectares of land cultivated under bio-dynamic farming techniques and is characterized by steep pebbly slopes rising from almost 150 meters above sea level. The soil has 3 components…Schiste, Gneiss and Clay, and the Grape varieties are Grenache, Carignan, and of course Syrah. The cool winters and very hot summers combined with little rain, and the drying Mistral breeze during the growing season is perfection for these varietals…in some respects better than in the Rhone Valley. The Domaine is located in the commune of Latour-de-France…just about as close as you can be to Spain, but still be located in France, with a great deal of history related to the Nights Templar, and the Cathar movement, hence the T in the title of the Domaine shaped like the Nights Templar Cross.The wines exhibit the distinctive pepper and spice of Syrah, but are bigger and rounder in the mouth, with great complexity coming from the Carignan and Grenache. Here is A Rhone producer getting the best out of the Terroir in Lanquedoc… a superb combination! And one of the best Wine Makers in France.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
An appellation solely for dry red wines from Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon-Villages is a step up in quality compared to, simply, Côtes du Roussillon. The area is in the northern third of Roussillon, bordered on its southern end by the Têt River, which runs precisely from west to east. Five villages can append their own name to the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages appellation name: Caramany, Latour de France, Lesquerde, Tautavel and the last, south of the Têt River, Les Aspres.
Côtes du Roussillon-Villages red wines are blends made from Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and small amounts of Carignan, Cinsault and the lesser known, Lledoner Pelut (a relative of Grenache).