2013 Bila Haut Cotes de Roussillon Villages les Vignes de la Haut 750 ml

Wine Advocate’s 91 points: The Hottest Little Red in France

It made little sense to anyone at the time. Michel Chapoutier is one of the most revered winemakers in France. His Hermitages and Côte-Rôties are the Northern Rhône equivalent of Bordeaux’s First Growths, garnering more perfect 100-point reviews from The Wine Advocate in the last five years than all of Bordeaux’s First Growths combined. Why then had Chapoutier been lured to the wind-blown schist terraces of the Roussillon?

The old vines of Bila-Haut are covered with garrigue and barely eke out 2 tons per acre in the most copious harvests. On parched summer days, a hot wind howls, gusting at over 80 mph. The economics are daunting. But as has long been the case with Chapoutier, when he first laid eyes on this astonishing property, he tabled all thoughts of ROI, focusing only of the potential of the wine that might be drawn from the land.

The geology was captivating — black and brown schist to give the wine a solar touch. Gneiss for minerality and freshness. A combination of limestone and chalk for strength and balance. A cut-out on the property showed spindly roots burrowing meters into the substrata, seeking out water reserves that allowed the old vines to not just survive, but flourish in the harsh climate. If the necessary resources were poured into the vines and cellar, Michel reasoned, over time, Bila-Haut was capable of turning out wines that that were Châteauneuf-like in concentration, yet braced by firmer acids and far lower pH. The bankers shook their heads. They knew Chapoutier too well.The purchase of Bila-Haut was completed in 1999.

Fourteen years later, Nature blessed the Roussillon with what many — including Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate — believe to be the most extraordinary vintage in history.

As Parker’s Wine Advocate aptly reported in its vintage report of April 30, 2015, entitled “Roussillon: The King of France in 2013,” the 2013 growing season was unusually cool. Spring was unusually chilly and wet. Flowering was delayed and came two weeks later than the norm. The summer was mild with sporadic showers, as a steady northwesterly wind kept the vines perfectly clean and dry. Harvest at Bila-Haut wouldn’t begin until mid-September, with the last passes not taking place until early October. Yields were small, as was berry size. The extended hang-time made for high sugars, as the cool summer guaranteed even more vibrant acidity than in past years. 2013 was the classic case of a cold vintage in a hot place, making for what The Wine Advocate described as wines with “a beautiful sense of elegance and purity to go with impressive mid-palate concentration, integrated acidity and ripe, tannic backbones.”

At a time when truly inspired under-$15 reds are hard to come by, Michel Chapoutier’s 2013 Bila-Haut “Vignes de la Haut” ranks among the finest bargain reds in the world. Deep purple in color, infused with beautifully delineated aromas of cassis, dark plum, and black pepper. Richly textured and voluptuous on the attack, packed with black-fruit preserves, braced by refreshing acidity and sneaky, dusty tannins.

91 points from Parker’s Wine Advocate. At $14/bottle, it’s the hottest little red in France!