From the Cotes du Roussillon-Villages, the dark ruby-tinged 2003 Bila Haut is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan. It offers a big, sweet nose of cherries, pepper, dried herbs, and salty sea breezes. It is a straightforward red that begs to be drunk over the next 3-4 years. As I have said so many times over the last 15 years, the top Chapoutier wines are meant for very long term drinking, and are not designed for immediate gratification. Everything Chapoutier is doing, from his bio-dynamically farmed vineyard to tiny yields, extended fermentations, indigenous yeasts, and no fining or filtration, is done to produce the essence of a vineyard and a vintage. His track record since 1989 and 1990 admirably proves that these are indeed remarkable wines made by a young genius who refuses to compromise. Michel Chapoutier has been misunderstood by some of his peers, and there is a lot of jealousy when someone this young is so incredibly talented, but it is an irrefutable fact that these are wines of singular greatness as well as longevity.Importer: H. B. Wine Merchants, New York, NY; tel. (917) 402-0456