Delicious Roussillon Values from Bila-Haut

This post first appeared on the daily wine blog Terroirist.

The Roussillon region of France is full of value. Refreshing rosés, creamy whites, saucy reds and rich sweet wines (vins doux naturels), the adventurous consumer has a lot of options. 

Some of the most widely available bottles come from a Michael Chapoutier project named Bila-Haut. When I first caught the wine bug in the early-2000s, I remember being attracted to these wines based on their interesting labels and low price points. And the juice was good, too. 

I recently tasted through a bunch of new Bila-Haut releases and was impressed with their across-the-board quality and value. At $27, the high-end cuvee, Occultum Lapidem, is really worth seeking out for the cellar. 

These wines were received as trade samples and tasted sighted.  

2013 M. Chapoutier Côtes du Roussillon Bila-Haut Blanc - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon
SRP: $13
Nose shows waxy and honeyed notes on top of lemons and oranges, some sweet white flowers. Creamy body on the palate but some medium acid for balance. The white peach and apricot fruit is matched with whipped honey, peanut shell and some interesting mineral and crushed rock elements. Juicy but not thick, a more reserved style of white Rhone blend (Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris and Macabeu). (87 points)

2013 M. Chapoutier Bila-Haut Rosé - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Vin de Pays d'Oc
SRP: $13
Bright watermelon colored. Nose of wild strawberries, salted margarita, white cherries, roses, very pretty. Fresh and juicy on the palate, a bright and food-friendly aesthetic. I really like the mineral and dried green herb elements to this wine. Chalky, some sugar cane and papaya on the finish. A crowd-pleasing bottle for a by-the-glass list. Cinsault and Grenache. (86 points)

2012 M. Chapoutier Côtes du Roussillon Villages Bila-Haut - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon Villages
SRP: $13
Light purple color. Nose of black cherries and red and black currants thrown into a fire pit, topped with some pepper, rhubarb and bacon fat. Medium-bodied with light-dusty tannic structure, medium-low acid, an easily accessible wine. Flavors of black and red cherries and currants, the fruit is rich but not still fresh and. Notes of black pepper, incense sticks and boiled peanuts add some complexity, hints of earth coming out on the finish. Seems like a no-brainer for grilled meats and veggies or stews. Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. (87 points)


2012 M. Chapoutier Côtes du Roussillon Villages Bila-Haut L’Esquerda - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon Villages
SRP: $23
Lively ruby-purple. Similar aromatic approach to the Occultum Lapidem (dark berries, charcoal, sweet spices) but just a shade less intense aromatically. Black and red currant and cherry fruit (a hint of blueberry), all of it tart and crunchy, but also rich and powerful. A firm, drying tannic presence, and moderate acid, providing structure and balance. Notes of violets, loamy soil, graphite, pickle, leather and allspice maybe? Long and complex, with time to spare. Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. (89 points)

2012 M. Chapoutier Côtes du Roussillon Villages Bila-Haut Occultum Lapidem - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon Villages Latour
SRP: $27
Lively ruby-purple. A bit dense on the nose, but opens up nicely to show blackberries and dark cherries, along with a plethora of non-fruit notes: black licorice, charcoal, lavender and some leather. Firm tannic grip but moderate-low acid helps make it approachable. Lovely elegance to the mouthfeel, this just glides across the palate. The currant and berry flavors are smooth, deeply complex and long, matched by notes of pickling spices, red flowers, white pepper, earth, hints of mushroom, black olive and coffee. Just a complex and lovely Syrah-based wine that could explode with a few more years in the cellar. More depth and cellar potential than the L’esquerda. (91 points)

2001 M. Chapoutier Rivesaltes Domaine de Bila-Haut - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Rivesaltes
SRP: $26/500ml
Nose of raspberry, strawberry jam, rhubarb pie. The tartness of the fruit is matched with the richness of the earth, spice cake, and anise cookie aromas. Smooth and creamy on the palate, this a full-bodied, raspberry jam-driven wine. I also get lots of tart strawberry, rhubarb pie and caramel notes. Initially a bit heavy but settles down with air. Finishes with caramelized sugar, crème brulée and fig paste. Decant, because it’s full of sediment. A fortified Grenache at 16% alcohol. (87 pts)

In the Roussillon, Shifting Lines Between Sweet and Dry Wines

Olivier Pithon produces stunning dry whites and reds from old vines once used
for VDNs, and he makes a compelling case for his vision of the region.'s future.

For generations, Roussillon winemakers have relied on Vins Doux Naturels as their bread and butter. These “naturally sweet wines” are made by fortifying wine with near pure alcohol to arrest fermentation, resulting in a sweet wine with higher alcohol. But as consumers increasingly opt for dry wines, choosing to leave the dessert wines on the shelves, Roussillon is losing some of its sweetness.

Perhaps this is an inevitable swing of the pendulum after decades — even centuries — of many Roussillon winemakers producing a glut of sugary-sweet wines for an eager market. Perhaps, as several Roussillon winemakers told me, a younger generation is choosing instead to sip cocktails. In the face of these changing conditions, growers and winemakers are doing what they always do: adjusting. And based on my experience during a recent trip to the region, they’re doing a damn good job.

The Roussillon, which borders Spain and straddles the Mediterranean coast, produces more than 80% of France’s VDNs, according to the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon (CIVR), a trade group. VDNs are made in a variety of styles, according to the rules of the various appellations, and range from the apricot jam-driven Muscat de Rivesaltes, to the richly sweet reds of Maury and Banyuls. Of the Roussillon VDNs, Muscat de Rivesaltes makes up some 65%. From 1996 to 2012, the average annual yield for Muscat de Rivesaltes was 127,389 hectoliters. But in 2012, according to CIVR data, Roussillon winemakers only produced 108,834 hectoliters.

During a January trip to the Roussillon, I tasted a lot of sweet wines and spoke with several winemakers about the future of the region’s VDNs. Their responses were strikingly similar: the future looks bleak.

Banyuls: sweet, but not easy to sell.

In Montpellier, I dined with Jean-Francois Deu, winemaker and proprietor of Domaine du Traginer. Deu grows Grenache, Carignan, Syrah and Mourvedre in Collioure, a seaside slice of France that abuts Spanish Catalunya. This is traditional Banyuls territory, a centuries-old dessert wine made from fortified Grenache. They’re rich wines with sweet plum, earth and caramel themes. There’s a lot to like about Traginer’s 2011 Banyuls — it’s velvety and sweet, full of structure, complexity and aging potential. Deu still sells some Banyuls, just not as much as his family used to.

When I asked Deu about the future of Roussillon’s VDNs, he laughed. “Sweet wine?” He ran his hand across his throat. “It’s finished.” Deu said importers are afraid to buy VDNs because they don’t think they can sell them. “When I pour this [Banyuls] for people, they like it a lot,” Deu said. “But they don’t buy it.” Whereas with dry wines, he said, people buy them, drink them and come back to buy more.

This dry red is beautiful & food friendly.

Luckily for Domaine de Traginer and other Banyuls producers, they can use the same grapes to make dry red wine under the Collioure appellation. (Banyuls is basically fortified Collioure, as the two appellations share geographical boundaries.) Jean-Francois said his dry reds are selling just fine, and it helps that the Collioure appellation has a good (and I’d say well-deserved) reputation in France and abroad. “If I can sell Banyuls, I will,” Deu said. “If I can’t, I will sell Collioure.”

So, are lovers of Southern French sweetness in trouble? Well, no, not really. There’s still plenty of the sweet stuff to go around.   

Lots of simple, uninspiring Rivesaltes wines are falling out fashion, and they won’t be missed. But those who take it seriously, like stalwart producer Domaine Cazes, are still going strong, and making a case that this sweet and richly historic wine has a future. Cazes has been making sweet Rivesaltes since the late 1800s. In addition to a slew of dry whites, roses and reds, Cazes bottles several sweet wines with various Rivesaltes appellations. During a visit to the estate, I tasted a bunch of Rivesaltes with winemaker Emmanuel Cazes. His 2010 Muscat de Rivesaltes is a simple lychee-driven wine with honey undertones. The Rivesaltes Ambré is made from Grenache Gris grapes that are oxidized as they age for seven years in open wood casks. The 2000 vintage is a nutty wine with balanced sweetness and lots of toasted almond and dried apricot elements. Rivesaltes Grenat is another appellation-specific wine made from fortified Grenache Noir — and Cazes’ is quite tasty.

Domaine Cazes: Carrying the Roussillon VDN torch for 100+ years.

On a tour of the Domaine Cazes cellars, I wandered into a cold, damp room filled with massive old barrels (foudres). The room smelled of wet rocks, dried fruit and brandy. Emmanuel bottles and releases some of this wine periodically, reds, whites, ambrés, all at various stages of a long evolution. Emmanuel poured me some of the Cazes 1978 Rivesaltes, which was a simply beautiful wine, full of life and complex dried fruit, dried flowers and honeycomb notes. The domaine sells about a dozen other vintages of this wine, dating all the way back to 1931. These aged Rivesaltes appear aimed for a niche market of collectors and sugar-toothed enthusiasts, but Cazes’ commitment to traditional sweet wine is clear. They’ll sell VDNs as long as they can.

As I was riding around the areas near Rivesaltes with some representatives from SudVinBio, an association of organic Languedoc-Roussillon winemakers, I saw many vineyards that appeared abandoned. Grasses, wildflowers and windswept bushes had overtaken the old vines and were stealing all the sun. Rusted car parts and construction waste littered many vineyards. I asked our guide about these dystopian vineyard wastelands, and she said that many of them had once been home to Grenache Gris and Muscat grapes, used to make VDNs. Instead of ripping up the vines, apparently some growers just moved on and let nature clean up.

Dry, white, welcome at the dinner table - is
this the future for Roussillon winemakers?

But as producers of sweet wine bail, a group of enthusiastic young winemakers is stepping in. They’re buying up some of these old vineyards and making compelling dry wines.

One example is Domaine Les Conques vigneron Francois Douville. New to the Roussillon region, Douville bought a few plots of gnarled Granche Gris and Macabeo vines which had been used to make sweet Rivesaltes for decades. The grape varieties were all mixed together when they were planted, and Douville co-ferments them all into a dry white blend he calls Boheme. It’s a clean, zesty white with white peach and seashell flavors. The wine is so fresh, vibrant and food-friendly, it’s no wonder Douville chose this route instead of making a VDN.

Olivier Pithon is another Roussillon winemaker who snagged up some vineyards that had long been used to make sweet wine. His LA D18 was one of the most thrilling and surprising wines of my trip. It’s made from old vine Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris and Macabeo, which used to be blended into VDN. I tasted the 2007 and the 2011 vintages of the LA D18, and both were impressive — crisp, clean, citrus-driven wines tinged with mineral and oceanic flavors. Pithon, who is originally from the Loire Valley, chose the Roussillon because of the abundance of old vines (80 to 100+ years old) and the diversity of terroirs. He’s trying to prove that dry Roussillon whites, like the Loire whites he knows so well, can improve in the cellar. He’s making some solid arguments. Looking for a comparison to Pithon’s 2007, the best I could come up with was a good Muscadet with several years on it, although the LA D18 is certainly unique. And considering that the sea is only a few kilometers away from Pithon’s cellars, this dry white makes complete sense to me. It’s made for the table, and it provides a more honest explanation of terroir when compared to the sweet wines I tasted.

Severine Bourrier, winemaker-proprietor of Chateau de l’Ou, is also convinced Roussillon’s future rests on dry wines. We shared dinner in Perpignan, and she told me all about her Syrah and Chardonnay vines south of the city. Here, she said, appellation rules forbid winemakers from making more Muscat than they did the previous year. So, the production of sweet Muscat has only one way to go — down. For Bourrier, this isn’t a bad thing. She wants to represent the Roussillon with wines like her 100% Syrah and 100% Chardonnay, which are bottled under the proprietary name Infiniment and carry a Cotes Catalan appellation. They’re modern wines, made with ripe fruit and new oak, but they’re delicious and I think they could hold up well in blind tastings of similar wines from the New World.

Time will tell whether the market for sweet Roussillon wines will continue to dry up. But, in the meantime, consumers looking for dry, food-friendly, terroir-driven wines have more options than ever. And that’s awesome.

This post first appeared on the daily wine blog Terroirist.

A Chateauneuf-du-Pape Birthday

On my birthday I like to get together with some close friends, pop some corks, drink some wine and tell some stories. And since it's my birthday I get an excuse to let my obsessive side cut loose, and I spend a lot of time gathering wines I think people would enjoy. Well, this year, as I turn 29, I've been thinking a lot about the South of France, and how I need to go there very soon. I'm busy as hell with work and I've got so many other travel plans in the works, but I must get away to Avignon, to Bandol, to Aix and to the Southern Rhone Valley, to the crazy soils of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

I can't help myself when it comes to CdP. Year in, year out, they're just some of the best wines I ever drink. This tasting was a great time to check up some some various vintages within CdP. One thing I love about the wines of Chateauneuf is their ability to translate a vintage into a glass, to interpret each season in a truthful way. Each vintage has a character, an attitude, it's own voice. I know it sounds corny, but I guaranteee, if you taste several vintages of good Chateauneufs side-by-side, you'll get what I mean.

It was interesting to taste many different vintages and discuss the differences with friends. Wine nerds and novices alike attended the tasting, but I think it's fair to say everyone had a blast. Now, the wines...

Opening White

2008 Domaine Raymond Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
We started off the tasting with this bottle I picked up from Weygandt Wines in Cleveland Park, DC. I picked this white Chateauneuf to kick off what would inevitably be a tasting dominated by reds. This wine is a blend of 40% grenache blanc and 20% each of roussanne, clairette and bourboulenc. On the nose: white flowers, papaya, hint of cotton candy, apricot, orange blossom. On the palate: fresh acid leads to a nutty, white peach feel with lemon zest and honey on the finish. Very acidic for a CdP, and my girlfriend said it was too much acid for her. For me, I was excited to see such a complex CdP blanc have so much freshness. It was even better after five hours of air exposure. A lot of white CdPs can be heavy, but not this one. 89 points

A Birth-Year Bordeaux

1983 Château La Croix du Casse - France, Bordeaux, Pomerol
I threw this Bordeaux into the tasting as a ringer of sorts. I approached this wine as an experiment, a unique drinking experience, and I had no expectations that the wine might actually taste good. Being form my birth year, I decided to pop this bottle and see if it had any life left. The color is a weird orange-red. The aromas are very pungent: rhubarb, garlic pickles, beef broth and wet mud. Soft tannins, medium acid (not too sharp). Lots of beef, leather and pickle juice flavors linger on the finish. This wine is totally crazy, and most people poured it out after one taste, but I give it points for insanity. My friend Tim described this wine as "D.O.A." I like to think I've aged better than this wine has. For a long time this Chateau La Croix du Casse was owned and operated by Jean-Michel Arcaute, who also owned the famous Chateau Clinet estate. Apparently, Arcaute died in a tragic boating accident in 2001, and I can’t figure out who makes the wine now. It’s a blend of 80 percent merlot-20 percent cab franc.  75 points

Bring on the Chateauneuf-du-Pape

1994 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
In 1994 Beaucastel used more mourvedre grapes (40% versus the normal 30%), which may have something to do with this wine’s theme of leather, mushrooms and farmyard soil. It supposedly possesses the lowest percentage of grenache (30%) of any Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and the highest percentage of mourvedre. Whatever the final blend is, as soon as you open a Beaucastel, it's clear you're dealing with a unique wine. This wine stands up and announces itself proudly. Clear ruby color in the glass. The aromas are bright and alive, but also savory, showing peppercorn, bacon frying in a pan, bay leaf , all of which linger. The nuances and shifting nature of the aromas is really amazing. On the palate this wine is still bright and full of grippy tannins. The flavors are very complex and nuanced, showing grilled meat, sour cherry, dusty and snappy cranberry fruit, accented by licorice and charcoal. So pure, so fresh, really unbelievable. Several people chose this wine as their wine of the night. Tied with the 2001 Rayas for my favorite wine of the night. 93 points

2001 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape
A blend of 80% grenache, 10% syrah, 5% mourvèdre, 5% other varieties. Pungent aromas of rhubarb, cherry skins, bitter coffee, raspberry greens. The wine still has a lot of grippy tannins and fresh acid. Flavors of red plums, coffee, peppered steak, cherry pits. This wine has a lot going on, and it shifted a lot over the course of several hours. This wine is nowhere near the end of its life. A lot of the people who attended the tasting thought this wine was a bit astringent, and I get that. For me, it’s an enjoyable CdP that has five more years ahead of it at least. Beautiful stuff. By the second day, the aromas were even more savory and I picked up some rose petal aromas as well. Finishes with hints of meat and dusty tannins. 90 points

2001 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve
A bottle of Rayas is a special thing indeed. They use no stainless steel, no temperature controls, no new oak, and they age their wine in a mix of old school containers. The color of cloudy cherry compote in the glass. Bright aromas of cherries, cranberry, a whiff of white pepper. With time delicious aromas of bay leaf and rose petals came out. On the palate, the tannins are acid are so strong, but balanced perfectly. Red plums and snappy cranberry fruit on the palate, along with complex flavors of licorice, minerals and dried leaves. This is such a gorgeous, feminine wine, almost Burgundian. One of the most elegant Chateauneufs I've tasted in a long time. This wine was the group's favorite, and for good reason. Thanks, Ian, for contributing such a beauty. I’ve read that this wine is a minimum of 98% grenache, but sometimes 100%. 93 points

Domaine Les Cailloux is named after the Southern Rhone’s famous cailloux roulés, which are the large stones found scattered all over the Chateauneuf du Pape vineyards. The Les Cailloux blend, made by André Brunel, is usually a blend of 65% grenache, 20% mourvèdre, 12% syrah and 3% of other varieties, all of which come from vines averaging 60 years old.

2003 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Bright ruby color. It was clear at this point in the tasting that we were dealing with a fruitier, more bombastic kind of wine. Some of the new world haters (Tim, I'm looking at you) didn't like the wine's jammy profile. However, I think it is one of the better 2003 CdPs I've had, and one that shows a lot of personality but also some balance. Syrupy fruit on the nose, showing red licorice, melted cherries and rose petals. The palate is bold and jammy, with medium tannins and low acid. The low acid is what throws this wine for me. I need more structure. Still, the flavors of game, spices and earth come out with three hours being open. Still a pretty and yummy wine. Val really enjoyed this, which was no surprise. 89 points

2006 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Ruby-cherry colored. Aromas of sour cherry, beef fat and leather. A dense wine on the palate with hard-line tannins but a lot of fresh cherry and raspberry fruit. I really like the flavors of white pepper, corned beef and soy, which add complexity. A lot more acid and structure than the 2003, and a good example of the quality wines of the 2006 vintage. 90 points

2006 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape
I was surprised by how vibrant and full this CdP was. I'll say it again, 2006 is an overlooked vintage but a lot of producers put out solid wines for less money. This one's bright cherry colored in the glass. Aromas of plum skins, sour cherries, white pepper, roses and clove. Very complex nose, and it got better and better over the course of the evening. Bold structure on the palate of lively acid and fine-grained tannins. Wild cherry and cassis fruit mixes with flavors of anise and smoke. There's a meaty aspect to this wine that is delicious. This is a really opulent wine, but one that maintains a real purity of flavors. 90 points

2008 Domaine Jean Royer Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Tradition
It was nice having a 2008 red in the mix, as I've really come to enjoy this vintage. Stuck between the 2007s and 2009s, 2008 might get overlooked sometimes. Extracted cherry color. The aromas are really opulent: red plum, iron, purple Mr. Sketch marker, a hint of olive. Plush and sexy on the palate. Cherry fruit mixes with minerals, charcoal and fresh sod. It's that acid on this wine that's got me exited, it's so pure and focused. Very easy to drink now, but I'd like to try it again in five years to see what other complexities come out of this wine. 91 points