2023 Saint Cosme Châteauneuf du Pape Rhone Valley

There’s a VERY short list of Southern Rhône producers whose wines we consider must-haves in every vintage. 

Louis Barruol’s Saint Cosme is one of them. 

Barruol is the genius behind what critic Jeb Dunnuck called “unquestionably one of the reference point estates…in the entire southern Rhône Valley.” His tiny-production Châteauneuf hails from the appellation’s best climats, one of them being the legendary, galet-strewn La Crau, best known for producing Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. 

In the 2023 vintage, which produced ripe, delicious-now Châteauneuf, Decanter (unsurprisingly) listed Barruol’s Saint Cosme in their Top 10 Southern Rhône producers. Barruol’s method is to mature his Châteauneuf for 24 months—quite a bit longer than is standard for the region—and the result is a gorgeous, rich, spiced wine that stands with triple-digit-priced stars like Vieux Télégraphe and Domaine de la Janasse, but for way less. 

Saint Cosme is synonymous with Gigondas, where the Barruol family has owned their property since 1490, but red-wine fans know Barruol’s spectacular Saint Cosme as one of the greats of Châteauneuf-du-Pape—and one of the must-have bottles from the Southern Rhône. It comes from three of the appellation’s best climats, including the legendary, galet-strewn La Crau.

Barruol is a 14th-generation vigneron, and even today, a part of his cellar that was built by the Romans around the year 100 still exists. The Barruols know the land of the Southern Rhône inside and out, and that bone-deep sense for terroir shows. Like a composer teasing every nuance out of each orchestra section, Barroul brilliantly captures subtleties of vineyard and vintage that other winemakers might miss.

From La Crau, the most famous vineyard in the region, he nails the trademark Christmas-cake notes and houses them within the wine’s fine-boned tannic structure. To that base, he adds fruit from two vineyards: the sand- and pebble-strewn Valori, and Christia, where vines rooted in clay-sand soils enjoy the benefits of a northeasterly exposure.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.80%
• 1 hour
• Now – 2040
• 50% Grenache30% Mourvèdre15% Syrah5% Cinsault
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork