November 13, 2015

SAINT COSME Côtes-du-Rhône 2013

(Côtes-du-Rhône, France) $15

Côtes du Rhône can be a great weekend red: it’s delicious; it’s got personality; it’s a steal. Just one problem–there’s a sea of second-rate examples on the market. This, however, is not one of those. Syrah-dominated, Saint Cosme Côtes-du-Rhône 2013 is a vibrant, lip-smacking red wine, full of dark cherry, earth, and exotic spice flavors. (Think Chậteauneuf-du-Pape’s younger brother.) It needs a cold night and a warm stew. I still remember visiting the estate some years ago—the medieval farmhouse cellar (dating from the time of the Romans) possessed an aroma that was intoxicating on its own.

Burdigala is:

A. The name of a historic celebratory dinner hosted every 10 years in Paris by France’s Grand Crus estates

B. The name of the tribe that settled the region surrounding Burgundy

C. The original Celtic name for Bordeaux

D. The name of the first, but no longer standing, famous forest from which French oak barrels originally came

Burdigala was the name bestowed on the region of Bordeaux by its first Celtic occupants, the Bituriges Vivisques tribe, according to Jane Anson in her authoritative Inside Bordeaux (Berry Bros. & Rudd, 2020). The tribe settled in the Bordeaux region around 567 BCE, and remained there—even under Roman rule–until the 3^rd century AD.

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Amount (in millions of U.S. dollars) that Jackson Family Wines now saves per year as a result of shaving 2 ounces of weight from glass bottles used for Kendall Jackson and La Crema wines. Glass… Continue reading

SAINT COSME Côtes-du-Rhône 2013

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