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.
- 2008 Gigondas: 62% Grenache; 20% Syrah; 17% Mourvèdre; 1% Cinsault; aged twelve months: 70% in one-to-four-year-old barrels with remaining 15% aged in wooden vats and 15% in concrete vats. Bottled without filtration. "The geology of Gigondas terroirs is a fantastic gift from Mother Nature. A unique phenomenon. Just imagine a wall made with limestony teeth (the Dentelles de Montmirail) pushing up from underneath all the different layers of marl and limestone from the Jurassic times. The whole system ends up being vertical: then all the different soils which were supposed to be hidden underground forever appear on the surface. This phenomenon is specific to Gigondas and this is why Gigondas is exceptional. After twelve months of élevage, we decided to blend the entire Cuvée Valbelle into the Gigondas classique 2008. There will be no Valbelle in 2008 and the Gigondas classique will consequently have a high proportion of very old vines. This difficult choice will allow us to have a Gigondas with depth, density, balance and strength. This is how I see my work: have no compromise with the quality we wish to have consistently. Have a good tasting! Fresh strawberry, violet, gingerbread, white pepper, limestone."
- 2008 Gigondas Hominis Fides: 100% Grenache; aged twelve months: 30% in new oak, 40% in one-year-old barrels and 30% in two-year-old barrels. Bottled without filtration. 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 mysterious: it is important to avoid judging young wines on a too definitive way. So, I’m going to do the opposite of what I say. Just like 1997, acidity and relief are going to allow this vintage of freshness to evolve on a beautiful way. This wine is going to amplify its density in its first year of bottle; it’s going to develop more softness and depth. When we vinified the three lieux-dits, we didn’t know if we would release them. The final quality showed so much that bottling them really makes sense. There is certainly less density than in 2007 but the terroir expression is well focused, there is plenty of finesse and complexity and you will open these bottles with a lot of pleasure. Our lieux-dits show on a very precise way the specificities of the vintage and demonstrates its potential. Blackberry, ancient roses, almond, violet."
- 2008 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. Bottled without filtration. "The selection on Le Claux harvest has been huge. We end up with a yield of 12 hectolitres per hectare which is the lowest yield ever for Le Claux. The search of purity and precision is impossible to achieve without a severe selection. The aromas of Le Claux 2008 remind of Vosne-Romanée or Chambolle-Musigny. It smells of Pinot and fresh wild cherry: Grenache and Pinot are close cousins. There is a dimension of Burgundian freshness in Le Claux which is lovely. I should thank Mother Nature because without Le Claux, Saint Cosme wouldn’t be Saint Cosme!! This bottle on a blind tasting with few friends might make you laugh. Wild cherry, small and fresh red fruits, mint leaves, truffle."
- 2008 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. Bottled without filtration. "Le Poste benefits of a great exposure to sun. As well, it’s regulated by constant winds going up and down in the dale. These winds make our vines and their grapes very sane. The grapes are always nice, small and crunchy. In a cool year like 2008, it is typically the vine which ripens best at Saint Cosme. There is a significant length and power. There is a real dimension. Le Poste 2008 was nice and easy to age: terroir and fruit expressed at their best by combining well. The fact the vintage was cool helped very much. At the exact moment I write these words, Gigondas is under 35 cm of snow: the Chapel and Le Poste vines are nicer than ever in their white dress. They are the white ladies. Violet, broom, humus, wild raspberry."
- 2008 Côtes du Rhône Les Deux Albion: Blend of Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Clairette co-fermented all together with six weeks maceration. Aged in wooden and concrete vats. Clay slope (ancient alluviums), limestony marl, rolling stones. "We have been cooking a lot in 2008, just like usual! Our Deux Albion vineyards have been vinified exactly the same way as the Gigondas wines. The cooking book says: crush and blend the grapes, leave the fermentation begin naturally, keep going adding cold grapes consistently. Then you’ll control your temperature fermentation without working too much. If you are lazy, be clever. Leave the indigenous yeasts get exited by mixing them up. As you want to keep the delicate aromas, don’t leave the yeasts become too hysterical by cooling down all the stuff. Don’t burn your aromas. Don’t ferment too hot. When you get to the end of the cooking, don’t stop it, leave it keep going gently as long as possible. Take your time. It has to be slow. Then gently rack the wine and softly press the grapes. Taste very often. Taste several times per day. Taste again. Look for your own pleasure, then you’ll get more chances to give pleasure. Serve at 16°C with a nice smile. Strawberry, earth, smoked ham, laurel."
- 2008 Côtes du Rhône Le Poste white: 100% Clairette fermented in one-year-old barrels and aged for twelve months on the lees. "La Vigne du Poste has always produced a great white wine. When Henri Barruol replanted Le Poste in 1963, he decided to replant exactly the same surface of native whites (Clairette blanche) which existed before. This dedication to ancient traditions was a success and we take advantage of it now. This marvelous terroir made of limestony marl from the Jurassic times works for both red and white wines. The vintage 2008 has been exceptional for the Poste white. We picked on the 18th of September ripe grapes, at 12.5% potential alcohol. There is a maximum of mineral, freshness with the typical aroma of Le Poste: the gun-flint. To age well, Le Poste white has to be picked quite early, not too ripe: this is what we did in 2008. Please keep few bottles for several years, you might be surprised. The way it ages looks like what happens with a Hermitage white: the oldest it is, the freshest it is. It’s impossible to understand why but it’s how it works."
The full line of wines from Saint Cosme
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