Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2014 Gérard Bertrand Kosmos is one of the best wines in the Vin de France category—a recently created appellation from the French wine industry to get themselves back into the international market. I participated in the "Best Value Vin de France" wine competition in Paris in both 2013 and 2016 and discovered that the French are indeed making great strides in reaching the marketplace with better quality wines in the $12 to $20 level. At the 2016 judging, I tasted the 2013 Kosmos, which was pretty good. The 2014 is even better and appears to be ready to take on the marketplace. This wine shows loads of juicy, black fruit flavors that have an international spin to it—not like the old styled, rustic offerings from the past. Drinks well now. (Tasted: July 18, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Ample sweet spice and cigar box elements weave through the blackberry pie and kirsch flavors in this brooding, full-bodied red, with dense, supple tannins marking the iron and bay leaf finish. Drink now through 2020. 25,000 cases made.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
A small category representing the wines that either fall outside of appellation lines or don’t subscribe to the law and traditions set forth by the French government within certain classified appellations, “Vin De France” is a catch-all that includes some of the most basic French wines as well as those of superior quality. The category includes large production, value-driven wines. It also includes some that were made with a great deal of creativity, diligence and talent by those who desire to make wine outside of governmental restrictions. These used to be called Vin de Table (table wine) but were renamed to compete with other European countries' wines of similar quality.