Saint Cosme Côte Rôtie 2023
An ample and beautifully structured Côte Rôtie with lovely complexity, notes of smoked ham, violet, graphite, and liquorice gently unfurl through to a long-lasting finish.
The grapes come from top parcels in the Côte Rôtie, from the named lieu-dits of Besset, Cote Bodin, Fontgeant, But de Mont, Maison rouge, Semons, Maisons Blanches. The vines grow in the schist, micaschist and loess soils where they thrive and produce expressive wines. This cuvée is made up of 100% Sérine, which is an ancient, smallberried and low yielding heirloom Syrah, native to the region which is renowned for its aromatic complexity and finesse. Louis Barruol attributes the classic smoky character in the Northern Rhône wines to Sérine. The vines are manually cultivated, and hand harvested.
Whole cluster fermentation took place with wild indigenous yeasts. The wine was then matured for 12 months, 40% in new oak casks and 60% in casks used for one wine, before being bottled unfiltered.
Steeped in history, Château de Saint Cosme is nestled in the southern Rhône appellation of Gigondas and has been in the Barruol family for over 500 years. In 1992, fourteenth generation winemaker, Louis Barroul took over the reins of the estate from his father. Today, he is one of the most highly respected winemakers in the Rhône Valley and is affectionately referred to by fellow winemakers of the region as the ‘Genius of Gigondas’. With great determination and flair, he showcases the great potential of the Gigondas terroir with his outstanding parcellaire cuvées from individual old-vine vineyard plots. The estate has great geological diversity, as it is exceptionally located at the crosspoint of two geological faults, which is very rare. Over the years, Louis has also established his own ‘negoce’ wines, seeking out the spirit of soils and vineyards, working painstakingly with small batch fermentations, advancing hand in hand with wine growers who love what they do, while adding that special touch. This has enabled him to explore and master different terroirs, from which he consistently produces pure wines with a precise sense of place, personality and balance.
