2021 Château Cos d'Estournel En Primeur
Released this morning, at £858 per six bottles in bond, the 2021 vintage of Château Cos d'Estournel is described by Jane Anson as "easily one of the wines of the vintage (96 points)".
Tasting in the chais at Cos is a little like visiting a glamorous, high-end private members club, with dark lighting and plush seating areas beside the smart tasting tables. In recent vintages, this location has set the stage for dark, brooding wines, but this year the 2021 cask samples provided a very welcome lift, an aromatic, vibrant wine, with a velvety texture and a saline finish.
Anson says the Cos d'Estournel 2021 adds "a twist of gourmet glamour" to the vintage. At a slight discount to the last year's release (£900 per six) we think it should appeal to both long-term fans of this estate and those who have not yet experienced it.
Bordeaux En Primeur, Landing in spring 2024.
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.
| RED | 2021 | Château Cos d'Estournel | 75cl | £858 per case of 6 | Château Cos d'Estournel 2021 / / 75cl £858 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Cask sample. Dark and reticent with a touch of cassis as the wine opens. Linear and firm with a rich but fine tannic frame. Solid through the mid palate and on through the finish. Structured and with plenty of matière. Well within itself so room to develop. 12.7%. Drink 2030 – 2050. points" jancisrobinson.com (JL)------"The 2021 Cos d'Estournel has an attractive nose, more complex than the Pagodes (as you would expect), graphite and subtle cigar box scents permeating the black fruit and the Cabernet Sauvignon more expressive at this stage vis-à-vis the Merlot. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. One of the most velvety Cos d'Estournel wines I have encountered at this stage, though linear and strict on the saline finish. This is old-school in some ways, and a bit grumpy in its youth – a wine that will oblige cellar aging. A Saint-Estèphe for the patient among you. (12.74% alcohol) 93-95 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com------"A firm red with solid, compact tannins. Medium to full body with plenty of blackcurrant, pencil-lead and graphite character. Compact and structured throughout, with a firm finish. Linear and muscular tannins at the end that are very formed and curated. It will be interesting to see how this one evolves. 64% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. 94-95 points" jamessuckling.com------"The 2021 Cos d'Estournel is very promising, offering up rich aromas of dark berries, plums, exotic spices, loamy soil and rose petals, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and seamless palate that's impressively vibrant and concentrated, with powdery tannins, bright acids and a long, penetrating finish. Only 53% of the production made it into the grand vin, and the blend is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Technical director Dominique Arangoïts reports that Cos was spared by frost and coulure at flowering, harvesting between September 23 and October 4, and fermenting a touch hotter than has been the case in recent years, at around 28-29 degrees Celsius. 94-95 points" William Kelley, RobertParker.com------"The 2021 Cos d'Estournel is a wine of real breadth and volume. It is also quite a departure from recent vintages in that strong Cabernet aromatics are very much front and center. Cedar, tobacco, dried herbs, menthol and licorice lend notable complexity to the bouquet. I expect the 2021 will need time to be at its best. Cas is usually much more alluring in its youth than the reticent but hugely promising 2021. 94-96 points" Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com------"This vintage, which can be overly straight and austere, benefits from the house style of Cos, where they are happy to add a twist of gourmet glamour, and I am seriously impressed with this wine. It showcases the successful sides of a cool vintage in spades, with bitter black chocolate, cool blue fruits, lemongrass and turmeric and black pepper spices. 55% new oak. 3.79ph. 53% of overall production is for the 1st wine, the rest in Pagodes. Easily one of the wines of the vintage. 96 points" janeanson.com |
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