Cosme's Compelling 20s
For todays mixed case offering, we are delighted to be taking a brief foray back to our cherished second home, the Southern Rhône; to share with you the latest releases of the gorgeous Côtes du Rhône Rouge and Les Deux Albion Blanc cuvées, from the fabled Château St Cosme.
We have extolled the virtues of the unmistakable ‘tour de force’ that is Louis Barruol many times before. Regularly referred to as ‘The Genius of Gigondas’ by fellow winemakers of the region, Louis took over the winemaking duties at his family’s ancient estate back in 1992. After making the ‘giant leap’ to finally bottling the domaines own wines, he quickly launched Château St Cosme into the stratosphere of the wine world. Under his leadership, Chateau St Cosme has become one of the flagship domaines for Gigondas around the Globe, and alongside a small group of highly respected domaines, he has contributed to its reputation as one of the top crus in the Southern Rhone, second only to Chateauneuf. However, never one to rest on his laurels and always looking to branch out and experiment, he has explored and mastered countless different terroirs through his negoce wine businesses. He produces wines from all over the Rhône Valley: including Hermitage, Saint Joseph and Chateauneuf du Pape to name a few. Louis has an incredible understanding of what it takes to make top-class wine, and is remarkably adaptable to different terroirs, regions and grape varieties. Louis’ wines have real puissance, they are wonderfully rich, dense and powerful whilst always remaining harmoniously balanced, intoxicatingly expressive and filled with life and energy. If you are yet to come across the wines of Chateau St Cosme, they truly are wines to be experienced.
2020 has been yet another exceptional vintage for Louis, with him making direct comparisons to 2019. Long hot periods helped the grapes to achieve optimum juiciness and ripeness, whilst consistent cool and breezy evenings ensured they retained good balancing levels of acidity and freshness. The 2020 Côtes du Rhône rouge and Les Deux Albion Blanc that we bring you today are a perfect pairing, whether you have been exposed to the wines of Château St Cosme previously or not. They simultaneously act as a great introduction to the style and quality of Louis’ range, without breaking the bank, whilst also simply standing on their own as delicious, unique and expertly crafted wines. Both have good ageing potential, if you were wanting to keep a bottle or two back, however, as opposed to some of Louis’ top parcellaire cuvées (which want to be allowed a few years in bottle before being drunk) these are drinking perfectly now.
Don’t miss out on this delicious red and white combo from this remarkably accomplished and versatile winemaker.
Our ‘Cosme’s Compelling 20s’ mixed case is available as a two-bottle pairing option or as a mixed case of six, containing 3x each of the following cuvées: