From Grenache with a bit of Carignan and roughly one-third matured in larger cask, the Bila-Haut 2009 Cotes du Roussillon-Villages Lesquerde L'Esquerda is grown on granitic soil in the town - high up above the Agly and west of Maury - for which it is named, and where Chapoutier has taken-on considerable acreage. Due to have been bottled in May, it is redolent of fennel, bracken, arbor vitae, and cinnamon behind which well-up ripe purple plum and blueberry that lusciously saturate the palate. Low-toned suggestions of carob and walnut add counterpoint to the herbal and fruit intensity exhibited in a strong, penetrating finish. This ought to prove versatile over at least the next 4-5 years. Michel Chapoutier's Roussillon domaine - for further details on which, consult my report in issue 183 - has taken on considerable additional acreage since I filed that last report, resulting in among other things a fascinating white cuvee in what had previously been an all-red portfolio, and the inclusion of more fruit - in black as well as white - from spectacularly-situated high-elevation, granite-rich, late-ripening sites in Lesquerde, well to the west of Latour-de-France. Gilles Troullier continues to direct vinification as well as viticulture (here biodynamic) like the seasoned maestro that he is. With few exceptions, the wines sing with clarity, purity, and complexity, not to mention performing well above what on the basis of price (save for that of the "v.i.t." cuvee) would deceptively appear to be their station. (For Chapoutier's wines from Banyuls, see under his own name in this report, as that is how those are labeled.)Importer: H. B. Wine Merchants, New York, NY; tel. (917) 402-0456

The Bila-Haut 2008 Cotes du Roussillon-Villages Lesquerde L'Esquerda smells of wisteria; violets; blueberries in fresh as well as distilled form; and also slightly of game and horse sweat, an overall aromatic personality that signals to me brettanomyces, a condition of which I have rarely been the least suspicious at this address. The aromatic themes all have their counterpart on a palate of silken texture but slightly lacking in primary sap or juiciness, just as my diagnosis would portend. This will offer genuine interest and satisfaction in the right culinary context but I would consume it within the next year or so to be on the safe side, lest brett bloom. The Bila-Haut team did not gain control of these vineyards until after the 2008 harvest, which probably goes part way toward explaining why the resultant wine is not at the exceptional level of quality that at this address has become the norm. Michel Chapoutier's Roussillon domaine - for further details on which, consult my report in issue 183 - has taken on considerable additional acreage since I filed that last report, resulting in among other things a fascinating white cuvee in what had previously been an all-red portfolio, and the inclusion of more fruit - in black as well as white - from spectacularly-situated high-elevation, granite-rich, late-ripening sites in Lesquerde, well to the west of Latour-de-France. Gilles Troullier continues to direct vinification as well as viticulture (here biodynamic) like the seasoned maestro that he is. With few exceptions, the wines sing with clarity, purity, and complexity, not to mention performing well above what on the basis of price (save for that of the "v.i.t." cuvee) would deceptively appear to be their station. (For Chapoutier's wines from Banyuls, see under his own name in this report, as that is how those are labeled.)Importer: H. B. Wine Merchants, New York, NY; tel. (917) 402-0456