We love visitors at ABC, especially when they visit from overseas. Throughout the year representatives from wineries and importers visit our stores. It’s an opportunity for us to not only try their wines, as we all need a little refresher, but also to ask those burning questions about vineyard sites, varietal compositions and vintages. Sometimes we get lucky and they time their visit to coincide with one of our wine tastings, as happened recently. This way our guests can ask those burning questions that we may have overlooked, as well as get a better sense of the real character of a wine from the “horse’s mouth” so to speak.

I had one of those burning questions answered by Antonin Bonnet, Chapoutier’s America’s export director as he came by to feature their Bila Haut line of wines from the Côtes du Roussillon. Chapoutier is a well-known producer of highly rated Côtes-du-Rhone wines who has recently expanded into the Roussillon, just next to Spain. For twenty years Chapoutier has put braille on their wine bottles, and since my mom is both French and blind, I’ve always wondered why. I’ve heard different stories, but most often I heard that Michel Chapoutier’s mother or daughter were blind (and since they’ve been doing it for twenty years, I felt the mom was a better guess). But the truth is even more interesting and goes back to the great grandfather of the current owner/winemaker.

To quote Antonin:

The Hermitage wine 'Monnier de la Sizeranne' was purchased by Chapoutier from close friends, the Sizeranne family. Maurice, the nephew of Monnier de la Sizeranne, turned blind when he was a kid and devoted his life to simplify the braille language. He founded the Valentin Hauy association. Maurice died in 1924. We are not exactly sure when Marius Chapoutier bought these parcels, but Michel's decision in 1995 to put braille on the labels of all Chapoutier wine was homage to that story his grandfather taught him.

This homage extends to the new Bila Haut line of wines from the Côtes du Rousillon, which is what we happened to sample, and what he sampled at our local ABC wine tasting that evening, giving our regular guests a real treat with a French accent.

The “Occultum Lapidem” already has a cult following due to three consecutive vintages of 95+ scores from The Wine Advocate. The name translates as “mysterious stone” after a megalithic stone found on the vineyard site. The flavors are bold and dense, using classic Rhone varietals:  Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. The higher proportion of Syrah and the addition of a large percentage of Carignan give the wine incredible complexity for just $25 per bottle. It compares with Chateauneuf-du-Papes that are three times the price.

If the “Occultum Lapidem” is their Roussillon answer to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, “L’esquerda” would be their answer to Gigondas. Slightly more feminine in style, though using the same three grapes, the real difference is in the soil. “L’esquerda” has more granitic soil compared to the Gneiss and schistous soil of “Occultum,” providing softer tannins and riper fruit, making this a fine companion wine that also has a few great scores for about $5 less per bottle.

The “basic” Bila Haut level includes a white, a rosé and a red for about $13 each. Again we are seeing some great scores in the current vintages with a Parker 91 for the current 2012 red. All are outstanding Rhone-style wines that happen to be from the foothills of the Pyrenées, providing their own version of the classic herbal garrigue flavors, buttressed by great minerality supporting slightly riper fruit than their Rhone relatives. Stop by one of our stores and try a bottle of these great wines to create your own stories, or just tell this one. Don’t forget our ABC wine tastings. You never know when you might get a visitor from one of our many exclusive wineries and importers from all over the world—and they always bring wine!

Daniel Eddy, on Twitter @abcwinedane

Gainesville Wine Consultant for ABC Fine Wines & Spirits

Wine Pairing Examiner for Examiner.com