Winemaker Notes
Very intense golden hue. Complex on the nose with notes of fleshy fruit such as apricots and peaches, followed by a floral bouquet. Fresh attack, full of minerality and salinity with great length on the palate.
Blend: 90% Grenache Gris, 10% Grenache Blanc
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2021 Domaine de Bila-Haut by Michael Chapoutier CHRYSOPÉE COLLIOURE radiates a rich straw-to-golden hue; vivid minerality wrapped in delicate peach-skin aromas; full-bodied, layered, and expansive across the palate; ripe peach flavors build with confidence and precision; a long, lasting finish that lingers with warmth. Pair with grilled lobster with herb butter or roasted chicken with preserved lemon and olive oil. (Tasted: 3/31/26, San Francisco, CA)
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Jeb Dunnuck
Mostly Grenache Gris, the 2021 Collioure Chrysopée Blanc is absolutely gorgeous stuff, and I'd put this up with anything coming from the South of France. Based on 90% Grenache Gris and 10% Grenache Blanc, it has incredible notes of crushed pineapple, honeyed citrus, and spicy wood, with a kiss of background liquid rock-like minerality. Medium-bodied, focused, concentrated, and flawlessly balanced, with a certainly salty, mineral character on the finish, it will shine on the dinner table over the coming decade (although I see no need to delay).
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
Defined by the rugged eastern edge of the Pyrenees Mountains and near-constant sunshine, Roussillon is a region rich in Spanish history and influence. In fact, the Roussillon people mainly identify with being Catalan rather than French or Occitan.
Roussillon has been a culture of viticulture since the 7th century BC and not surprisingly, highly influenced by Spain in their winemaking techniques and wine styles. Furthermore, the arid, exposed, steep and uneven valleys of this so-called Pyrénées-Orientales zone, guarantee that grape yields are low and berries are small and concentrated. The region was quick to adopt a specific fortification process (locally called mutage), introduced by a Catalan physician in the 13th century. Seen as beneficial to the region’s whites, soon Roussillon also applied the process to the vinification of Grenache. Mutage involves fortifying the grape must (or must and skins together depending on desired effect) with a neutral grape spirit to arrest fermentation, resulting in a slightly sweet, high alcohol (15-18%), but still varietally expressive and aromatically complex wine called, vin doux naturel. Two clones of Muscat and Grenache of various colors are mainly responsible for the excellent vins doux naturels in the notable sub-appellations of Rivesaltes, Banyuls and Maury.
More recently modern winemaking techniques, coupled with a near perfect climate and optimal soils, altitudes and exposures have allowed Roussillon to quickly escalate the quality and popularity of its dry red wines as well, namely those of Maury, Cotes du Roussillon-Villages and Collioure.