2008 Château de Saint-Cosme Côtes du Rhône Les Deux Albion- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (11/23/2010)
Dark garnet in color. Gorgeous aromas of black cherry, smoked meat and dark chocolate. Medium plus acidity balances the intense, sweet mix of dark, concentrated black fruits, olive tapenade and a slight hint of brett (quite attractive actually). Tannins are quite strong still but not distracting. This is gorgeous and will definitely improve for a couple of years. (93 pts.)
Thanks for posting this note, Jorge. I bought loads of '07 Ste Cosme from the base CDR syrah to the Hominis Fides, but my sweet spot is the Les Deux Albion, which I bought 3 cases. My favorite QPR in years. I have only tried the base '08 CDR twice, and the '09 once, and did not think either were at the '07 level. Thrilled to try the '08 Les Deux now based on your note. My retailer has not yet gotten it in, but soon . . . .
Geez, this sounds better than the 07, which I’m presently hoarding… but then maybe it’s just Jorge’s seductive prose. Hey, I’ll find out for myself very soon.
Daniel, I did not have the 07 from St. Cosme but was indeed seduced by the initial polished quality of 07 CdRs only to be disappointed a year down the line when some turned out to be quite undrinkable. This St. Cosme is awesomely rustic, stinky-ish and old school.
I love this wine. However, my last bottle of the 2008 vintage was very disappointing, not at all like the 2007-which I bought a couple of cases of…bottle variation I hope…because this is a great qpr wine as noted
I’m a big Louis Barruol fan too. I often seem to miss buying the CdRs before they sell out, only got my hands on the 08. For those of you who may not know, Barruol made a few wines for Oriel too - the 05 Les Paves CdP was delicious about a year ago, and I just blogged about the '05 Courant CdR. Not a bad way to pick up a CdR that’s very St. Cosme-like and has some age on it, for $15 still.