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FRANCE
Château de Saint Cosme
WINERY OVERVIEW
Château de Saint Cosme lies in the heart of the appellation of Gigondas, just 300 meters
north of the village. It is the oldest estate in Gigondas, dating back to the 15th century, but lies
on the site of an ancient Gallo-Roman villa, with its hand carved fermentation vats perfectly
preserved in the limestone. The property has been in the hands of the Barruol family since
1570. Louis Barruol, heir to a 14 generation family tradition, took over the estate from his father
in 1992 and under his guidance Saint Cosme has been transformed from an anonymous bulk
wine source to arguably one of the best estates in the Southern Rhône. Passionate, talented,
and with boundless energy, Louis Barruol also produces an assortment of world class wines
from a micro-négociant activity simply labeled “Saint Cosme.”
LOCATION OF VINEYARD
The 54-acre (22-hectare) estate is comprised predominantly of old vines (average of 60
years old) with a yield of around 27 hl/ha. It is located at the crossing of two geographical
faults, which is very rare and provides an extraordinary diversity of soils. Louis is a veritable
custodian of the land and terroir he works, doing everything to protect the dynamic
ecosystem of the property. The vineyards have been farmed organically since the 1970’s by his
father Henri Barruol, and Louis has been following biodynamic practices since 2010.