Les Pagodes de Cos Saint-Estéphe Red Bordeaux Blend

This is the 2nd wine of Cos d'Estournel.

The nose reveals; blackberries, dark cherry pie, poached strawberries, plum, black raspberries, blueberries, well extracted pomegranate, burnt ambers, touch of incense, dark, rich, earth, limestone minerals, tree sap, black tea, used leather, pipe tobacco, dark asian spices, clove, nutmeg, very light cinnamon & vanilla, mint notes, wood shavings, herbaceous notes, dry brush, dry stone with dark fresh & withering flowers, violets and hints of lavender.

The body is near full, round and lush. The tannins are well resolved but still have baby teeth with some dark, sticky tarriness. The structure, tension are still fairly big. The length and balance are starting to round into top form. For a 2nd wine from a very good vintage, there is a depth that missing. While this wine still has a decade of life left in it, I’m not sure it gets a whole lot better. It’s more a distant relative in 05 than a baby brother to its big brother. Maybe, the earth and fruit get into better balance? Oddly, I think it’s the fruit that is holding their 2nd wine back a bit, which is odd for such a good vintage & good producer of Bordeaux. Mostly ripe; blackberries, dark cherry pie, poached strawberries, plum, black raspberries, boysenberries, blueberries & well extracted pomegranate. Burnt ambers, touch of incense, dark, rich, earth, limestone minerals, tree sap, black tea, used leather, pipe tobacco, darker asian spices with palate heat, clove, nutmeg, very light cinnamon & vanilla, heavier mint notes, dark chocolate, used expresso grounds, cedar plank, graphite, more pronounced herbaceousness, dry brush, dry clay, dry crushed rocks, dry stone with dark fresh & withering flowers, blue flowers, violets and hints of lavender. The acidy is round and nice. Perhaps, a shade off for the vintage. The finish is ripe, heavier on the earth than fruit leaving a significant palate dryness on the long set that persists for minutes.

Photos of; Chateau Cos d'Estournel, which sits just inside Saint-Estèphe bordering Pauillac, the back patio of Cos d'Estournel, library wines and sometimes tasting lounge and their spectacular barrel room.

This is the second wine of Cos d’ Estournel, Les Pagodes De Cos. I find it’s a good idea not only to buy first wines of Bordeaux in good vintages but, also buy the hell out of 2nd wines of good producers as it’s a close relative of their first wine for a lot less money 💰. 2005 was a marquee vintage in Bordeaux.

On the nose, ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, baked strawberries and notes of blackberries. Black cherry cola, saddle-wood, limestone minerals, graphite, crushed, dry rocks, stones, hints of; vanilla, clove & very light cinnamon. Dark rich soil, dry stones, anise, fresh & dry red and dark flowers.

The body is not quite full. The tannins are round, soft and well resolved, 65%. The structure, tension, length and balance are peaking. Ripe & slight ruby; blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, baked strawberries and notes of blackberries. Black cherry cola, saddle-wood, dark spice, dry stems, mint, limestone minerals, slightly moist clay, graphite, charcoal ash, crushed, dry rocks, stones, tobacco with ash, hints of; vanilla, clove & very light cinnamon. Dark rich soil, dry stones, anise, fresh & dry red and dark flowers. The acidity is quite nice. The long finish is; ripe & ruby, elegant, well polished & balanced and lasts minutes.

It’s just short of its peak and will drink well for another 8–10 years.

Photos of; the majesty of Chateau Cos d’ Estournel, library cellar, see through floor barrel room and the back terrace and grounds of the Chateau.

Is there anything better than Ribeye & Claret? From my perspective, no. This is the second wine from one of more prestigious Chateaus in St. Estephe. Bordeaux rule number 2, buy the hell out of good producers second wines in very good vintages, like 2005. You’ll get great wines at more affordable prices. Providing, you exercise patience; which is rule number 1. Decanted for 3 plus hours. On the nose, ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, black plum & cherries pull up the rear. Incense, herbaceous character, anise, scorched dark earth, burnt ambers, anise, baking spices dominated by vanilla, black tea, black cherry cola, loamy dry soils, dry & fresh red florals with violets for days. It’s in a great phase with many years ahead. The body is full and round. The texture has you wanting more. It’s velvety and ripe. Tannins soft and powdery, around 65-70 resolved. The fruits are ripe & ruby...showing the excellence of the 05 vintage. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, black plum & cherries pull up the rear. Incense, herbaceous character, anise, scorched dark earth, dry stones, leather, cigar with ash, burnt ambers, anise, baking spices dominated by vanilla, black tea, black cherry cola, loamy dry soils, dry & fresh red florals with violets for days. The acidity is dead on. The length, structure, length & balance is harmonizing like America on the album, “ Horse with No Name.” The long finish is; ruby, rich, elegant, round, beautiful and lasts a minute plus. Beautiful wine. 9.4 with the steak. 9.2 on its own. Photos of; Chateau Cos d’ Estournel, hosting/tasting area, private wine stock and barrel cellar. Producer notes and history...Chateau Cos d’Estournel has a long history in the appellation of St. Estephe. Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, gave his name to the estate after founding it in 1811. It only took a few years before Chateau Cos d’Estournel became famous with wine lovers and royalty all over the world. In the early days, the wines of Cos d’Estournel were not sold through the Negociant system. The owner preferred selling his wine directly to his customers. In fact, Chateau Cos d’Estournel was exported to numerous countries across the globe, with a large portion of the production being sold to India. It was that connection to India that inspired much of the unique, east Indian design we see at Cos d’Estournel today. Chateau Cos d’Estournel was one of the first Chateaus to bottle, label and sell their own wine. This practice continued until the death of Louis Gaspard d’Estournel in 1852. After his death, the estate was purchased by an owner that sold their wines on the Place de Bordeaux, using the negociant system. If the Chateau had not been selling their wines through the negociant system, it would never have been included in the 1855 Classification! Chateau Cos d’Estournel was sold to the Charmolue family, the owners of the neighboring Chateau Montrose. They continued to own the estate until 1917, when it was bought by Fernand Ginestet. The purchase was the next major step in the development of Cos d’Estournel. The next era in the development of Chateau Cos d’Estournel took place in 2000, when Chateau Cos d’Estournel was bought by Michel Reybier, who made his fortune in the food industry. Michel Reybier hired the son of Bruno Prats, Jean-Guillaume Prats to manage Cos d’Estournel. Things improved with the efforts of Jean-Guillaume Prats who helped design the most modern wine making facilities in the entire Bordeaux wine making appellation at the time. A complete renovation of Cos d’Estournel took place in the winemaking facilities and cellars. The wine making facilities are completely modern, using 100% gravity. On October 15, 2012, Jean Guillaume Prats announced he was leaving Chateau Cos d’Estournel to join LVMH. Jean Guillaume Prats was replaced by Aymeric de Gironde. Following the departure of Aymeric de Gironde in 2017, the owner, Michel Reybier took over managing the estate. In 2018, the estate released COS100, produced from their oldest Merlot vines that were 100 years of age. It was limited in production to a 100 Jeroboams, (3 litres) and 10 Balthazars (12 litres) and a few other sizes were produced from only 2 barrels of wine. The proceeds from COS100 go to the charity, Elephant Family, that is devoted to protecting and nurturing Asian elephants in their own, natural habitat. Cos d’Estournel’s new cellar is a joint reflection by the technical team, the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Jean Guillaume Prats. It’s a marvel blend of simplicity and modern technology. Cos d’Estournel is unique to Bordeaux and the rest of world. What makes this special is that the cellars of Cos d’Estournel are entirely operated by gravity. There are no pumps of any kind to force the wine. The purpose is to allow a gentleness to the wine and improve its purity allowing for expression of their special terroir. It set a new benchmark for cellars not only in the Left Bank, but in all of Bordeaux. The new cellars at Chateau Cos d’Estournel include 72 isothermal cone shaped stainless steel vats. The vats are specifically designed for thermal inertia. The 72 vats have a wide range of capacities to correspond with the needs of each parcel of vines. The vats range in size from as small as 19 hectoliters all the way up to 115 hectolitres. 12 of the smaller vats that are designed to handle between 19 and 60 hectoliters that have two levels in each vat. In other words, this offers the technical equivalent of 24 separate vats. Each of the vats are double lined, which allows for more exact and temperature control. None of the vats use interior heat coils. Perhaps the most inventive part of the cellars is the four 100 hectoliter lift tanks or wine elevators that replace the pumps used in the traditional pumping over and racking off processes, which introduce air and often destabilize the marc. From the moment the grapes arrive, everything travels by the flow of gravity. Jean Guillaume Prats called this process a pumpless, pump over. What takes place is, the wine is released from the main vat where the skins remain. By gravity, the juice is then moved into smaller vats which are on wheels. These small vats are sent to the glass elevators where they are moved up one floor and returned back into the vat by gravity to cover the skins. At this point, the process is still unique to Chateau Cos d’Estournel. The wine production of Cos d’Estournel is labor intensive starting the moment the grapes enter their new facility. The berries travel through a tunnel that instantly lowers the temperature of the fruit to 3-5 degrees Celsius. This sudden chilling stops the loss of juice while also slowing oxidation. Next, the grapes are cold macerated at 7-9 degrees Celsius for about a week. Pump overs are done by gravity recycling. The juice from the top of the vat moves to the bottom of the vat entirely by gravity. The fermentation takes place at low temperatures to avoid over extraction or harsh tannins. The 91 hectare vineyard of Chateau Cos d’Estournel is planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The vineyard is located close to the border of Pauillac and Saint Estephe at the southern tip of the Saint Estephe appellation. The vineyard has cultivated 84 hectares of vines. Even though the vineyard has been expanded over the years, the grape varietals planted here have remained consistent. The vineyard, located on the hill of Cos, has gentle elevations of up to 20 meters. On average, the vines are 35 years of age. However, the estate has very old Merlot vines as well, which date back more than 100 years. Part of the terroir is situated on the hill of Cos, which is at a high elevation for the Medoc at 20 meters. Cos d’Estournel is translated from old Gascon speech; which means the hill of pebbles. It describes the terroir along with clay, gravel, sand and limestone soil. However, there is a unique aspect to the soil at Cos d’Estournel, as you find more gravel and less clay here than you do at other neighboring vineyards. Because the fruit is grown close to the Atlantic ocean in a cool climate, Cos d’Estournel is often among the last of the properties in the Medoc to harvest. The vineyard is managed by teams and each team member is given 45,000 vines to look after. The vineyard, which is almost one large block, can be further divided into 72 separate parcels.

Drank this alongside a 2005 Chateau Musar. Popped and poured. The “Pagodes” pours a deep garnet with a browning rim and some very fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous and it’s a bit of a leather daddy: leather, mocha, cigar humidor, desiccated dark fruit, wet rock, cedar, decomposing leaves, and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin…most of which is very well integrated and medium+ acid. Notes of desiccated dark fruit, leather, black licorice, tobacco and cocoa. Finish is medium long. Ready to drink now and if I had more I would be drinking them within the next couple of years. This is a really nice wine at nearly 17 years but the Musar is almost evergreen and wins the night by a country mile.

Blackberry, black plum, raspberry licorice, saddle-wood, toasted oak with a dusty tannin finish. Good but this wine will not hit it's elegance for another five years or more. It has very good potential. "If you have some, hold for now.

Mag.

Taut and well balanced with layers of red and black fruit, cassis, graphite and flint. Opens up after decanting with notes of rose and cedar. Smooth and drinking very well, though the finish fades sooner than it should.

To drink now and not wait anymore.

Great steak at Sperry's Belle Mead and the Cos hit the spot too.

Fantastic