Saint Cosme Gigondas Le Claux 2022 (750ML)

97 JS / 97 DE / 96 WS / 95 VM / 94-96 WA / 94-96 JD / 17+ JR

Robust, floral and intense. 100% old-vine grenache, expressing aromas of wild berries, sweet cherries, orange peel, dried flowers, grilled herbs and loads of spices. It’s full-bodied with fine, firm tannins. Juicy at the center with so much energy. It’s vibrant and focused with good drive in the finish. Bright and agile. From organically grown grapes with Ecocert certification. Try after 2026.—James Suckling

Aromatically quite closed at the time of tasting, but this has power and vibrancy on the palate, there's a touch of sweetness to the fruit, which is dark and brooding cassis and blackberry. Generous in smooth, ripe fruit and stacked with an intense chewy layer of velvety tannin. Fresh and intense, this stands out for its sheer driving intensity and focus. No great flesh, but serious depth, and will make an impressive structural style of Gigondas when it's ready. From old vines, all whole-cluster fermented in concrete, no destemming, indigenous yeasts, and matured 100% in barriques; one third new, one third second use, one third third use.—Matt Walls, Decanter

There's a lot to love in this ethereal red, with stunning purity and allure. The perfumed nose is marked by black fruit, pepper, smoked bacon and tobacco, with smoky oolong tea in the backdrop. Concentrated yet doesn't feel weighed down, with fine, chalky tannins landing the finish, which stretches out in effortless harmony and reveals earthy tugs of tar and juniper. Its beautiful suppleness makes this approachable now, but this will also go the distance in the cellar. Drink now through 2040. From France.—K.B., Wine Spectator

Since my tasting last year from barrel, the 2022 Gigondas Le Claux greatly benefitted from the rest of the élevage, with its tannins now more refined and a wonderful sense of harmony throughout. A swirl of the glass reveals aromas of lush forest strawberry, red and black plum, cedar, rosewater and a pinch of dried herbs. This detailed and focused Le Claux stands out from the crowd, finishing with a lingering persistence.Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous Media

The corpulent 2022 Gigondas le Claux is impressive for its size and richness but also for its feeling of airiness and overall elegance, despite massively concentrated black cherry fruit. It should be another blockbuster vintage for this parcel of old-vine Grenache.—Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate

More kirsch liqueur, graphite, ground pepper, and garrigue notes emerge from the 2022 Gigondas Le Claux, a more full-bodied Gigondas offering a deep, layered mouthfeel, impressive concentration, and building tannins. The cellar will be your friend here.—Jeb Dunnuck

Tasted blind. The nose is quite reserved and introverted at the moment. The oak is present and giving some slight cedar notes. On the palate, there is good concentration of red fruits, tobacco, subtle oak char and mocha. The tannins are very fine but very firm. A wine with great intensity and substance. Scorched-earth and graphite notes underpin the mid palate. A long and rich finish.-Alistair Cooper MW, JancisRobinson