2018 Saint Cosme Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rhone Valley 750 ml

Getting access to this famous, staggeringly rich, small-production Châteauneuf-du-Pape is like getting a hot tip on the stock market. Buy while you have the chance, and watch the value soar for as long as you can stand to wait. 

An icon of the region, Château de Saint Cosme is “unquestionably one of the reference point estates…in the entire southern Rhône Valley” says critic Jeb Dunnuck, who built his reputation on the Rhône. The château is synonymous with Gigondas, where the Barruol family has owned their property since 1490, but red-wine fans know the secret that lies beyond the appellation’s borders: the spectacular Saint Cosme Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Crafted by the winery’s incomparable proprietor, Louis Barruol, and grown on three of the appellation’s best climats—including the legendary, galet-strewn La Crau—their Châteauneuf-du-Pape deserves to be regarded, year in and year out, alongside Vieux Télégraphe, Domaine de la Janasse, and other icons of the region. It’s a gorgeous wine that lives up to its blue-chip pedigree and provenance. 

The only issue is that Saint Cosme produces comparatively low volumes, and yields were slashed in 2018. That cut our allocation down to a mere 24 cases.  

Louis Barruol, a 14th-generation vigneron, knows Châteauneuf inside and out, and that bone-deep sense for terroir shows in the finished wine. Like a composer teasing every nuance out of each orchestra section, Barroul brilliantly captures subtleties of vineyard and vintage that other winemakers might miss.

This is a Châteauneuf to be reckoned with. Our investment advice: Buy early, and don’t get stuck waiting for more to materialize.