2000 Chateau St. Cosme Gigondas

[newsguy]

($19.99) this blend of 75% grenache, 20% syrah and 5% cinsault is the first gigondas i've tasted. i've never had a CdP either (and i've heard gigondas can be similar, if a bit rougher). regardless, this was d-mn tasty juice. decanted for two hours. dark purplish ruby in color. blackberry, black cherry, earth, LOTS of pepper, a bit of spice and a definite gamey note. interesting that this wine has a ton of flavor, yet its mouthfeel was not as big as i'd expected. LOTS of dusty tannins, yet still a very good finish. i read on another board that the winemaker said he expected this wine to go 10 years easy and to be patient. i'm not sold that i'm a gigondas fan yet, but clearly this is an outstanding bottle. i'm gonna go back and grab a few more, trying the next one in 2004 or 5.