Chateau de Saint Cosme Condrieu 2018
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Wine &
Spirits
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Savor this wine with lobster, pasta with truffles or blue cheese.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Hints of sweet spice and smoke seep into sunny apricot and honeysuckle in this lavishly rounded Viognier. It’s a classically fleshy, weighty wine with a delightfully clingy finish, but cutting mineral tones and crisp tangerine acidity lend lift and vitality, too. Excellent in youth but concentrated enough to mature well through 2040.
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Jeb Dunnuck
I was able to taste two vintages of Louis Barruol’s Condrieu, and both are terrific. The 2018 Condrieu comes from a cooler terroir near Malleval and offers lots of apricot, tangerine, and honeysuckle notes as well as classic Condrieu richness and depth on the palate. Medium to full-bodied, silky, and elegant, with plenty of granite character, it has a forward, fleshy style that’s going to shine right out of the gate. Range: 92-94
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Wine Spectator
A hedonistic version, with a bold, ripe, lush style. Creamed pear, apricot and quince flavors glide through, laced with mirabelle plum and anise notes along the way, showing a ginger- and brioche-accented finish. Drink now.
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James Suckling
A very powerful, rich and attractively fleshy Condrieu with intense and concentrated fruit and a wealth of apricots and some baking spices on offer. The palate has such intensity and depth. Citrus and fleshy apricots abound.
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Wine & Spirits
This is all about texture—rich, round, dense and smooth, the result of having spent a year on the fine lees in barrels. The flavors are comparatively restrained, notes of citrus, olive brine and white tea subduing viognier’s sweet peachiness. It’s a Condrieu that you could pour for someone who doesn’t normally like viognier.
Other Vintages
2021-
Wine
Spectator
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Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Wine &
Spirits
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
Chateau de Saint Cosme is the leading estate of Gigondas and produces the appellation’s benchmark wines. Wine has been produced on the site of Saint Cosme since Roman times, evident by the ancient Gallo-Roman vats carved into the limestone below the chateau. The property has been in the hands of Louis Barruol’s family since 1570. Henri and Claude Barruol took over in 1957 and gradually moved Saint Cosme away from the bulk wine business. Henri was one of the first in the region to work organically beginning in the 1970s. Louis Barruol took over from his father in 1992, making a dramatic shift to quality, adding a négociant arm to the business in 1997, and converting to biodynamics in 2010.
Full-figured and charmingly floral, Viognier is one of the most important white grapes of the northern Rhône where it is used both to produce single varietal wines and as an important blending grape. Look for great New World examples from California, Oregon, Washington and cooler parts of Australia. Somm Secret—Viognier plays a surprisingly important role in the red wines of Côte Rôtie in the northern Rhône. About 5% Viognier is typically co-fermented with the Syrah in order to stabilize the color, and as an added benefit, add a subtle perfume.
As the source of some of the most vibrant and powerful white wines in France, Condrieu is uniquely situated in one of the northern outposts of the Rhone River. It is the original Viognier appellation with a wine growing history reaching back well over two thousand years. Like most of the wine regions of the Northern Rhone, Condrieu’s vines grow on extremely steep and narrow granite terraces. But what makes the region unique is a topsoil, locally called, “arzelle,” made of decomposed mica. This and a sheltering of the harsh northern winds, make optimal sites to produce opulent and brilliant Viognier. It is a tiny zone with no room for expansion and produces miniscule amounts of wine each year, contributing to its allure.
A fine Condrieu will have aromas and flavors suggestive of ripe stone fruit, lime peel, green almond, ginger, white flowers and toasted nuts. A honeyed smell may mislead you to think the wine will be sweet but the modern style favors totally dry on the palate. Its texture will be full and soft but a touch of mineral will provide great balance.