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History
Chateau Cos d'Estournel, acknowledged to be the most outstanding cru of St Estephe, is certainly the most spectacular edifice to grace the commune's vineyards.Château Cos d`Estournel is named after its 19th century owner, Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel. Born in 1762 during the reign of Louis XV and died in1853 under Napoleon III, at the remarkable age of 91, Louis Gaspard d'Estournel had one sole passion: Cos.Having inherited a few vines near the village of Cos, he recognized, in 1811, the quality of their wine and decided to vinify them separately. Very rapidly, Cos d'Estournel's wine exceeded the prices of the most prestigious wines and was exported as far as India. Louis became known as 'the Maharajah of Saint-Estèphe'. To celebrate his distant conquests, he had exotic pagodas erected over his cellar, organized spectacular festivities at Cos and presented the great people of this world with some precious bottles of Cos "Returned from India".In 1852, overwhelmed with debts he had accumulated in order to extend and beautify his estate, Louis was obliged to sell Cos to a London banker called Martyns. Permitted by Martyns to remain and live on the land he had so much loved, he died there in 1853, two years before the supreme consecration of his work: the imperial classification of 1855 placing Cos d'Estournel at the head of the Saint-Estèphes. In 1869, Martyns sold Cos D'estournel to the Errazu, an aristocratic Basque family, who resold it to the Hostein brothers in 1889. In 1917, Cos D'estournel was purchased by Fernand Ginestet, one of the leading Bordeaux wine merchants. His grandsons Jean-Marie, Yves and Bruno Prats inherited the château. In 1998, the prats brothers sold Cos d'Estournel to the Merlaut family, the owners of the Taillan group, and to Argentinean investors represented by Mr Mayano.Sold in 2000, Cos D'estournel now belongs to the Société des Domaines Reybier, directed by Jean-Guillaume Prats, great-grandson of Fernand Ginestet and son of Bruno Prats who was also the manager of Cos D'estournel from 1970 to 1998.Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel liked symbols and mottos. A Lion, the symbol of Power, and a Unicorn, the symbol of Purity, surmount the triumphal arch which welcomes visitors. Further on, a dove and the motto "Semper Fidelis": "Always Faithful". And, repeated a thousand times in his letters, the creed: "Nothing should be neglected". Power, Purity, Fidelity, Perfectionism, these principles have never stopped guiding his successors. Today's visitor may perhaps be absorded by this frame of mind as he watches the wine growers at work.For perfectionism demands that many tasks should be done by hand - from pruning, training and tying up the vines (and a hundred other cultivation practices) to harvesting and meticulously selecting the grapes. These tasks require a 'savoir-faire' which is learnt here from father to son. It is well-known that Cos's first harvests were sold in India where these wines graced the sumptuous tables of Maharajahs and Nabobs.The famous Pagodas which surmount Cos's cellars and their door, sent from the palace of Zanzibar, symbolize this pioneering break out into the world trade. In the days of Louis Gaspard d'Estournel, Queen Victoria and the Tsar of All Russia drank Cos, as did the Emperor Napoleon III who loved this wine so much that he had several thousands bottles sent to the Palace of the Tuileries. This universal appeal embraced intellectuals; writers as famous as varied such as Stendhal, Jules Verne, Eugène Labiche or Karl Marx loved Cos. Nowadays, vintages of Cos give rise to auction sales at Sotheby's or Christie's and fill the private cellars of affluent wine lovers all over Europe, Asia and America. And so the Saint-Estèphe Grand Cru carries on fulfilling its vocation more than ever: that of bringing together the minds and hearts.
Nowadays’ Owner: Michel Reybier
Technique Information
Location: Château Cos D'Estournel sits on a ridge immediately North of the Pauillac border and Chateau Lafite Rothschild.
Appellation: Appellation Saint-Estèphe Controlee
Neighboring Chateau: Château Lafite-Rothschild (1st Growth of Pauillac in 1855)
Acreage: 173 acres split into about 30 parcels of land
Soil: deep layers of gravel
Grape Varieties: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot
Average age of vines: 35 years
Cultivation Density: 8000 to 10000 vines per hectare
Viticulture: manually picked
Winemaking: A meticulous selection of the grapes, a careful pumping-over of the must and a precise control of fermentation temperatures, Ageing the wine in new oak barrels; The wine is fermented in enameled steel vats and then aged in barrels for 18 months. At the time of bottling, a procedure of sweeping the filled bottles with carbon dioxide is used. This has the effect of filling the gap between the wine and the cork with carbon dioxide rather than oxygen; Bottling in estate bottled. Bottling is carried out in springtime
Yield: 30 hectoliters per hectare
Brand: Chateau Cos d'Estournel(First Label)(A.O.C. Saint-Estèphe)
Les Pagodes de Cos(Second Label)(A.O.C. Saint-Estèphe)
Chateau Marbuzet(A.O.C. Saint-Estèphe)
Saint-Estephe(A.O.C. Saint-Estèphe)
Goule(A.O.C. Medoc)
Maître d'Estournel Red &White(A.O.C. Bordeaux)
Bordeaux D'Estournel(A.O.C. Bordeaux)
Annually Production: 200.000 to 380.000 bottles
Character:
Chateau Cos d'Estournel(First Label): In the eyes of Great Wines lovers, Cos d'Estournel has become the archetype of a certain style of virile elegance in which power does not exclude either grace or mildness. Impressive in its youth by the intensity of its structure and the strength of its fruit, the wine of Cos evolves slowly to reach a wonderful melting quality and an aromatic complexity when it comes to complete maturity (between 10 to 30 years). Great vintages of Cos d'Estournel can have an exceptionally long life, sometimes exceeding a hundred years.
Les Pagodes de Cos (Second Label): Powerful, very aromatic, long in the mouth and with a very persistent finish, "Les Pagodes de Cos" is a refined wine offering a moment of great pleasure. This wine should be drunk within the ten years after being Château bottled.
Chateau Marbuzet: Château Marbuzet's wine nicely develops the full-bodied, robust and fleshy style which is characteristic of Cos d'Estournel. It reaches its pick of evolution faster than Cos d'Estournel does and can be enjoyed within a couple of years after bottling.
Goulee: It is this distinctive individuality in the climate which gives the Goulée wine a fruity character which is not without recalling that of the style of the New World wines.
Maître d'Estournel Red: Maître d'Estournel Red is a harmonious ensemble of grape varieties: the Cabernet Sauvignon gives an intense aroma and the tannins for ageing; the Merlot gives a mellow roundness, the Cabernet Franc the delicacy and peppery nuances. Its roundness and tenderness come from ripe grapes harvested late.
Maître d'Estournel White:Maître d'Estournel White is a light and dry wine that combines the delicate elegance of the Sauvignon Blanc, typical of the new Bordeaux style of vinification, with the Sémillion which gives it body and roundness, together with a touch of Muscadelle with its incomparable aroma of natural honey.
Best Vintages: 1970, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996
Award: 2nd Growth of Saint-Estephe in 1855
Website: www.cosestournel.com
Serving Suggestion
Cellar Humidity and Temperature: 75-85 %, 15℃
Serving Temperature: 17℃-19℃
Optimum Drinking and Ageing Potential: 10-40 years
Food Match:
Red meat and game, it can also serve to cheese, such as Saint Nectaire, Edam and Gouda. Ideal with leg and lamb, and other meat dishes.
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