Our visit to Chateau Cos d'Estournel

I was excited about our visit to Chateau Cos d’Estournel in Saint Estephe, because I had heard and read about the new ultra-modern full gravity wine making facility they had constructed several years earlier. I have also been a fan of their wines since the 1989 vintage.

The Chateau is very distinctive with three limestone pagodas on top of the main building. The interior of the building is a dramatic combination of ultra modern (glass and steel) and old world colonial India (stone and carved wood), but it all comes together very well.

Our host, Marie, was very nice and knew a lot about the Bordeaux wine industry. Cos d’Estournel now has a space-age looking modern vat room, with 72 conical stainless steel vats to ferment every vineyard plot separately. They also have giant elevators to lift large tanks of wine, so they can use gravity to transfer wine throughout the facility instead of using pumps. The vat room was an impressive site.

Coming into the barrel room, you walk onto an ultra-modern glass skybridge overlooking the barrels, with glass columns. It makes quite an impression, and is talked about quite a lot by other estates throughout the region. In fact, Cos d’Estournel was often mentioned as an estate we simply “had” to visit. There were varying opinions about whether the winemaking technology was more about esthetics or truly necessary innovations for the craft. However, in my opinion, no matter how modern the facilities look, there’s no question they still follow very traditional winemaking practices.

The pictures just don’t do it justice - the lighting is very dramatic in the barrel room. We were able to taste the wines from the 2008 vintage, the grand vin Cos d’Estournel and the second label Les Pagodes de Cos.

2008 Les Pagodes de Cos - Nice ripe red/black fruit with good sweetness and acidity, not nearly the complexity of the grand vin, but with some ripe tannins kicking in on the medium length fruit filled finish.

2008 Cos d’Estournel - Very dark spicy ripe black fruit with stony minerality, excellent acidity. The wine is very tannic but the tannins are ripe, kicking in on the very long stony black fruit filled finish. This is an excellent Cos d’Estournel in every way and built for the long haul.

How do you like the wines of Cos d’Estournel and what is your favorite vintage?

Next up, Pontet Canet…oh yes, it was a long, but fascinating first day!

Posted from Day One, Part Deux: Chateau Cos d’Estournel – Exact Wines 10-22-2013

Bob, thanks for your report - the new facility sounds amazing. I first bought Cos in 1982 and bought periodically through the 1995 vintage (approx $50 bot on futures). Love the wines and all the work that has been done these past 10 years, but at $300 bot for top vintages, I am now priced out! Looking forward to reports from your other Bordeaux visits. Cheers!

Great note.

How similar to a California experience was it?

Not in terms of the wine’s character, but chance to purchase, tasting experience, etc?

Two tastes?

Could you purchase, different vintage availabilities?

Fascinating experience, I want to learn more!

Is this typical for Bordeaux, only two wines from a mediocre vintage being offered for tasting? For a region that produces such large volumes, relatively speaking, I would think one might be offered to taste a few more vintages, no? Perhaps a barrel tasting or three?

Jim - The new vats and barrel room are really impressive and well worth the visit, just to see them even if you were not tasting the wine. Right now I still have vintages of Cos going back to 1986 in the cellar. The 86’s are very nice wines and still young. I am trying to keep my hands off of them for another 5 years. Thanks for the encouragement on the blog. It is a lot of work, but it is fun at the same time.

Anton - Tasting in Bordeaux is different than in California. There are a lot of Chateaux (I would say the majority of them) where you are not able to buy their wines on the property. This comes from the old system, where the Chateaux didn’t want to compete with their winemerchants. The plus side of this is that you don’t feel the strong obligation to buy the wine after the tasting, like you do in California. I buy almost all of my Bordeaux wines on futures, so by the time the wine has come to market, usually the price is significantly higher, sometimes 2x or 3x. In general, this doesn’t happen with California wine, unless it is a closed mailing list. Some Chateaux served only one wine, some two and some many, every Chateau was different. Wine tourism in Bordeaux is still in it’s infancy compared to California, it is more like visiting Walla Walla, Washington. There are some Chateaux like Chateau Mouton Rothschild, that are big commercial tourist operations, but this is not the norm. We even had one Chateau that told us they just opened up to the public for tours only two years ago. It was almost unimaginable to us, with how long the great wine history has been in the Bordeaux region. Bordeaux is a great place to visit and I would highly recommend it.

Rick - While the 2008 Les Pagodes de Cos is only an ok wine, don’t underestimate the 2008 Cos d’Estournel. The 2008 Cos is a very nice wine. It is a big dark fruited tannic bruiser of a wine that will age very well. Cos, did really well with the 2008 vintage. Most Chateaux sell their wines to the various merchants all over the world, so that thins out the supply fairly quickly. If you are looking for a particular wine, there are lots of wine shops mainly in Bordeaux city or int eh town of St. Emilion, where you can buy current and older vintages. Most of the time, the wines that the Chateaux are serving up are the vintages that they think are drinking fairly well.

I appreciate your comments.

Many thanks.

You have motivated me!

Thanks Bob. My comments were not to make any statement about the '08 Cos. I’ve no doubt it’s probably a good drink. Just meant to pose a question about the typical scenario, if there is such a thing, in Bordeaux when visiting.

Rick - I don’t think barrel tastings are very common, as the only barrel tasting we had on our trip was at Ch. Leoville Barton. I also would have to say that I don’t think we have any great pull at a lot of the Chateaux in Bordeaux. We do know several winemakers and Chateau managers, but they are not the majority. It was a lot of fun getting to know many other people in Bordeaux though and we are definitely planning on going back in the near future.

Cheers,

Bob,

How far in advance did you schedule your tour? We are considering a visit to France later this year and I’m curious regarding lead time for appointments.

Thanks!

My favorites are the 1982 and a single bottle of the 1962 I had a few years back. Close seconds are the 1989 and 1990. The 1990 has always been one of my favorites… so approachable even at a young age. 1985 can be nice as well.

I was disappointed in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 as I felt they were getting a little less traditional and more ‘forceful’ in their winemaking style than I would like. This also coincides with a pretty strong palate transformation for me. I do believe they went off of the tracks a little (again, to me). 2005 was the last vintage I bought and I sold all of the 2000 and younger. I love old Cos and I love(d) it when they kicked up the Merlot %.

I still have plenty of old vintages in my cellar. Got a 1959 I am waiting to crack open one day soon.

Lee - We made the reservations about 3-4 months in advance. Depending on when you are going, there were a couple of Chateaux that would not take appointments during harvest time.

Charlie - Yes, I think there was a slightly more fruit forward style change after 2000. I have not tasted the 2003 Cos, but I have it in the cellar. I will be curious to see how it ages compared to their older vintages. I am sure your 1959 Cos will be wonderful, please post your notes.

Cheers,

This is really great information - thanks for sharing!

For those of you who buy Bdx futures - from whom do you buy? I had bought through MacArthur Beverages, which is a great store, but I wonder if others are getting better deals by getting closer to the source. Any advice?

Like Charlie, I’m more of an old Cos fan. Stopped buying after 2003. Price and style got out of whack.

Rick… Very few estates offer barrel tastings. The vast majority of chateaux provide one or two vintages per day for guests. 99.99% of all visits are free. Most tours are also conducted on a personal, one on one basis. As for 2008 being medicore, I do not agree. It’s a good vintage for many estates.

*** Bob it’s nice to read your reports. I’m looking forward to being in Bordeaux in a few months!

Noah - Being from Seattle, I generally try to buy on the west coast to make it easier for shipping. This way I can ship via ground and get it within two days. Some of the places I have ordered from are K&L, Wine Exchange, Premier Cru and The Wine Club. Washington State is more expensive to buy from because of the way this state deals with alcohol sales. Most of the time I can order from California, ship it up, pay the use taxes and still be way ahead.

Jeff - Thanks for your comments. Our blog has been a lot of fun, but it is also a lot of work. I really wish I was going to be back in Bordeaux in a few months. I do plan to return there sooner rather than later.

Cheers,

I am guessing that he contacted the Chateau directly, which is why they offered him an inferior vintage to taste. In my experience, when you go through channels, you get a better experience.

I do not think 2008 Cos is an inferior vintage. It’s a very nice wine. However, I do think visits that are set up with retailers, that go through negociants might offer better experiences. Perhaps not at the top level, but once past the Firsts and Super Seconds, it’s possible you could receive a warmer welcome.

Maybe inferior vintage isn’t quite the right word, but not the level of 09 and 10. Plus, they did not let him taste any barrel samples. When I went, they let me taste the 2000 out of the barrel. I am not 100% positive, but I think I contacted Catherine directly for the appointment, although she does not work there anymore.

Jeff, perhaps I would’ve been more correct in using the term “inferior” as compared to the vintages of the century that closely flank 2008.

I would just find it highly unsatisfying to not be given the opportunity to taste across a vintage or two or a barrel sample. It is just so instructive and valuable to me to taste and compare, and to have the winemaker or whoever is hosting there available for questions, input, and insight is huge. There is no substitute in my opinion.

I bring up this point only because I may not visit Bordeaux if this were the norm for mere mortals like myself. In that other nearby region that starts with the letter B, I found a much more broad experience in tasting across lineups and vintages. Of course Bordeaux chateaus only produce one or two different cuvée not including blancs, but with such large volumes produced and presumably more visitors on a daily basis, I’d expect more.

Bob, Jeff & Rick - We booked all of our 22 Chateaux appointments through a company in Bordeaux called Bordeaux Saveurs. Bordeaux Saveurs - Œnotourisme et séjours d'exception The company is owned by Sylvie Cazes. I have to say that the 2008 Cos was a very nice wine, maybe not as good as 2009 or 2010, but not one to be over looked. The only barrel samples that we had on the trip were from Ch. Leoville Barton and Ch. Langoa Barton of the 2012 vintage. Most Chateaux served one or two wines. This was my first time visiting Bordeaux and now that I know more on how it all works, I can’t wait to go back.

Cheers,