2017 Chateau de Saint Cosme Cotes-du-Rhone 750 ml

For Under $20: “You're Not Going to Find A Better Syrah”

“The 100% Syrah 2017 Côtes du Rhône is a bargain superstar...For the $20 (or less) I've seen it selling for, you're not going to find a better Syrah,” wrote Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate of today’s wine, taking the words right out of our mouths. We have it for $13.99 on cases, which may just be the best Rhône deal you’ll see all year.

Chateau de Saint Cosme is widely recognized as the greatest estate of Gigondas, the source of two 100-point wines in Parker’s pages, and three bottles that have made it on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list, most recently in 2017. While prices for proprietor Louis Barruol’s most coveted single-vineyard releases run into the three figures, his Côtes du Rhône—an absolute masterclass in Syrah—shows just as deft a hand at expressing terroir. Full-bodied and velvety, showing a dense red fruit core packed with cranberry and redcurrant, this is without question, as James Suckling declared, a “great value.”

Louis Barruol is a 14th generation winemaker at Chateau de Saint Cosme, an estate whose history stretches all the way back into the late 16th century. There still exists today a part of the cellar that was built by Romans in the year 100. The Barruols know this land inside and out, and that bone-deep sense for terroir shows: Wine Spectator has hailed Louis Barruol as “The Genius of Gigondas” while declaring the winery “the reference point estate for Gigondas as well as one of the most dynamic estates in all of the Rhône Valley, south or north.”

Louis’s father, the late Henri-Louis, helped resuscitate the chateau’s fortunes in the 1960s after extensive replanting, and Louis continues to carry on many of his family’s time-honored traditions both in the fields and cellars. Whole-cluster fermentation is the norm, reflecting the Barruols belief that stems not only contribute tannins, complexity, depth, and spice, but even the “soul” of the wine. But Louis has one eye on the future as well, practicing organic viticulture and experimenting with biodynamic practices. Unlike his predecessors, he has also demonstrated a willingness to look beyond Gigondas in search of new challenges.

It was that willingness that led to the creation of the chateau’s critically acclaimed Côtes du Rhône. The 2017 is composed of Syrah grapes from the cool, rock-strewn vineyards of Vinsobres, contributing freshness and aromatic sophistication; and ancient Villefranchian soils, known for adding heft and density. The 2017 vintage, though small in quantity, was off the charts in quality, following in the steps of the excellent 2015 and 2016 vintages for Southern Rhône. Crafted by an icon in the region, under-$20 Rhône reds don’t get any better than this.