There are times when one is so struck by the quality of a producer’s wines  across-the-board  that they leave a lasting impression on you.  Chateau Saint Cosme in Gigondas in the southern Rhone is one of them and it changed the way I felt about Gigondas wines.  When we visited him in June, Louis Barruol had a boyish, relaxed charm about him as he strolled down the hill to greet us, his big fluffy dog bouncing behind him.  But as he led us around the property, there was no questioning the casual aristocracy laying beneath the 14th generation …

2008 was a cool and wet vintage in the Northern Rhone which led to some flowering problems in the Spring, disease pressure and vigor.  The best producers have steep, well-draining vineyard sites and practice active canopy management to allow aeration and maximize fruit exposure.  Most importantly, they hand harvest for severe selection of fruit.  In the small white appellation of Condrieu (about 350 planted acres), the vineyards are on a continuation of the steep slopes of Cote-Rotie to the north, on well-draining decomposed granite soils.
Guigal is a famous producer of classic reds from the Northern Rhone …