Jeb Dunnuck rates Saint Cosme Gigondas 2016 & 2017

The Southern Rhône - September 27, 2018 by Jeb Dunnuck

2017 Château de Saint-Cosme Gigondas 90-92

A blend of 70% Grenache and the rest Syrah and Mourvèdre, the 2017 Gigondas is a sexy, ripe effort in a forward, already approachable style. Notes of black raspberries, graphite, pepper, and garrigue all dominate the bouquet, and it’s going to drink nicely right out of the gate.

2017 Château de Saint-Cosme Gigondas Le Claux 94-96

Notes of camphor, dried soil, crushed rocks, and loads of red and black fruits define the 2017 Gigondas Le Claux, which is 100% Grenache from a site just down the road from the estate. I always find a certain Burgundian character in this cuvée and it’s certainly present in the 2017. With medium to full body, a beautiful elegance and purity, and fine tannins, give bottles a few years and enjoy over the following decade or more.

2017 Château de Saint-Cosme Gigondas Le Poste 94-96+

More full-bodied, with incredible purity in its aromatics and fruit, the 2017 Gigondas Le Poste is another 100% Grenache cuvée that’s from a slightly higher elevation, terraced vineyard near the domaine. As with all the cuvées here, it’s not destemmed and is brought up mostly in used barrels. Offering lots of black currants, spice box, graphite, and licorice, it builds beautifully on the palate, has great concentration and intensity, and a blockbuster finish.

2017 Château de Saint-Cosme Gigondas Hominis Fides 96-99

My favorite of the single vineyard cuvées in 2017 is the Gigondas Hominis Fides, which comes from a vineyard just across the street from Le Claux. It has a killer nose of exotic flowers, freshly crushed rocks, new saddle leather, flowers, spice, and violets. Possessing full-bodied richness, an incredibly sexy, seamless, yet powerful style, and an awesome finish, it’s unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage.

2016 Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas 92

The 2016 Gigondas is a classic wine from this estate that shows the house style as well as the quality of the vintage. Blackberries, black cherries, herbes de Provence, ground pepper, and tons of spice all emerge from the glass. It’s deep, medium to full-bodied, moderately tannic, and perfectly balanced. Buy a case and enjoy bottled anytime over the coming 10-15 years or more.

2016 Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas Hominis Fides 100

One of the more backward and structured wines in the vintage is unquestionably the 2016 Gigondas Hominis Fides, which is 100% Grenache from a sandy, limestone site just across the street from the Le Claux vineyard. As always, it was not destemmed and was brought up all in barrel. Its inky purple color is followed by an extraordinary bouquet of blackcurrants, roasted garrigue, scorched earths, graphite, and an incredible sense of minerality (both in the aromatics as well as on the palate). Deep and powerful, with awesome intensity, it still stays ethereal and elegant, with no hard edges, polished tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a blockbuster finish. A huge wine that never puts a foot wrong, this is one of the greatest Gigondas ever made! Don’t miss it.

2016 Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas Le Claux 99

Starting off the single vineyard releases, the 2016 Gigondas Le Claux is legendary Gigondas in the making. Incredibly elegant and finesse-driven, it boasts a deep ruby/purple color to go with incredibly floral notes of camphor, dried earth, black currants, and spice. This Burgundian beauty boasts full-bodied richness, a deep, layered, heavenly mouthfeel, building tannins, and again, an incredible floral quality. I absolutely love it.

2016 Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas Le Poste 97

The most elegant and finesse-driven of the three single vineyard releases is the 2016 Gigondas Le Poste, which comes from a terraced vineyard just up the hillside from the estate. As with the other single vineyard releases, this beauty is all Grenache that was not destemmed and was brought up mostly in older barrels. Deep purple-colored with an intense perfume of blackberries, pepper, violets, graphite, and crushed rocks, this beauty just glides over the palate carrying full-bodied richness, supple tannins, and awesome purity of fruit. It’s another incredible wine from this reference point estate.