Saint Cosme Côte Rôtie

Côte Rôtie bottle image

Wine Description

Château de Saint Cosme is the leading estate of Gigondas and produces the benchmark wines of the appellation. The property has been in the hands of the Barruol family since 1490. Louis Barruol took over from his father in 1992 making a dramatic shift to quality and converting to biodynamics in 2010.

The estate lies in the heart of Gigondas where 15 hectares of vineyard grow in the shade of the Dentelles de Montmirail mountain. In addition to the estate-grown wines labeled “Château de Saint Cosme,” Louis Barruol buys grapes from contracted growers, labeling these “négociant” wines simply as “Saint Cosme.”

Côte-Rôtie is produced from 100% Sérine, an ancient and local variety of Syrah that is markedly different from modern selections. It is more oval, with lots of space in the bunch, resulting in a very aromatic wine. It is sourced from the schist soils of Le Plomb, Besset, La Viallière, and Neve climats. These hillsides are among the steepest in France with an incline as much as 55 degrees. The wine is made with whole cluster fermentation from indigenous yeasts, aged for 12 months in 30% new 228-liter barrels, and bottled without fining or filtration.

Saint Cosme Stone Sign
Chapel de Saint Cosme
WInemaker Louis Barruol
Oak Barrels
Chai de Saint Cosme
Aerial View of Chapel de Saint Cosme
Winemaker Louis Barruol
Le Poste Vineyards and Dentelles de Montmirail
Father and Son, Henry and Louis Barruol
Gigondas Bottle
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Acclaim
“A refined, fine-textured and precise Cote-Rotie with aromas of cherries, wild berries, wild herbs, bark and baking spices. Medium-bodied with finely grained tannins. There is a vibrant and spicy character at the center, with a succulent, precise and lively expression toward the long finish.” — James Suckling, May 2024
“The 2022 Côte Rôtie is flat-out gorgeous and a wine to seek out. Ripe black raspberries, blackberries, pepper, graphite, and smoke meat all define this medium to full-bodied 2022, which has velvety tannins and a great mid-palate. It's a blockbuster of a Côte Rôtie that will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age.” — Jeb Dunnuck, Mar 2024
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Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
Le Plomb, Besset, La Viallière, Neve
Soil composition
Schist
Elevation:
660 feet
First vintage of this wine:
1997
Bottles produced of this wine:
6,500
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Winemaking & Aging
Varietal composition:
100% Syrah
Fermentation container:
Cement vats
Maceration technique:
Pigeages
Fining agent:
None
Type of aging container:
Barrels
Size of aging container:
228 Liter
Type of oak:
French
Length of aging before bottling:
12 months
Age of Aging Container:
30% new, 70% one-year-old
Total SO2
88
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Analytical Data
pH level:
3.76
Alcohol:
13.2 %
Dry extract:
29.7 g/L
Total SO2
88
Residual sugar:
0.4 g/L