Winemaker Notes
Deep, sustained color with purplish highlights. Complex and intense on the nose with aromas of graphite, ink, raspberry and cistus flower. Delicate on entry, growing steadily denser, without aggressiveness. Lovely tight tannins. Firm, long, and lingering, with superb violet and white pepper olfactory after-taste.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The other flagship release is the 2020 Côtes Du Roussillon Villages Lesquerde Rectificando Invenies, a more Syrah-dominated blend of 60/40 Syrah to Grenache. Medium to full-bodied, pure, and incredibly well-balanced on the palate, it has a complex nose of dark fruits, peppered meats, and violets to go with a terrific, crushed rock-like sense of minerality. As with the VIT release, the purity of fruit is about as good as it gets.
Barrel Sample: 95-97 -
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2020 Domaine de Bila-Haut by Michael Chapoutier r.í. CÔTES DU ROUSSILLON LESQUERDE unleashes a deep, saturated ruby color; heady aromas of crème de cassis and cedar drift upward; medium to full bodied, richly textured and persistent on the palate; dense waves of berry and cassis saturate the flavors; a lusty, long finish that resonates. Pair with slow-roasted lamb shoulder with black olive tapenade and herbs de Provence (Tasted: 3/31/26, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Showing far too much cedar at the moment, let's hope the 2020 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Lesquerde Rectificando Invenies mellows a bit prior to bottling. There are still some epic licorice, pepper and blueberry notes, but they're partially hidden for the moment. This Syrah-based effort is full-bodied, rich, concentrated and velvety in texture, finishing long and lush, with a touch of warmth.
Barrel Sample: 92-94
Domaine Bila-Haut is owned by the well known Rhone Valley Oenologist, Michel Chapoutier. The name refers to an old farm villa which was built high into the mountain slopes , among some old vineyards. The Domaine comprises 75 hectares of land cultivated under bio-dynamic farming techniques and is characterized by steep pebbly slopes rising from almost 150 meters above sea level. The soil has 3 components…Schiste, Gneiss and Clay, and the Grape varieties are Grenache, Carignan, and of course Syrah. The cool winters and very hot summers combined with little rain, and the drying Mistral breeze during the growing season is perfection for these varietals…in some respects better than in the Rhone Valley. The Domaine is located in the commune of Latour-de-France…just about as close as you can be to Spain, but still be located in France, with a great deal of history related to the Nights Templar, and the Cathar movement, hence the T in the title of the Domaine shaped like the Nights Templar Cross.The wines exhibit the distinctive pepper and spice of Syrah, but are bigger and rounder in the mouth, with great complexity coming from the Carignan and Grenache. Here is A Rhone producer getting the best out of the Terroir in Lanquedoc… a superb combination! And one of the best Wine Makers in France.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
An appellation solely for dry red wines from Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon-Villages is a step up in quality compared to, simply, Côtes du Roussillon. The area is in the northern third of Roussillon, bordered on its southern end by the Têt River, which runs precisely from west to east. Five villages can append their own name to the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages appellation name: Caramany, Latour de France, Lesquerde, Tautavel and the last, south of the Têt River, Les Aspres.
Côtes du Roussillon-Villages red wines are blends made from Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and small amounts of Carignan, Cinsault and the lesser known, Lledoner Pelut (a relative of Grenache).