Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas Le Claux

Gigondas Le Claux bottle image

Wine Description

Château de Saint Cosme is the leading estate of Gigondas and produces the benchmark wines of the appellation. The property has been in the hands of the Barruol family since 1490. Louis Barruol took over from his father in 1992 making a dramatic shift to quality and converting to biodynamics in 2010.

Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas Le Claux is the estate’s oldest vineyard and sits near the entrance to the winery. “It was first planted in 1870 following phylloxera. My uncles thought it wasn’t producing enough fruit and planned to uproot it in 1914,” says Louis Barruol, but “World War I interrupted that plan.”

The 1.8-hectare Le Claux—meaning “Clos” in old French—is a field blend of predominately Grenache. Louis Barruol believes 10% of the vineyard is from the original 1870 planting. Vines are replaced by massal selection and the average vine age is 60-years. The wine is made with whole cluster fermentation from indigenous yeasts, is aged in 20% new 228-liter barrels, and bottled without fining or filtration.

Saint Cosme Stone Sign
Chapel de Saint Cosme
WInemaker Louis Barruol
Oak Barrels
Chai de Saint Cosme
Aerial View of Chapel de Saint Cosme
Winemaker Louis Barruol
Le Poste Vineyards and Dentelles de Montmirail
Father and Son, Henry and Louis Barruol
Gigondas Bottle
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Acclaim
“The 2021 Gigondas Le Claux is at eye level with the Hominis Fides from the same vintage. Powerful and refined, it bursts with intense ripe red fruits, followed by hints of blueberry and traces of cloves, cedar and licorice. This outstanding 2021 red is built around a massive tannic structure. Hence, don’t even think about opening a bottle before 2030, as it would be a terrible waste of what eventually will merge into a substantial Gigondas of pedigree and class.” — Vinous, Jan 2024
“The 2021 Gigondas Le Claux is elegant and refined, with medium-bodied richness and depth as well as ultra-fine tannins. It has an almost Pinot Noir-like quality in its ripe red fruits, spring flowers, camphor, and forest floor aromatics, and it has good concentration as well as length on the finish. As always, this single vineyard release is all Grenache that wasn't destemmed and was brought up in demi-muids.” — Jeb Dunnuck, Nov 2023
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Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
Le Claux
Vineyard size
4 acres
Soil composition
Calcareous
Training method
Gobelet
Elevation:
825 feet
Vines/acre:
1600
Harvest time:
mid-October
First vintage of this wine:
2006
Bottles produced of this wine:
4,267
Certifying Organizations:
Ecocert
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Winemaking & Aging
Varietal composition:
Grenache
Fermentation container:
concrete vats
Fining agent:
None
Type of aging container:
Barrels
Size of aging container:
228 Liters
Type of oak:
French
Age of Aging Container:
20% new
Length of bottle aging:
12 months
Total SO2
62
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Analytical Data
pH level:
3.9
Acidity:
2.97 g/L
Alcohol:
15.73 %
Dry extract:
29.4 g/L
Total SO2
62
Residual sugar:
0.18 g/L