Wine Cellar

Wine:  Bila-Haut 'Occultam 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 '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:  Les Vignes de Bila-Haut Blanc

Alluring scents of peony, honeysuckle, musk, pineapple, apricot, and tangerine on the 2009 Cotes du Roussillon Les Vignes de Bila-Haut segue into an oily-textured yet sleek and generously juicy palate. Bitterness of apricot kernel and tangerine rind adds grip to the finish but somewhat cuts off the flow of juices, resulting in only a modest sense of sheer refreshment. Still, this is a gorgeously-scented first effort that will find plenty of favor at table over the next couple of years - and perhaps for longer.

Wine:  Les Vignes de Bila-Haut Rouge

The 2009 Cotes du Roussillon-Villages Les Vignes de Bila-Haut represents a tank-raised blend of Grenache, Carignan, and Syrah from gneiss and schist sites in various parts of the Agly Valley - to that extent like its earlier counterparts - but with the addition of fruit grown on granite in Lesquerde, thus preserving this cuvee's role as a collaboration across the estate's range of sites. Blueberry in fresh and distilled form; fennel and licorice; almond and cherry pit; crushed stone and peat entertain nose and palate, with glyceral richness helping to ameliorate the considerable grain of tannin, and leading to a finish of satisfying length, if not the energy and impeccable balance that characterized the 2007 rendition. This excellent value should drink well for at least the next 2-3 years. (Unfortunately, I was unable to taste the 2008, of which the domaine itself could not find a bottle.)

Wine:  Vin de Pays Blanc

30% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Grenache Blanc, 25% Marsanne & Roussanne, 10% Macabeu, 10% Malvoisie. Yield 19 hl/ha. 30% new French oak 500-litre barrels for between 10 and 15 months, on fine lees. Light filtration before bottling. 13,500 bottles produced. Very pale straw. Starting to develop rather haunting honey-and-smoke tertiary aromas. Real nerve. Masses of acidity and extract. Very long

Wine:  Vin de Pays Rouge

Gamey, soft opulent nose but no hint of simple sweetness. Very exciting with lots of both meat, body and freshness. This year apparently there has been much gentle extraction and whole bunch pressing. A blend of Grenache Noir, Carignan, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon this year but there are plans to omit the Cabernet in future.

Wine:  Muscat d'Rivesaltes

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 Rouge

The Puech Noble 2008 Coteaux du Languedoc – its blend essentially like that of the 2009 – reminds me of Cornas in its aromas of calf liver, ripe cherry, and cassis, to which a bouquet of violet and hibiscus, along with fennel, orange zest, and black tea adds intrigue and allure. Flatteringly glossy in texture; densely but very finely tannic; and (predictably) even more energetic in its sense of fresh-fruitedness and attack than the corresponding 2009, this finishes with bright berry fruit; mouthwatering, lip-smacking savor of salted meat juices; along with persistently wafting floral and herbal perfume. Here is a fine example of the subtlety and elegance Rostaing seeks in his Languedocian red. It ought to be worth following for at least half a dozen years, and like the – to be sure, very differently-styled and -structured – Roc d’Anglade of his neighbor and former partner Remy Pedreno, demonstrates what wonderful opportunities the relatively cool 2008 growing season afforded the terroir(s) of Langlade. (From bottle, the still-complex 2007 tended in an increasingly animal direction and displayed a bit of detached astringency that was absent when tasted before bottling. I rated it on the lower side of my issue 183 projection, though it will still be very well worth following over at least the next 3-4 years.) Charges Apply, Landing March 2012

Drinking period: 2011-2017

Wine:  Le Signal Muscat de Riversal

Wine:  Le Signal Red