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Producers
Château Cos d’Estournel
If there was ever a French wine that could be described by personality alone, Château Cos d’Estournel would be it. Purchased by Louis Gaspard d’Estournel in 1811, he chose to eschew 19th-century traditionalism by building a Château that was the image of an Indian palace (complete with cultivated, English-style gardens). He also sold to clients direct (mostly in India) and was the first French wine to become popular in the east, thus earning him the nickname “the Maharajah of St. Estephe”.
A strong past – and future
D’Estournel died in 1852, whereupon the inheritors of the estate immediately began selling the wine through negociants. This proved fortuitous as Cos d’Estournel was included in the 1855 classification – had he still been alive and selling direct, it would not have been the case. However, for all his eccentricities, d’Estournel may just have been a visionary; the wine is very well placed on the Asian market and investors from the east, notably from India and in more recent years China, are able to enjoy trading opportunities on a mature market.

This is a French wine that has class. It is the leading estate of the St. Estephe region, and many say it challenges its neighbours in Pauillac. The 2eme Crus Classe produces strong, intense and powerful wines from its 100-hectare terroir, north of Lafite. The strong clay content in the soil means wines have an exceptional capacity for ageing.
State of the Art cellar technology
Cos d’Estournel was sold in 2000 to a businessman keen to add a French wine Château to his portfolio, and this brought about huge changes in the chateau’s winemaking techniques. Cellars are now 100% operated by gravity, meaning there are no pumps to force the wine. This benchmark technology means the wine has become “fresher and more nimble”, and are expected to age for around 10 years or up to 50 for the best vintages.

Two white wines, Cos d'Estournel Blanc and Goulée Blanc were added to the portfolio in 2005, and while theses whites do not yet have the investment weight of the red (a single bottle of 2015 white currently trades at around €134, while the red of the same year is around €210), we expect good opportunities in the near future.
Notable facts and vintages
  • 2017 Château Cos d’Estournel “Something of a miracle in our modern times.” Lisa Perrotti-Brown for Robert Parker Wine Advocate, 97-100/100.
  • 2016 Château Cos d’Estournel received 100 point scores from James Suckling, Lisa Perrotti Brown/Wine Advocate, and Neal Martin/Vinous who, in January 2019 declared “A monumental, benchmark Cos d’Estournel that will give not years but decades of pleasure.”
  • 2009 Château Cos d’Estournel "One of the greatest young wines I have ever tasted, the monumental 2009 Cos d’Estournel has lived up to its pre-bottling potential. Should age effortlessly for a half-century" 100 points from Robert Parker Wine Advocate.