Imagining the sweetness and purity of diverse berry fruits found in the corresponding L’Esquerda bottling allied to the saline savor of the corresponding Vignes de Bila-Haut will give you an idea of what awaits from the glass of 2011 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France Occultum Lapidem. There is, unsurprisingly, at least as much sheer complexity on display here as in any of Bila-Haut’s wine, with mace, vanilla, licorice, wisteria and rowan taking things in a sweeter and spicier direction than found in their other 2011s. Enveloping richness and an almost velvet feel – so fine are the tannins here – make for a soothing finish whose deeply meaty and salty savor hold my salivary glands in thrall, reminding me of the scallop-like sweetness possessed by some of the finest and most minerally-inflected of white wines. This sensational value should drink beautifully through at least 2025. (DS)