Domaine de Bila-Haut Occultum Lapidem · 2020

The winemaker Michel Chapoutier was attracted to the strong character of the vineyards of Roussillon and decided to start working in the town of Latour-de-France. The almost perfect complexity of the soil here gives the wine a series of features; the dark shale adds warmth, the gneiss (similar to granite) brings minerality, and the limestone, freshness and warmth. Three different grape varieties grow at the Domaine Bila-Haut estate: the spiced Syrah, the always surprising Grenache, and the tannic-loaded Carignan. The Occultum Lapidem wine they produce here delights with a pure expression of this terroir and the wonders achieved by mixing these three grapes. It is a very refined wine with a garnet colour, polished by the time it spends in concrete tanks. A delight for the nose with aromas of sweet blackberries and blackcurrants, liquorice and pepper, and a hint of dark chocolate gradually coming forward. Medium-bodied in the mouth, the Occultum Lapidem has a delicate texture and discrete acidity which give it a good cellaring potential. Notes of scrub-brush and small black olives also emerge as the wine becomes more and more flavoursome, blending the warmth of Rousillon with the know-how and elegance of the Rhône.