2013 Bila Haut Cotes du Roussillon Villages Lesquerde L'esquerda 750 ml

93pt Chapoutier Bila-Haut “L’esquerda” … The Greenback Pounds the Euro

Reporting from Perpignan: In 1999, Michel Chapoutier stumbled upon a neglected 185-acre property in the Roussillon. The soils were a rugged mix of flaky schist, gneiss, and clay. Chapoutier was smitten by the wildness of the slopes of the Agly Valley — about as close as French vines get to the Spanish border — and the vineyards bracketed by scrappy brush, sparse trees, and wild herbs. There was a perfume in the air that Michel simply couldn’t get out of his head, a mix of smoky rosemary, thyme, juniper, lavender, and olive. Chapoutier quickly purchased the estate, determined to bring it back to life.

Fourteen years later, Nature served up one of the most extraordinary growing seasons in Roussillon history. Monsieur Chapoutier, Hermitage’s greatest winemaker, hit it out of the park.

The opening of The Wine Advocate vintage report kind of said it all: “While almost all of France struggled in 2013, this late, cool vintage resulted in thrilling wines from the Roussillon that offer both richness and freshness. While this is a sunny, dry region known for producing voluptuous, ripe and at times heady wines, the 2013s have a beautiful sense of elegance and purity to go with impressive mid-palate concentration, integrated acidity and ripe, tannic backbones.”

Parker’s publication showered a dozen 95+ point scores on the stars of the Roussillon. At the head of the pack was Chapoutier’s Bila-Haut Lesquerde “R.I. (Rectificando Invenies),” described as “the finest dry red I’ve ever tasted from the Roussillon.” For bargain-hunters anxious to discover the red-fruit extravagance of the Roussillon, you’re likely a little skittish about plopping down $150/bottle for Chapoutier’s 100-pointer — honestly, as are we. But when it came to one of The Wine Advocate’s highest-rated $20 French red in the last four years, we grabbed every bottle we could get our hands on.

Drawn entirely from terraced plantings on the granite soils above the village of Lesquerde, the astonishing 2013 Domaine de Bila-Haut Côtes du Roussillon Villages Lesquerde L’esquerda is a bargain-hunter’s dream. Opaque purple. Exquisite aromatically, featuring a chiseled mix of crushed black fruits, licorice, violets, and garrigue, lively and vibrant. Intensely concentrated, yet due to the cool, extended growing season, perfectly light on its feet, finishing with superb low-pH vibrancy and persistence. Drink now-2022.

93 points from The Wine Advocate. $30 on release (if you can find a bottle). $19.99 when we offered it in May. Just $18.50 today as the USD continues to gain ground against the euro, leaving every drop of savings in our members’ back pockets! Shipping included on 6.