2012 Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas Le Poste
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Tasting notes
Saturated ruby. Aromas of ripe red fruit, spicecake and candied flowers, with a bright mineral element adding vivacity. Sweet, palate-staining black raspberry and lavender flavors become fleshier and spicier with air. Suave, seamless and pure, finishing with outstanding cut and even tannins that are quickly absorbed by the wine's intense fruit.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
Like the Hominis Fides, the 2012 Gigondas Le Poste is elegant, seamless and silky, all while not losing a beat with regards to power, richness and length. Sweet black and blue fruits, liquid violets, underbrush, tar and hints of chocolate all emerge from the glass, and it’s full-bodied on the palate, with serious mid-palate concentration and ample, yet silky tannin that frame the finish. Like the other top releases here, it’s approachable but will have 20 years of longevity.
Glass-staining ruby. Youthfully brooding aromas of cherry pit, cassis and plum jam, with licorice and cracked pepper accents. Deeply pitched red and dark berry compote flavors firm up in the mid-palate, picking up bitter chocolate and spicecake qualities. Then surprisingly sweet and lively on the finish, leaving behind a suave black raspberry quality. This powerful yet graceful Gigondas has the depth to age.
Fresh and lively, yet with additional purity and focus, the 2012 Cotes du Rhone Le Poste Blanc (the Le Poste vineyard is essentially 4 terraces, with one of the terraces planted with white varieties) is mostly Clairette and gives up notions of poached pears, citrus blossom and hints of green fruits in its medium-bodied, pure and balanced personality. It has solid mid-palate depth and should hold nicely for 2-3 years, possibly longer (drink it though). Without a doubt, the leading estate in Gigondas is Louis Barruol’s Chateau Saint-Cosme. Located just outside the village, he releases an assortment of world class Gigondas, as well as a number of value priced, negotiate-styled Cotes du Rhone efforts that always deliver high-quality (these are normally released under his Saint-Cosme label and do not say Chateau Saint-Cosme). Both 2011 and 2012 are incredibly strong here and readers should not miss these wines! The three single vineyard releases are basically 100% Grenache, from unique terroirs, that are brought up all in Burgundy barrels, 30% being new, 40% 1-year-old and the balance 2-3-year old. In addition to these wines, I review a number of Barruol’s northern Rhone releases in Issue 210 as well, and covered his Chateauneuf du Papes in Issue 209. Importer: Country Vintners, Ashland, VA; tel. (804) 752-3670