Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas Les Claux 2022 is a single-vineyard Gigondas from the Rhône Valley made entirely from Grenache Noir. It comes from one of the estate’s three named lieux-dits in Gigondas, grown on “yellowish limestone marl,” a site that one retailer says yields Saint Cosme’s most “Burgundian” expression. The Barruol family has owned the property since 1490, and current vigneron Louis Barruol converted the estate to biodynamics in 2010. Alcohol is a stated 14.9%, and élevage is in French oak; sources agree on oak use but differ on the exact share of new barrels (a tech sheet cites 20% new oak, while a retailer reports 30%).

In a warm, dry 2022 that the Rhône’s own reporting describes as heat- and drought-marked, Barruol still called it “a beautiful vintage, even very beautiful,” pointing to tannic structure and a favorable juice-to-skin ratio. That context fits the wine’s critical positioning: it is not presented as a lightweight Gigondas, but one aiming for clarity as well as depth.

The strongest published reception comes from Decanter’s Matt Walls, who included Les Claux among the vintage’s top-scoring Gigondas wines—an excellent sign even though no exact number was verified. Walls emphasizes an “enjoyably earthy aromatic display with peppery herbs underneath,” and describes the palate as “soft and juicy,” finishing with “more herbal notes, bay leaf and oregano.”

JamesSuckling.com’s Kevin Davy goes further in enthusiasm, writing he was “stunned,” and highlighting a “robust profile” but also “lots of purity” from old-vine Grenache. His note points to “wild berries, orange peels and dried flowers” alongside “a load of spices,” with a mid-palate that stays “juicy and vibrant at the center.”

Taken together, Les Claux 2022 reads as a concentrated, spice-and-herb-inflected Grenache with freshness preserved through aromatic lift and a lively core, rather than sheer power alone.