【14 generations of family inheritance, leading Gigondas winery】
【Many wines from the winery have been selected as the WS Top 100, and have consistently received scores of 95+ from critics like RP and JD.】
【Robert Parker called Saint Cosme the "Le Pin" of Gigondas】
【Owner Louis Barruol is known as the "Genius of Gigondas"】
【Le Claux, a century-old vine, single-origin Grenache, is the most Burgundy-style wine from Gigondas】
【Decanter 97】【Jeb Dunnuck 96】【Wine Spectator 95】【Vinous 92】【Vivino 4.3】
ZTF256 Chateau de Saint Cosme Gigondas Le Claux 2012
Special Price: $560/pc
Region/grade: France / Rhone Valley / Gigondas
Grape variety: 100% Grenache
Alcohol content: 14.5%
Volume : 750ml
【Decanter 97 pts】
A touch of bacon fat and bonfire smoke to the red fruits. Fireworks and autumn leaves. Medium-bodied, spicy, with great liveliness and freshness on the palate. Tight finish still, little grippy tannins. Long finish. Really vibrant and juicy, such a lovely wine. Long finish. What's not to like?
【Jeb Dunnuck 96 pts】
Probably my favorite of the single vineyard releases (although, truthfully, I find the quality among the three almost indistinguishable), the 2012 Gigondas Le Claux has beautiful minerality to go with notions of black fruits, smoked herbs, graphite and liquid violets. A big, full-bodied Gigondas, it never puts a foot wrong, has building, polished tannin and a blockbuster finish that stays focused.
【Wine Spectator 95 pts】
This has a gorgeous beam of pomegranate, red currant and damson plum fruit, coiled tightly for now. A snap of red licorice adds lift before tangy sanguine, iron, pepper and bay notes emerge on the finish. Exhibits terrific cut and length.
【Vinous 92 pts】
Bright violet color. Pungent black and blue fruit aromas open with air, taking on suave floral and Indian spice character. Stains the palate with sweet blackberry and boysenberry flavors that become more lively with air. This extremely youthful Gigondas finishes with serious power, velvety tannins and a whiplash of sweet dark fruit.
Château de Saint Cosme has risen to prominence thanks to three top-tier single-vineyard Grenache vines—Le Poste, Le Claux, and Hominis Fides—from the family's 15 hectares of vineyards. In just 10 years, the winery has rapidly gained recognition within the region, earning it acclaim from wine critics as a new generation of "genius winemakers" in the Rhône Valley.
This Le Claux vineyard is dated back to 1902. The vineyard is only 1.8 hectares, with some vines over 120 years old. Louis considers this the winery's "most Burgundy" style, elegant and delicate, with notes of sour cherry and floral bouquets interspersed with spices.
Located in the Gigondas region of France's Rhone Valley, Chateau de Saint Cosme is one of the region's oldest wineries. In 109 AD, Roman troops established a "castle" here, the forerunner of the winery. Twenty-five stone-carved barrels still remain on the winery's rock face, testament to its history.
The winery was officially established in 1490 and has been passed down to the 14th generation, Louis Barruol. He inherited the estate at the age of less than 30. Having long since failed to produce outstanding products, the winery was already in decline. Unwilling to see the family business fade into obscurity, Louis incorporated 15 old Grenache vines (average age 60 years) inherited from his ancestors into the winemaking process, employing organic farming practices to fully express the extraordinary potential of the combined terroir and old vines. Louis's philosophy is to work with like-minded winemakers to combine the unique terroir of the vineyards, minimize human intervention, and produce wines that express the purity and individuality of the terroir and possess excellent aging potential. By adhering to this philosophy, he has restored the Saint Cosme winery to its former glory.
The 2001 Saint-Cosme "Les Deux Albion" from the same estate appears in the third episode of the popular comic book "The Drops of God." In the comic, when the bottle is first opened, the female protagonist thinks it has a diffuse aroma and is just an ordinary, cheap wine. However, after decanting for 30 minutes, it transforms into a "remarkable wine," giving the male protagonist the illusion of being in Bali, with "a variety of spices, different meats, and ripe fruits, and dancers in sexy costumes, their hair and bodies adorned with acacia and honeysuckle petals."
Robert Parker was so impressed by the winery's wines that he called it the "Le Pin of Giondas" (the forerunner of Bordeaux's garage wines). The 2010 Gigondas Hominis Fides received a perfect score from Parker, and the winery has been listed in Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines five times. The winery's classic Gigondas was ranked second in 2012 and fifth in 2017.
