Chateau St Cosme

The last tasting in France was rushed. Both the wine company and I were running out of time. This was a pity as Chateau St Cosme is well known in Australia and the US. It does the opposite to Guigal and Chapoutier. They own vineyards in the Northern Rhone and act as negotiants for Southern Rhone wine. St Cosme owns vineyards in the Southern Rhone and buys in grapes from the North.

I will report on two wines here. The 2013 Cote-Rotie is matured to 80% in new oak. This is a perfumed, quite elegant wine, with smoky and slate notes, coming from grapes from the steep slopes of the Rhone. This Shiraz is quite high in alcohol and slightly hot on the finish (90 points). The 2013 Gigondas, in contrast, comes from owned vineyards near the winery. It is a typical GSM and the juice sees no new oak. The fruit is fresh, with Grenache raspberry flavours dominant. The wine is very ripe and the meaty flavours would not be to everybody's taste (90 points).

St Cosme wines are clearly fashioned in the new world style. More oak, from long burnt barrells, ripe berries and high alcohol. These wines can deliver instant gratification, but lack the finess of the just reviewed Vieux Telegraphe.

Au revoir La France! It was fantastic.