france: rhone
Château de Saint Cosme, Gigondas
Situated in the heart of the appellation (300 meters from the village), Saint Cosme is the oldest estate in Gigondas, with Gallo-Roman fermentation vats perfectly preserved in its cellar, carved into the rock. The estate has been in the Barruol family since 1490, and Louis represents the 14th generation of Barruol winemakers. Louis took over from his father in 1995. He stopped selling so much wine off to négociants, began harvesting less and later and extending fermentations. He knocked off all fining, filtering, and excessive use of SO2. The result has been a series of accolades from the world-over. Stephen Tanzer called him one of the two best winemakers in Gigondas, and in his February 2003 issue (#145) Robert Parker wrote: "I was probably remiss in not listing Louis Barruol as one of The Wine Advocate Personalities of the Year."
Louis' father had the foresight to plant early ripening Syrah in Saint Cosme's latest ripening sites, thus Louis is regularly able to harvest and co-ferment Syrah and Grenache together. In addition to his classic Gigondas, every year Louis makes a luxury cuvée named Valbelle from his oldest vines (somewhere in the 90-year range) in barrel—half new, half 2nd year—but this is bottled separately only in the top years. With the '03 vintage, he bottled a wine he calls Hominis Fides (a reward for loyal importers and distributors) from the domaine's oldest vineyard parcel, and he has continued this separate bottling with both the '04 and '05 vintages. Beginning with 2006, he took his exploration of Gigondas' varied terroirs one step further with the single-vineyard bottlings of Le Claux and Le Poste.
Château de Saint Cosme Estate Wines
Note that Louis' estate wines are labeled "Château de Sainte Cosme" whereas his micro-négociant wines are labeled simply "Saint Cosme."
Louis' notes on his wines follow.
2006 Gigondas: 67% Grenache; 20% Syrah; 12% Mourvèdre; 1% Cinsault; 70% aged in old barrels for one to four years with remaining 15% aged in wooden vats and 15% in concrete vats. "Everyone tried to compare 2006 with other classical vintages but 2006 gave its own answer: it is a special vintage with a strong and precise personality. Co-fermenting our different grapes has been more interesting than ever: grenache-minerality, mourvèdre-muscles, cinsault-blandness, syrah-crispness. Ageing the 06's has been particularly interesting because the wines never stopped improving. From this point of view, 05 was much more difficult to cope with. Tender like a true Saint Cosme and structured like a real Gigondas, 2006 will show a great ageing potential because of its balance. Bottled without any filtration, the wine shows notes of strawberry compote, truffle, and tobacco box."
2006 Gigondas Valbelle: 90% Grenache; 10% Syrah; aged twelve months: 70% aged in one-year-old barrels and 30% in new barrels. "Valbelle is a co-fermentation of our oldest vines: le Travers de Guérin, le Grand Plantier, les Hautes Garrigues, les Sables. "Valbelle" is a contraction of "Belle Vallée" (nice little valley). The valley where Saint Cosme was established goes up to the base of the Dentelles de Montmirail, a huge reserve of limestone which has been migrating down into the valley over millions of years...Thyme, rosemary, pine trees, oak trees, fig trees, cherry trees, olive trees, ferns share this space with balance. Valbelle 2006 gets the depth, the strength, the complexity. The freshness brings balance to the ripeness. Black currant, coffee, black pepper. Bottled without any filtration."
2006 Gigondas Hominis Fides: 100% Grenache; aged twelve months: 30% in new oak, 40% in one-year-old barrels and 30% in two-to-three-year-old barrels. Made from a specific lieu-dit with the domaine's oldest vines. Louis refers to this wine as the Gigondas of his grandfathers. "The limestony sands are one of the most interesting terroirs for Grenache. They allow Grenache to express their minerality at their best. The texture in the mouth is always tight but soft and you never really know if the wine is concentrated or not... The crop 2006 was very small with Hominis Fides: 40% less than 2005 !! We'll have to be happy with a small amount of bottles. Made for the first time in a small wooden vat, the results were really good: during the fermentation the relation wood/fruit has been quite magical. What we got in 2006 is finesse, with tight tannins followed by a soft texture. Ancient roses, spices box, almond. Bottled without any filtration."
2006 Gigondas Le Claux: 100% Grenache planted in yellow limestony clay; aged twelve months: 30% in new oak, 40% in one-year-old barrels and 30% in two-year-old barrels. "Just like le Poste, le Claux was vinified separately for the first time in 2006. If le Poste is feminine, le Claux is masculine, this is clear. This major difference can be explained by the bigger proportion of clay at le Claux. The structure and the tannins remind me of the Gigondas our grand-fathers would make with their old vines: a purple colour, a deep bouquet, a meaty structure, some depth and strength. This vine which is more than 105 years old is a witness of the Gigondas typicity. Its story is very much connected to the First World War and we often think about it. Blackberry, smoked ham, cold ash. Bottled without any filtration."
2006 Gigondas Le Poste: 100% Grenache planted in limestony marl at the slope of the Chapelle de Saint Cosme at Le Poste; aged twelve months: 50% in new oak and 50% in one-year-old barrels. "The fabulous terroir of limestony marl at le Poste always expresses itself with the same intensity. And it doesn't matter if it is Clairette or Grenache, this terroir goes over the varietal. Le Poste red, vinified separately for the first time in 2006, has been our most impressive try. At Saint Cosme, this place gives birth to the most feminine, the most bewitching, the most enigmatic, the most seducing of our Gigondas. It is so distinctive, pure and flying that it's maybe my favourite. We had six barrels of Poste in 2006. The two barrels of press wines were not good enough to enter in the blend. Then, we will have just four barrels of Poste 2006 (1200 bottles). There will be more in 2007. Black currant, violet, fresh "Garriguette" strawberry, rosemary. Bottled without any filtration."
The full line of wines from Saint Cosme
Download PDF Files: