2010 Les Pagodes de Cos, St. Estèphe

Sweet, soft, succulent, juicy, sexy, round, joyous, this Pagodes seems a tad more ‘fun’ in comparison to its big, more sensible, yet profound brother. I don't mean to make it sound frivolous, and not the dense and really gorgeous glass that it is. Far from it, but it's like a GT Continental convertible versus a Bentley Arnage; it is a little less serious and just a tad flash! This is certainly the best Pagodes we have tried to date. Scrumptious! 
(62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot)
(Simon Staples, BBR Fine Wine Director)


Cos d'Estournel

Big smoky cassis nose, spice and controlled fruit, impressive complexity.
(Steven Spurrier – Decanter – Apr 2011)

45% of production. Glistening crimson. Rich, somehow burnished fruit aromas. Very sweet and winning start and then pretty tight but in some years in the past this would have looked like a pretty good classed growth. Very slightly lean on the finish and a little tarry but well done and supple until the very end, which is a bit sudden.
(Jancis Robinson MW- jancis robinson.com Apr 2011)

Probably the best second wine ever made at Cos (although the 2009 should not be discounted), the 2010 Les Pagodes de Cos is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot finishing at 14% natural alcohol. This wine exhibits beautiful, silky tannins as well as sweet, rich mulberry and black currant fruit with hints of spring flowers, licorice and subtle toast. A full-bodied, opulent and -ideal- second wine, most people who have tasted it would probably agree that it is actually better than many vintages of Cos d-Estournel from the 1960s and 1970s. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.
(93 Robert Parker- Wine Advocate- Feb 2013)

Possibly the finest Pagodes the estate has produced, as Jean-Guillaume Prats said, this 2010 is better than many vintages of Cos d’Estournel produced in the sixties and seventies. Forty-five percent of the production made it into this blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot that achieved 14.1% alcohol naturally. Plump and fat with an abundant concentration of black fruits as well as outstanding intensity, purity and texture, this beauty should drink well for 10-15 years.
(90-93 Robert Parker- Wine Advocate- May 2011)

This is sleek along the edges and dense in the middle, with ample crushed cherry, red currant and melted red licorice notes. A bright floral edge chimes in on the long finish. An impressive second wine. A little more Merlot than usual (62 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 38 percent Merlot). Tasted non-blind.
(James Molesworth – The Wine Spectator – Apr 2011)