Review: Bila-Haut Côtes Du Roussillon Villages

This isn’t the first time I’ve reviewed Les Vignes de Bila-Haut,  Côtes Du Roussillon Villages from winemaker Michel Chapoutier. This is the fourth vintage of the wine I’ve reviewed and one thing I’ve found is that it is consistently good. In fact, the Bila-Haut portfolio of wines tends to be a bargain-hunters dream — which is why I review their wines fairly regularly.

As is noted in the name of this wine, it comes from the Côtes Du Roussillon Villages region of France. This is in southern France, bordering Spain with steep slopes to the Mediterranean. It’s one of those areas that’s hot, rocky, rugged, with harsh winds and is difficult to farm, which is often a great place to grow grapes for wine.

The grapes in the wine are what you would typically find in the wines from Rhone: syrah, grenache and carignan. While it’s not a Rhone wine per se, you could say it’s a Rhone-style wine — but maybe you should say it’s a Roussillon-style wine.

Plum, currant, dark chocolate and baking spice aromatics give this wine a pleasant and sophisticated nose. On the palate, it delivers tart blackberry, plum and currant flavors with a velvety mouthfeel. The acidity is good. The finish is decent, with berry and tannic black tea flavors along with some flinty mineral.

Wine: Les Vignes de Bila-Haut, Côtes Du Roussillon Villages
Varieties: Syrah, grenache, carignan
Vintage: 2017
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 87
Average price: $15.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.