Chateau de Saint Cosme Cote-Rotie 2018
-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Côte-Rôtie this year displays superb density and depth, yet never loses its tell-tale “ethereal” character. More than ever, whole cluster fermentation defined the vintage style.
Enjoy this 2018 with beef and truffles.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
One of the gems in the Northern Rhône lineup is the 2018 Côte Rôtie, which, as with all of Louis’ wines, wasn’t destemmed and was brought up in 30-40% new oak. Stunning aromatics of black raspberries, olive tapenade, ground pepper, violets, and assorted meat notes all flow to a medium to full-bodied, opulent, seamless Côte Rôtie that has a smoking good texture. Count me impressed.
Range: 92-95 -
Wine Enthusiast
Notes of char, iron and tobacco leaf accent penetrating black-cherry and cassis flavors in this muscular expression of Côte-Rôtie. Produced from 100% whole-cluster Syrah and matured twelve months in 30% new French oak, it’s a weighty, intensely structured red framed by firm, gripping tannins and a delicately earthen, meaty finish. While nervous in youth it should hit peak from 2023 and improve another decade still. Cellar Selection
-
Wine Spectator
Alluring, with dark plum and cherry fruit that has been gently steeped, allowing it to meld with a range of violet, bay, anise and dark olive notes. Nice racy iron edge through the finish. Best from 2022 through 2032.
Other Vintages
2021-
Suckling
James
-
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
Chateau de Saint Cosme is the leading estate of Gigondas and produces the appellation’s benchmark wines. Wine has been produced on the site of Saint Cosme since Roman times, evident by the ancient Gallo-Roman vats carved into the limestone below the chateau. The property has been in the hands of Louis Barruol’s family since 1570. Henri and Claude Barruol took over in 1957 and gradually moved Saint Cosme away from the bulk wine business. Henri was one of the first in the region to work organically beginning in the 1970s. Louis Barruol took over from his father in 1992, making a dramatic shift to quality, adding a négociant arm to the business in 1997, and converting to biodynamics in 2010.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The cultivation of vines here began with Greek settlers who arrived in 600 BC. Its proximity to Vienne was important then and also when that city became a Roman settlement but its situation, far from the negociants of Tain, led to its decline in more modern history. However the 1990s brought with it a revival fueled by one producer, Marcel Guigal, who believed in the zone’s potential. He, along with the critic, Robert Parker, are said to be responsible for the zone’s later 20th century renaissance.
Where the Rhone River turns, there is a build up of schist rock and a remarkable angle that produces slopes to maximize the rays of the sun. Cote Rotie remains one of the steepest in viticultural France. Its varied slopes have two designations. Some are dedicated as Côte Blonde and others as Côte Brune. Syrahs coming from Côte Blonde are lighter, more floral, and ready for earlier consumption—they can also include up to 20% of the highly scented Viognier. Those from Côte Brune are more sturdy, age-worthy and are typically nearly 100% Syrah. Either way, a Cote Rotie is going to have a particularly haunting and savory perfume, expressing a more feminine side of the northern Rhone.