2021 Gigondas

This historic Gigondas-based winery has been family-owned since 1490. Despite this ancient background, Louis Barruol is one of the leading innovators within the appellation, which he has also officially presided over since 2017. Notably, his influence has been pivotal in the approval of pressing white AOC Gigondas starting from the 2023 vintage. Some of Château de Saint Cosme’s vines have weathered over a century, naturally low-yielding while intensifying concentration. An interesting facet of Barruol's winemaking approach lies in the fermentation of all Gigondas reds with whole clusters. This technique, he believes, imparts a heightened freshness, greater aromatic complexity and an intriguing edge to his wines. At this address, the embrace of whole bunch maceration and fermentation is not merely a choice; it's a philosophy. Barruol contends that wines crafted through this method exhibit a superior architectural structure compared to those born from destemmed fruit. Furthermore, he embraces the partial use of new oak in his reds. The 2022 Gigondas, positioned as his classic offering, matures for one year with approximately 20% new oak. The terroir-specific wines—Le Poste, Le Claux, and Hominis Fides—undergo the same new oak proportion. This intentional use of new oak by Barruol infuses his wines with a nuanced complexity and structural depth, compelling them to mature patiently in the cellar before finally coming together. During my visit, I shared with Barruol that, to date, the 2010 Le Poste holds a special place as my favorite Saint Cosme wine. In a delightful turn of events a few days later, during an informal dinner with other Gigondas winemakers, Barruol presented a blind wine, later revealing the surprise bottle as the 2010 Le Poste. Even at its 13-year mark, the wine exhibited a tantalizing promise, yet it seemed not fully realized. I suspected it demands another five years to unveil its true splendor. That being said, the exceptional 2010 vintage in the Southern Rhône has birthed numerous enduring wines, some of which are still evolving and haven't yet reached their peak. Offering general advice on Barruols single-terroir wines, regardless of the vintage, I recommend resisting uncorking before the age of ten. Barruol agrees and suggests that his single-terroir bottlings often begin to showcase their finest attributes around the age of 15. Consequently, he currently finds himself reaching for bottles from the 2006, 2007 and 2008 vintages. On a contrasting note, his classic Gigondas reds exhibit a more approachable demeanor, requiring less time to mature but nonetheless benefit from a few years in bottle. In the realm of Gigondas producers, Château de Saint Cosme stands out for delivering wines that embody unmatched power and force. Remarkably, amidst this intensity, they skilfully preserve a crucial element—freshness—to provide a balanced drinking experience. Currently, the US market claims the lion's share, absorbing approximately 40% of these wines, with France following at around 20%. The remaining 30% finds its way to various other European countries, while approximately 10% makes its journey to Asia.

Anybody paying the slightest attention to Gigondas over the last three decades knows Château de Saint Cosme and Louis Barruol, who took control here in 1992. Barruol represents the 14th generation of his family to oversee the family’s winery and 15 hectares of vineyard, almost all of them planted to Grenache. Those vines are extremely old, with many now 120 years of age, planted in the heart of the appellation. The wines are still made in the original cellar of the estate, which was constructed in the Gallo Roman era, over 2,000 years ago. So, history looms large here, quite literally as the 11th-century Chapelle Saint-Cosme et Saint-Damien sits directly above the winery and château. When it comes to wines, history is respected, with no rusticity in the way. In fact, these are consistently among the most skillfully and meticulously crafted wines in the Rhône valley. The standard of quality maintained by Barruol is as high as for any winery I know, anywhere. In recent years the domaine has issued what, for me, are the best wines ever, especially the 2020s. While the limited production, single-site bottlings are not easy to find and unquestionably expensive, the flagship Gigondas bottling is an excellent value and delivers more bang than plenty of Southern Rhône wines that sell for twice as much, or even more. And there’s a good amount of it, some 50,000 bottles per vintage. Starting with the 2023 vintage, there will be an appellation Gigondas Blanc, a goal that Louis Barruol has been doggedly pursuing over two decades, often seemingly single-handedly.