Tasting Notes
Vinous 94+
Inky ruby. Intense red fruit and floral pastille aromas are complicated by notes of peppery spices and minerals. Rich, lively and penetrating, offering sweet raspberry and bitter cherry flavors and a deeper licorice nuance. Becomes richer and chewier with air, picking up an exotic note of black cardamom. Powerful tannins give grip to an extremely long, sappy finish with its lingering suggestions of cherry compote and minerals. This wine is still a baby, but extremely promising.
Wine Advocate 99
There are approximately 120 cases of the 2010 Gigondas Le Poste, a nearly perfect effort. Its inky/blue/purple color is followed by aromas of flowers, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, graphite and camphor. It offers an aromatic smorgasbord of wonderful scents, and hits the palate with a full-bodied, thunderous mouthfeel revealing lots of texture, a multidimensional build and a 45 +-second finish. This is an amazing tour de force in winemaking from Louis Barruol. Louis Barruol has been at the top of his game since the late 1990s, and over the last few vintages, he has been making some of the finest wines in the southern Rhone as well as France. The glories here are Barruol’s single vineyard/special cuvees of Gigondas, but consumers should not overlook the terrific value offered by his Cotes du Rhones. The wines are sold under two monikers, Chateau Saint-Cosme and simply Saint-Cosme (his negociant line-up). Barroul produces a small quantity of Chateauneuf du Pape that is usually about 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Cinsault and 10% Syrah. Importer: Country Vintners, Ashland, VA; tel. (804) 752-3670
