It has been a long time since I reacted with an honest “Yum, that’s good” to a simple wine bought in a restaurant. But it happened the other day with the 2010 Côtes du Rhône from Saint Cosme. I have long heard of this producer, one of the oldest working in the Gigondas area of the southern Rhône valley, but have somehow never tried its wine. I will be sure to try more soon.

The Côtes du Rhône from Saint Cosme is their entry-level red, made from 100% syrah. Right from the start, the smell was lovely and atypical of such a young wine; I got strong scents of tobacco and cumin with a hint of white peppers. The wine nearly melted in my mouth, with flavors of charcoal and pepper. The tannins were very soft for such a young wine and the finish lingered pleasantly after every swallow.

Best of all, the wine went perfectly with the steak, polenta and morel mushrooms at the lovely bistro Albion in Paris. Owned by Brits, it cooks very French bistro food and has amazing wines at moderate prices. The 2010 Saint Cosme was only €22 (around $29).