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

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Michel Chapoutier, a prominent and prolific figure in the Rhône Valley wine industry, has invested heavily in his Latour de France estate (which spans over 100 hectares of vineyards, extending into neighboring villages such as Lesquerde, as well as a few plots in the Côte Vermeille region). True to his reputation for perfectionism, he produces affordable wines that offer excellent value for money.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

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

About the estate:

Michel Chapoutier’s outpost in Roussillon is a worthy extension of his operations in the Rhône Valley. The focus is on the same grape varieties—Grenache and Syrah, in varying proportions depending on the terroir—and the overall quality is very good, with the single-vineyard selections particularly notable for their excellence and limited production volumes. "My view is that Roussillon is like the northern Rhône within 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 the 2017 and 2018 vintages, which they describe as excellent. It should be noted that while Chapoutier primarily produces dry wines in Roussillon, he has not abandoned traditional styles.

Wine Spectator

Jeb Dunnuck

About the wine:

The 2018 Côtes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France Occultum Lapidem is medium-bodied to full-bodied, with plenty of blackcurrant, jammy blackberries, crushed stone, and hints of pepper. It offers wonderful fruit purity, no harshness, and an excellent finish.