1998 Côte-Rôtie

By coincidence, I went directly from a tasting with Yves Gras at Domaine Santa-Duc to Louis Barruol at the Chateau de Saint-Cosme, proceeding from vines with port-like ripeness to examples made from what Barruol describes as "an especially cool, late-ripening spot." These are two of the most talented producers in the Gigondas appellation, but their wines could hardly be more different. Gras includes a good bit of mourvedre in his Hautes Garrigues cuvee while Barruol doesn't own a single mourvedre vine, as his soils would not ripen the fruit adequately. Syrah, on the other hand, does well at Saint-Cosme. The fruit lacked a bit of maturity in '99, said Barruol, and significant triage was necessary. He will not offer a 1999 Cuvee Valbelle, and the basic cuvee will be a much stronger wine as a result of this decision. Barruol macerates his Gigondas for 40 days, with the stems, punching down the cap, pumping over and carrying out periodic delestage a process whereby the juice is drained from the tank, then poured back over the solids]. The malolactic fermentation is done in barriques and the press wine actually finishes its alcoholic fermentation in barrels. Barruol is one of a growing number of Southern Rhone producers who believe that grenache is a highly aromatic variety that should be handled gently and aged like pinot noir. Accordingly, he racks his wine only when it assembled after the fermentation and then not again until it is being prepared for the bottling. The Condrieu and the Cote-Roties noted below are negociant wines. (Patrick Lesec Selections, imported by Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; The Stacole Company, Inc., Boca Raton, FL; and Michel-Schlumberger Wines Ltd., Healdsburg, CA)

Louis Barruol took over this 15-hectare domain from his father in 1997, and with his '98s will quickly establish himself as one of the stars of the appellation. With his wire-rim glasses and studious mien, Baruel looks like a young professor at the University of Gigondas. The cellar here, in the subbasement of his Gallo-Roman house, features the remnants of a cuverie from the 2nd century. "It was constructed on different levels, even back then, which meant that they could do racking by gravity," says Barruol. Most of Barruol Gigondas vines are in spots he describes as "trop tardive et trop sec," perfect for syrah and grenache but far from ideal for mourvedre ("I don't have one vine of mourvedre,"). He can pick the syrah very late, with the grenache, and ferment the two varieties together, which he says creates important synergy. The harvest here in '98 began in Indian summer conditions at the beginning of October, more than a week after the rains of the equinox. Barruol also has a small negociant business in the north, thus far specializing in Cote-Rotie and Condrieu. (Patrick Lesec Selections, imported by Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; The Stacole Company, Inc., Boca Raton, FL; and Michel-Schlumberger Wines Ltd., Healdsburg, CA)