TN: 2020 Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône

  • 2020 Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (10/7/2021)
    Day 1: Not a good first glass. Hot wine with some spices, floral, celery and chalk. There are some red currants on the finish but will see how this wine evolves. Honestly I can’t rate it and would return this bottle if it does not improve on day 2 or 3. Certainly the worst Saint Cosme Cotes du Rhone to date. Currently around 81 points
    Day 2: This is again why I do 3 Day Wine Review especially for these wines that are not really ready to drink now. I would cellar this 4 or 5 years. Cranberry, raspberries, minerals, Garrique, spices and dark chocolate. If I would have drank a glass and given up would have never found out how good this wine really was. Medium plus finish and nice complexity here. 90-92 points (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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I don’t know of a single sub-$15 bottle that I don’t think is better on day 2

Most are not better on day 2. Only the top producers will be better on day 2 such as Saint Cosme, a good Qba Riesling, a nice Rioja, etc. Think how bad Yellow Tail, Meiomi and other wines in that category would be on day 2 or 3. Even worse than day 1.

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This and Deux Albion in magnum are 2 of the best values in wine.

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I randomly bought a few magnums of the 2017. Haven’t figured out when or what to open them for. Any suggestions?

Over the next few years. I like the 2020 better as I bought a case of the 17 and all gone. Always a 89/90 effort for the most part. It would be interesting to hold one 5 plus years to see how these age.

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Day 3: Even more approachable and that chalk and heat is not there. Rustic wine with Garrique, spice, raspberries, minerals and bright red fruits. Medium plus finish and delicious wine. 91 points
Recommendation: Big decant 4 plus hours or do the 3 day wine thing for maximum enjoyment.

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John,
Curious how you handle the bottles to enjoy over 3-4 days? What’s your protocol? Coravin? Thanks.

I drank some 2007 and 2010s in mag around age 7-8 and they were great, opened them up for family and friend BBQs and everyone was super impressed I would open up such a nice wine for a BBQ til I told them it cost me around $30…way over delivered.

Great with burgers, brats, or chicken.

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I’ve tasted several vintages of this wine over the years and have only good memories of it. I remember it was always a few bucks more than the ubiquitous, and what used to be decent, Guigal offering. There were probably one or two years that we went back to buy several bottles of the Saint Cosme CdR to have on hand as sort of the “house red”

Put the cork back in the bottle. I would not recommend that with older wines for 3 days but works great for newer wines.

John - thanks for this write-up…! I’ve always thought this CdR was a stellar value most years and Barruol had raved about the quality of the 2020. However the first bottle we tried seemed like some type of monstrosity with a sappy confected quality. I wrote off the fact that Barruol had said it was such a strong vintage and figured that the novelty of such a rich wine was why he thought it was compelling.

Looks like it might be worth hunting down a magnum of this for a future holiday family gathering.

2020 Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (10/16/2021)
Day 1: Last bottle on day one was terrible but improved on day 2/3. This bottle much better on pop and pour. Underbrush, minerals, raspberries, dust and spices. A tasty wine under $15.00. 89 points
Day 2: Solid with a bit more fruit showing. Underbrush, raspberries, strawberries, minerals and spices. 89 points
Day 3: Consistent with days 1 and 2.
Recommendation: Yes please as a great everyday drinker. Drink now to 2026. (89 points)

2nd bottle was solid and was more open for business on the pop and pour

Picked up a few of these tonight. Paid $13 before tax. Curious to see how my pop and pour compares to yours.

Saw this at Costco for $10…wasn’t there for wine, but may need to go back.

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4th in SODO?

Yep, and Southcenter.

Thx. Thriftway in WS has had case stacks of it for months, but at $17. As usual, a screaming value for Syrah. Paul at FP usually offers it each year at $12, but haven’t seen the 2020 yet. Time for a quick trip off the island to SODO…

Best of the 3 bottles!

2020 Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (11/10/2021)
Day 1: Raspberries, pepper, spices, floral and perfume. Pleasant wine and great value as always. This bottle is open for business on a pop and pour. 89 points
Day 2: Better. More fragrant and fruit is more present featuring raspberries, strawberries and cherry. Picks up spice, floral and pepper on the finish. Need to grab a case of these great everyday drinkers. 90+ points
Day 3: Really nice on day 3. Pepper, floral, raspberries, cherry, spice and stone. This wine is a tremendous value and will age for five/seven years without a doubt. 91 points
Recommendation: You can enjoy this now but drink it on day 2/3 and be amazed. (91 points)

Just got an email from Pike and Western offering this at $125 a case