2016 Bila Haut

OK, we have a serious contender for Longest Wine Name outside of Germany.

I have in front of me:
2016 Domaine de Bila Haut ‘Occultum Lapidem’ Cotes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France by Michel Chapoutier.

Dark ruby color, no bricking. The aromas are ripe and plummy, with some nicely intense herbal character and also some heat. The palate is medium in body, with lots of glycerin, almost voluptuous, with adequate acidity at the finish. The flavors offer nice subtlety with a panoply of fruits, now some black raspberry and black cherry to go with the plums. There is some heat. I don’t know the blend but would guess there’s a fair amount of Syrah along with mostly Grenache. This is a nice glass on a cold evening, with local ground lamb patties. However the heat comes and goes from start to finish; I wouldn’t enjoy this as much if it wasn’t winter in Maine. Rated 88.5. Fully mature, but should hold for at least another few years.

Dan Kravitz