2020 Château Cos d'Estournel En Primeur
Released this morning at £900 per six bottles in bond, the 2020 vintage of Château Cos d'Estournel also marks the 20th anniversary of owner Michel Reybier's purchase of the estate. A special black and gold label has been created for the occasion and there is definitely something of a trend emerging for such unique labels, potentially with an impact on future investment value.
The Cos label evokes the black and gold livery of Mouton 2000; but more recently we saw 2015 Château Margaux make some staggering price rises after it was released with a special bottling to mark the passing of Paul Pontallier. That was a unique (and very sad) occasion, but it does suggest there will be an appetite for such labels from collectors in the future.
Fortunately, the wine itself is more than up to the occasion, described by Lisa Perotti-Brown MW as possessing 'jaw-dropping energy' (96-98 points) with 97 points from Jane Anson and 97-98 from Suckling. James Lawther MW for Jancisrobinson.com sums the wine up beautifully, calling it "Big and bold with marked tension and supercharged but finely hewn tannins", scoring it a standout 18.5 points.
Bordeaux En Primeur, Landing in spring 2023
To order, e-mail us at sales@richardkihl.ltd.uk
Producer Profile
Château Cos d'Estournel, St-Estèphe Grand Cru Classé
Château Cos d'Estournel is a Deuxième Cru Classé in St-Estèphe, established in 1811 by Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, who also gave the estate its name. 'Cos' is a local dialect term for 'hill of pebbles'. D’Estournel kept his wines outside of the negociant system, with the result that they found a wider range of customers around the world than some comparable estates.
The wine was exported to India, leading to the East Indian design influence at the château, with its famous elephants which are so visible from the road as you approach. Cos was also one of the first estates to bottle and label their wines at the château. The 100 hectare estate is planted with a slightly higher proportion of Merlot than the norm for this commune, contributing to the rich mouthfeel and texture which is a hallmark of Cos.
In the early 1970s Cos came under the ownership of the Ginestet and Prats families and was run by them for many years, first by Bruno Prats and then his son Guillaume. Since 2000, Cos has been owned by entrepreneur Michel Reybier.
Pagodes de Cos might be called the 'second wine' but perhaps a 'second label' is a more accurate term. The wine is in fact from a separate plot of vines, averaging forty years of age. The name comes from the distinctive pagoda-like oriental towers at the château. 'Le G d'Estournel' is a third label, known until 2020 as Goulée du Ch. d’Estournel, which comes from a separate vineyard in the Médoc. Reybier acquired the vineyard in the early 2000s having identified the potential of the terroir.
