Domaine de Bila-Haut - Côtes du Roussillon Occultum Lapidem rouge 2018

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Michel Chapoutier, a key and prolific figure in the Rhône Valley wine world, has invested heavily in his Latour de France estate (with over 100 hectares of vineyards, extending into other villages such as Lesquerde, and a few plots on the Côte Vermeille). True to form in his perfectionism, he offers affordable wines that are good value for money.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About wine:

The Côtes de Roussillon Villages Latour de France Occultum Lapidem 2018 offers notes of grilled meat and oyster sauce, followed by raspberries, pepper, and warmth. Medium-bodied to full-bodied, it is ripe but firm, needing about a year to develop structure.

About the estate:

Michel Chapoutier's outpost in Roussillon is a worthy extension of his operations in the Rhône Valley. The emphasis is on the same varieties—Grenache and Syrah, in varying proportions depending on the terroir—and the overall quality is very good, with the single-vineyard selections being particularly noteworthy for their excellence and limited production volumes. "My opinion is that Roussillon is like the northern Rhône in Languedoc-Roussillon," Chapoutier said during our February tasting in the small village of Latour-de-France. He and the rest of his team are very optimistic about the prospects for 2017 and 2018, which they describe as excellent vintages. It should be noted that while Chapoutier mainly produces dry wines in Roussillon, he has not abandoned traditional styles.

Wine Spectator

Jeb Dunnuck

About wine:

The Côtes Du Roussillon Villages Latour De France Occultum Lapidem 2018 is medium-bodied to full-bodied, with lots of blackcurrant, jammy blackberries, crushed stone, and pepper notes. It has wonderful fruit purity, no harshness, and an excellent finish.