Wine Cellar

Wine:  Bila Haut 'Occultum Lapidem'

The Bila-Haut 2008 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France Occultum Lapidem - as usual, a roughly two-to-one blend of Grenache and Syrah vinified in large casks and tank - mingles pungently resinous herbs, tart-edged fresh black fruits, and beef marrow in a context of textural richness yet surprising levity and uncanny sheer refreshment for a red wine. "That's typical for the 2008 vintage after all," remarks Troullier of this wine's freshness, but I am also amazed to realize that it harbors a more-or-less normal alcohol for this cuvee of 14.5%, even though it acts as though there could hardly be much more than 13%. Persistently high-toned evocations of flowers and garrigue herbs as well as a mouthwatering salinity add to the allure and the finish here will leave your tongue delightedly tingling and panting for repeat sips. The pleasure from this amazing value should be replicable for at least the next half dozen years.

Drinking period: 2013 - 2025

Wine:  Bila Haut 'Occultum Lapidem'

From Grenache, Carignan, and Syrah planted in a mixture of gneiss, schist, and chalk, and vinified half each in tank and barrel (demi-muids as well as barriques), the 2009 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France Occultum Lapidem - due to have been bottled in May - is scented with rosemary, sage, blackberry, mulberry, which are joined on a rich, expansive palate by marrow-rich meatiness and a striking, saline, iodine-tinged savor that I can only liken to shrimp shell reduction. (It there's a wine for "surf 'n turf," it's this.) The sense of clarity, brightness, and energy here is utterly infectious and the combination of pure dark fruits, invigoratingly pungent smokiness, and saliva-inducing salinity is bound to induce hunger - among other things for the next sip. Look for at least ten or a dozen years of stimulating acquaintance.

Wine:  Bila Haut 'Occultum Lapidem'

Wine:  Bila Haut 'VIT'

A 60-40 Grenache-Syrah (as well as chalk-clay - schist) blend raised in various sizes of barrel, the Bila-Haut 2008 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France v.i.t is gorgeously-scented with gentian, iris, wild berries, and spice; then delivers a bright melange of fresh black and red raspberry with smoked meat, licorice, cinnamon and tonka nut. Succulently ripe and subtly velvety, with tannins so fine as to nearly disappear, this builds to a finish of vibratory impingement and interactive complexity, all reminiscent of the extraordinary 2006 (reviewed in issue 183) and likely to dazzle for well more than a decade, even if the track record for this cuvee is not yet that long.

Wine:  Bila Haut 'VIT'

65% Grenache from 70 year old vines and 35% Syrah. Tasted assembled from tank after recent racking, the 2009 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France v.i.t (the initials standing for "visitare interiore terrae") smells of fennel, rosemary, juniper, and abundant black fruits. Palate-saturating and caressing, it boasts abundant though fine tannins and a seamless ripeness free of any superficial sweetness. While this lacks the vibrancy or complexity of the corresponding 2008 or its evocative length, let's see what happens once it has settled down from racking and then had time to rest in bottle. It should be a candidate for at least a decade's aging.

Wine:  Les Vignes de Bila Haut Rouge

Young vine Syrah, Grenache and Carignan from Agly valley. this wine is fleshy, well-structured with the warm and savage of soils of the Roussillon area

Wine:  Vin de Pays Blanc

38% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Macabeu, 19% Vermentino, 6% Grenache Blanc & Gris, 2% Malvoisie. Yield 15 hl/ha. 30% new French oak 500-litre barrels for between 10 and 15 months, on fine lees. Light filtration before bottling. 15,253 bottles and 81 magnums produced. Embryonic lemon, honey nose with a hint of wet wool. More obviously Sauvignon than any other vintage. Medium body and not quite as tense as some earlier vintages. Almost fat at the moment. Needs to resolve a bit.

Wine:  Vin de Pays Rouge

Stony, Loire-a-like flint character on the nose, then dry, grainy and tannic on the palate. Crunchy and juicy fruit. Great potential. (

Wine:  Puech Noble Blanc

After surprisingly disappointing showings for Puech Noble’s 2009 and (unbottled) 2010, I was relieved that their 2008 Coteaux du Languedoc white displayed more the combination of richness and refreshment, enticing fruit with floral and mineral nuance that I hope for from this cuvee of Grenache Blanc, Vermentino, and (minority) Viognier. There is a Riesling-like call and response of lime and grapefruit with crushed stone and faintly fusil notes on a silken yet juicy palate, accompanied by an alluring bouquet of orange blossom, iris, and acacia. Even here there is a hint of detached malic tartness in the finish such as I often perceive in Puech Noble’s white, but it scarcely detracts from the overall satisfaction that this wine should continue to deliver for at least another year or two. While slightly less-flattering today than the 2007 was when last tasted in December 2008, this certainly appears to have greater stamina (Tasted alongside, the aforementioned 2007 – which I strongly praised in issue 183 – is now slipping a bit, its minerality turning slightly dank and the fruit falling away slightly in its finish, suggesting that my “2-3 year” aging projection was about right. Rostaing, however, continues to maintain that his white “needs 2-3 years in bottle to show at its best,” and tried to demonstrate this by showing me the 2006 again, which was indeed more expressive than the 2007, but rather bitter in finish now and in my view definitely needing to be drunk.) Charges Apply, Landing March 2012

Wine:  Puech Noble Blanc

Wine:  Puech Noble Rouge

Although my colleague, David Schildknecht, covers the Coteaux de Languedoc region, when I visit Rostaing I always taste his Coteaux de Languedoc Puech Noble, and his 2009 is a blend of 70% Syrah, the rest equal parts Mourvedre and Grenache, and includes 100% stems. A sleeper of the vintage that sells for a song, it is one of those wines I search for on restaurant wine lists when I am traveling as it is a great value. Rich, peppery, blackberry and black currant notes intermixed with notions of kirsch, licorice and tapenade are found in this stunning 2009. The good news is that there are approximately 1,400 cases produced.