2019 Cos d'Estournel G d'Estournel

Chateau Cos d’Estournel is a Second Growth Bordeaux according to the Bordeaux classification of 1855. Located in St.-Estephe, the chateau includes 160 acres of vineyards planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. The average age of the vines is 35 years. Founded in the 18th century by Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, the chateau’s wines were so admired in the 19th century that they were in demand all over the world. The chateau was bought and sold many times during the late 19th and 20th centuries, and in 2000 it was acquired by Michel Reybier, under whose direction the chateau has continued its climb to excellence. Robert M. Parker Jr. has noted that Cos d’Estournel “has been particularly successful in difficult vintages” and “remains impeccably managed.” Some 200,000 bottles of the signature Cos d’Estournel are produced each year.

Médoc is a large appellation on the western side of the Gironde estuary. It stretches 50 miles and includes nearly 15,000 acres of vineyards. The region is sometimes called Bas-Médoc, or Low-Médoc, to distinguish it from the Haut-Médoc, the region just to the south. Practically speaking the Médoc is often used to refer to the entire Left Bank region, and there are numerous sub-appellations within the Medoc, including such famous one as Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estéphe. There are nearly 600 wine producing properties in the Médoc, and just over half are cooperatives. None of the estates in the general Médoc appellation were included in the Bordeaux classification of 1855, though many estates in the smaller appellations, such as Margaux, were part of that famous ranking. In 1932 the term Cru Bourgeois was awarded to 444 Medoc estates, and it was meant as a sign of quality. Since then the use of the term has changed and today it is awarded to specific wines on an annual basis, not to estates.