Wine & Words

Chateau de Saint Cosme Little James’ Basket Press (Gigondas, France) Regular Price $15.50, Feature Price $12.40
A few weeks ago, we introduced the Chateau de Saint Cosme Cotes du Rhone “Les Deux Albion” 2007. It’s a luscious Rhone blend that has been a great hit with our customers. At the time we tried that wine, we heard about another one from the same winemaker, Louis Barruol. The wine was 100% Grenache (one of my favorites) and was made in an easy, approachable style that gave it the designation of a “Vin de Table de France.” When I found out it literally had my name on it, I had to try it. Well, Jeremy brought a sample on a day I wasn’t at the Washington store; and of course he and Mary just had to open it before I got there. Once they tasted it, they figured “Big James” was going to like the “Little James” just fine. They were so right.
The spirit of this wine is to be very simple and uncomplicated and inexpensive, but to give a great deal of pleasure. It’s got the spicy, “grapey” flavors I love in Grenache (or “Garnacha” in Spain) and it’s perfect with simple meals – after all, it’s a “wine of the table.”
This is a wine of history and tradition, as well. The lovely Ch. De Saint Cosme is 300m from the picturesque village of Gigondas and has been associated with the Berruol family since 1490, a span of 14 generations. The estate, in fact, dates back to Roman times, as evidenced by the perfectly conserved Gallo-Roman fermentation vats carved into the bedrock and the numerous pottery shards and other artifacts that regularly appear when the ancient vineyards are plowed. Louis Berruol, the young and talented winemaker since the 1995 vintage, has 15 hectares of old vines around the estate, with an average age of 60 years. Yields are kept very low, allowing painstaking personal care and attention to fermentation, barrel aging and bottling. Louis' passion for quality is clearly evident in the supple balance, harmony, complexity and lush, fruity character of his wines.
The basket press (pictured above) was the first type of mechanized press to be developed, and its basic design hasn’t changed in nearly 1000 years. This type of press is one of the most straightforward ways to gently crush grapes for winemaking, which is why M. Barruol chose it. The “basket” is like a barrel with some of the slats missing. Pressure is applied through a plate that is forced down onto the fruit, usually by a screw of hydraulic device. The juice flows through the openings in the basket. This wine is also unfiltered, so all the good stuff that flowed through the slats is in the bottle – a little primitive, perhaps, but oh, so delicious.