2009 Gigondas

The 2009 Gigondas seems slightly reduced from bottle, which is unusual for a tasting in Barruol’s cellars. A blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 17% Mourvedre and the rest Cinsault, this densely colored wine possesses some rather hard tannins as well as a slightly disjointed mouthfeel, but loads of concentration and intensity. If it pulls itself together and the jaggedness of the tannins dissipates, this will become a very good wine. It has taken a while, but one of my favorite producers in the southern Rhone, Louis Barruol of Saint-Cosme, is getting very good publicity just about everywhere I look. It is certainly well-deserved, considering the broad range of wines he produces, from his inexpensive and over-delivering Cotes du Rhones and Vins de Pays, to his top-flight, world-class wines made in Gigondas. This is all a matter of hard work and understanding viticulture and great terroirs. As for the estate wines from Gigondas, 2009 was a more challenging vintage for Louis Barruol than many people probably understand, because he had some serious hail issues that cut into his Grenache crop. His best vintage to date is 2007, but 2010 is going to come close, and he has certainly excelled in a much more difficult vintage for him personally, 2009. The 2010s are probably Barruol’s greatest vintage since 2007, yet slightly more tannic and backward at a similar stage in their development than the 2007s were. All of the following wines are 100% Grenache, with the exception of the first two. Importer: Vintage ‘59, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 966-9218

Very perfumed and pure, the 2009 Château de Saint-Cosme Gigondas is straight-up fantastic and possesses an interesting mix of elegance and concentration. A co-fermented blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 18% Mourvèdre, and 2% Cinsault that’s aged for 12 months in 70% 1-4 years old barrels, and the rest in concrete vat, it boasts edgy aromas of raspberry liqueur, black cherry, crushed stone, spring flowers, and peppered steak on the nose. This medium to full-bodied beauty is impeccably balanced, showing solid concentration, a seamless texture, and a under riding level of finesse and elegance that you don’t find in many Gigondas. Still incredibly youthful (this bottle showed best on the third day), this deserves another 4-6 years of bottle age, and should have 12-15 years of longevity.

The 2009 Gigondas seems slightly reduced from bottle, which is unusual for a tasting in Barruol’s cellars. A blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 17% Mourvedre and the rest Cinsault, this densely colored wine possesses some rather hard tannins as well as a slightly disjointed mouthfeel, but loads of concentration and intensity. If it pulls itself together and the jaggedness of the tannins dissipates, this will become a very good wine. ||It has taken a while, but one of my favorite producers in the southern Rhone, Louis Barruol of Saint-Cosme, is getting very good publicity just about everywhere I look. It is certainly well-deserved, considering the broad range of wines he produces, from his inexpensive and over-delivering Cotes du Rhones and Vins de Pays, to his top-flight, world-class wines made in Gigondas. This is all a matter of hard work and understanding viticulture and great terroirs. As for the estate wines from Gigondas, 2009 was a more challenging vintage for Louis Barruol than many people probably understand, because he had some serious hail issues that cut into his Grenache crop. His best vintage to date is 2007, but 2010 is going to come close, and he has certainly excelled in a much more difficult vintage for him personally, 2009. The 2010s are probably Barruol’s greatest vintage since 2007, yet slightly more tannic and backward at a similar stage in their development than the 2007s were. All of the following wines are 100% Grenache, with the exception of the first two. Wine Advocate.October, 2011