Cos d'Estournel

A product of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, from 50% of the property’s yield in 2012, Les Pagodes displays a core of blackcurrant coulis fruit. A cooling and refreshing, almost earthy, character is also present, and particularly pleasing.

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, Fine Wine Director

Inky black colour, with a dense, sweet berry nose and an attractive aroma of smoky new oak. The palate offers little at the moment as the firm tannins and balanced acidity surround a deep centre of cassis fruit and mineral extraction. One for the cellar.

Cos d`Estournel is named after its 19th century owner, Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel, and it was he who built the bizarre oriental edifice that is a landmark for any tourist in the Médoc. Today Cos is without doubt the leading estate in St Estéphe. The grand vin is typically a blend of 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 38 percent Merlot and two percent Cabernet Franc – but do not be fooled by the relatively high Merlot content, as these are full-bodied, dark, brooding tannic wines when young which develop a complexity and intensity that can rival many top growths from Pauillac.

This seductive Cos from the superb 1990 vintage contains around 40 percent Merlot in the blend. This makes for a forward style of Cos, packed with succulent, ripe dark fruit flavours, soft yet powerful tannins and a full-bodied palate.

This is the exception that proves the rule in 2006. St Estèphe had a difficult time in this vintage, but you wouldn't know it tasting this sophisticated, classically structured wine. Just a notch above Montrose in quality, and more masculine in style, this is highly polished with an intense concentrated spicy cassis nose, a lovely purity of rich black fruit with licorice hints and a fine tannic structure. The finish is very long.

Cos d’Estournel’s multimillion Euro renovation project (as seen on Wine: The Firm) has turned its winery into a futuristic sight incredible to behold. Gravity flow is now all-important to ensure that the wine is moved around in the gentlest way possible. The 2008 is the first vintage to be made in the new winery and fortunately for investors in Cos’s grand project, we think you can taste the difference. This was by far the finest wine we tasted in St Estèphe. The majority of wines from this cooler commune were austere and lacking the ripe fruit found elsewhere in Bordeaux in 2008. This however has dark, brooding fruit yet is elegant and fine with lovely minerality and savoury complexity. It may need a while but this should be very impressive indeed in fifteen years’ time.

We drank this at our Cos dinner on 20th November 2009, with Jean Guillaume and a host of older vintages. We had 2003 and its the best 2003 I have tried in 3 years and better than at least 2 of the First Growths from that hot year. However as magnificent as his 2003 is the 2005 is on another ,higher, level. Its beautiful. Powerful, structured but seamless. Its very young of course but as the customer I was sitting next to remarked, "Where is the tannin?" . They are so fine and perfectly integrated with the glorious black fruit , whimsical acidity and non obvious alcohol it really is a glorious harmonious triumph. With the First Growths in 2005 at £5000 per case plus, qualitatively this is a steal.
Simon Staples - Asia Wine Director - 21-Nov-2009


Cos is polished and rich, with a fantastic acidity that will enable it to age majestically.  Made with 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a wonderful, dense wine with earthy St Estèphe minerality amidst the incredibly rich fruit. General Manager Jean-Guillaume Prats thinks that 2005 might be as good as their legendary 2003 - but we definitely thought it was better. This fantastic wine is the first serious candidate for wine of the vintage.
Simon Staples, Apr-2006

With 70% of the crop going into this brilliant wine, what you really have this year is almost what you got from the Grand Vin in great Cos years like 2001 and 2002. Very serious, deep, sweet and gloriously savoury. Cool dense core of dark black ripe fruit. Really sumptuous and should come in at a price this year that we will all be able to afford. Here’s hoping.
Simon Staples, Berrys’ Fine Wine Director

Cos Estournel 2009 is truly remarkable. The USS Enterprise-like, state-of-the-art winery Jean-Guillaume Prats has installed over the last few years, combined with the incredible, meticulous sorting he has done in the vineyard and the astounding 2009 vintage itself, has culminated in this astonishing wine.

I have been lucky enough to try this wine four times this year and I have never tasted anything quite like this in 22 years of tasting Bordeaux. Massively concentrated, but not in an over-extracted fashion, you can feel that feel; every centilitre has been lovingly nurtured from the vine to the glass.

It's high in alcohol and tannins but they are integrated into its total balanced enormity. I'm pretty sure this will taste full-bodied, decadent and voluptuous from when its bottled and possibly for another 50/60 years. Also, I bet the farm that this will be THE most talked and controversial wine of the vintage.
Simon Staples, BBR Sales & Marketing Director

Subtle spicy oak and red fruitnose, with round opulent flavours; although slightly closed on the finish, this will surely be a very good wine indeed. The complexity which was so evident from the start is now starting to unravel itself as the wine matures, promising great rewards for the patient.

Iconic. Inspirational. Electric. A sensory overload but not in an over-extracted, phony way – just in such a dense, pure and decadent sense. It’s massive but with a rapier-like precision of cool and eucalyptus-fresh Cabernet that takes your breath away. It has a very defined and ridiculously long finish, and I cannot wait to drink this in 15 years or so. A finer more Bordeaux-like perfection than 2009, it is quite humbling actually. Another ‘New First’ for the mere mortals like us. Cos d’Estournel 2010.
(78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot)
(Simon Staples, BBR Fine Wine Director)

With and astonishing generosity of fruit and incredible concentration, this is, in our opinion, one of the top second wines of the vintage. The wine is so incredibly pure, with intense blackcurrant coulis fruit and yet a wonderful freshness adding poise and focus. Superbly integrated and with unbelievably ripe tannins for St Estèphe, this really is quite an achievement but very pricey.

This has a fantastic nose of Cabernet fruit; on the palate, it is cool and fresh with lovely dark-cherry fruit and a real sexiness. The tannins are there but very well integrated. It has a long, powerful finish, but is in balance.
Nick Pegna, Director (South-East Asia)

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc

The fruit for Cos’s second wine comes from 35-year-old vines. Dark ruby, it has an appealing nose of red fruit, while the palate has fresh tannins which give the wine an extraordinary energy and silkiness. It finishes fine and long.

Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 46.5%, Petit Verdot 3%, Cabernet Franc 0.5%

This is the 10th vintage of Cos d'Estournel Blanc and one of the most interesting vintages we have tried to date. With notes of passion fruit and lemony-lime on the nose, along with some spice, this is a very interesting Cos Blanc. The palate is nice and sharp, fresh and quite elegant. There is some waxy lemon and minerality emerges on the finish. There are signs of focus here. There is a nice length and welcome richness on the finish.

Blend: 75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Sémillon