Château de Saint Cosme

     Thursday May 19, 2016

Reservations Closed
Course Pairing / Description Wine
Hors D' Oeuvres Fig & Goat Cheese Tartlets (Rustic Farmers Dough, Parsley and Caramelized Onions) Crispy Kataifi Crusted Jumbo Shrimp (Tahini and Sherry Emulsion)
The St. Cosme Little James’ Basket Press is a Viognier/Sauvignon blend. It is made and aged in vats. For the 2013 vintage, more Sauvignon was used than Viognier to tune the best balance for this Little James wine. For the current vintage, St. Cosme went for the opposite for the same reason. Blending Viognier with Sauvignon is not normal and it is almost impossible to find a bottle of Viognier/Sauvignon in the market. The Languedoc area offers to the growers a fantastic opportunity to be a large land of freedom to explore. St. Cosme takes advantage of that freedom with this wine. Very aromatic and intense, the 2014 Little James is a good successor to its predecessors. It is St. Cosme’s thirst-quenching white wine. Its only goal is to give you immediate enjoyment with flavors of orange skin, box, grapefruit, ripe citrus and fennel.
St. Cosme Little James Basket Press White 2015
Soup Course Curried Carrot & Pineapple Soup (Crispy Proscuitto Ribbons and Charred Asparagus Relish With Fresh Herbs)
The St. Cosme Côtes du Rhône Blanc is 45% Viognier, 20% Marsanne, 25% Picpoul de Pinet and 10% Clairette. It is fermented in small casks and aged on the lies. This is the third vintage in a row that offered such great climate conditions for St. Cosme’s white wines. There was no pressure from a ripening rhythm that would be too quick. The cool temperatures allow their white wines to ripen better and age well. This wine has flavors of marshmallow, box, liquorish, ripe banana and black currant.
St. Cosme Cotes Du Rhone Blanc 2014
Pork Course Crispy Fried Wine Braised Pork Rib (Parsnip Puree, Grilled Asparagus, Sweet Brandied Carrots and Red Wine-Dark Pork Jus)
During 2014, the west of the Rhône valley got more rain than the eastern parts. St. Cosme’s two sources of Côtes du Rhône are the villafranchiennes terraces from the Gard and the village of Vinsobres on the east side of the Rhône valley. This wine contains 75% of its grapes from Vinsobres, more than ever before. It has a lot of personality. The excellent levels of ripening reached in the region during 2014 are almost surreal given the vintage. The 2014 vintage is bolder than 2013 and the shining fruit is there. With a good sensation of relief, the taste of ripening in the mouth is balanced by the freshness and the round texture and flavors of liquorish, gingerbread and red currant.
St. Cosme Cotes Du Rhone 2014
Beef Course Butter Basted Pepper Crusted Flatiron Steak (Bacon Braised Collard Greens, Smoked Chipotle And Tomato Fondue With Red Wine Syrup)
The St. Cosme Gigondas is 50% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre and 5% Cinsault. It was co-fermented in 25 differents plots from the St Cosme estate in full clusters. It was aged for 12 months, 15% in new barrels and 85% in 1 to 4 years old barrels. The 2013 vintage was an absolutely tiny crop. Such a low percentage of Grenache at Saint Cosme is a rarity and it changes the style of the wines. The color of the Gigondas is almost black with a great concentration and maybe a little less softness than usual. A few weeks after the final blend, it revealed itself excellent with a very seductive profile. With its obvious explosion of fruit, this wine is dense and intense. It has its own identity which doesn’t allow it to be compared to any other vintage. It was bottled without any filtration. The Gigondas has flavors of strawberry, black currant, liquorish and black pepper.
St. Cosme Gigondas 2014
Dessert Course Ginger Roasted Blackberry & Rhubarb Vol Au Vent (Dark Chocolate Ganache Schmear, Creme Fraiche and Raw Sugar Toasted Salted Almonds)
The Saint Cosme Châteauneuf-du-Pape is 50% Grenache, 18% Mourvèdre, 25% Syrah, 5% Cinsault and 2% Clairette. Its origins are La Crau, Valori and Les Grès in full clusters. This wine was aged for 24 months in 2 to 5 years old barrels. St. Cosme believes that trying to vinify and age a good Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a strange exercise. The grapes that they know quite well behave in a very different way. It has nothing to do with their knowledge of Gigondas, but rather as a grower, trying to transpose their knowledge to another situation is probably a mistake if the final goal is to leave the terroir talk. This in part explains why St. Cosme ages Chateauneuf differently, over 24 months in older barrels. The reds from Châteauneuf need a long ageing in barrels to reveal themselves. This wine was bottled without any filtration. The balance of this Châteauneuf-du-Pape is very fresh with a good identity. It is very refined with flavors of trufle, small red berries, gingerbread and smells of garrigue brushland.
St. Cosme Chateauneuf Du Pape 2013