2002 Château Cos d'Estournel St. Estèphe Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note
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2002
Château Cos d'Estournel (St. Estèphe)
Fully developed, this is drinking just great today. No decanting is needed, just pop, pour and enjoy all the round textured red berries, tobacco, exotic spice, wet earth, and herbs that fill the nose and your palate. The elegant finish shows only a minor touch of dryness at the very end, which does not detract from the overall experience of the wine. 3,824 Views Tasted Sep 30, 2021With an hour of air, cedar wood, cassis, forest aromas, tobacco wrapper and peppery spices unfurl, once the wine hit the glass. On the palate, the wine is close to full bodied, with soft tannins and round textures. The finish shows off a citrus note on top of the slightly, spiced, fresh cassis. With another hour of air, the wine filled out, adding truffle, smoke and licorice. This is starting to drink quite well, however another year or even a few more years will add more nuance and softness. But this is not a wine to make old bones, so I'm planning on drinking my remaining bottles over the next decade, or so. 6,946 Views Tasted Nov 20, 2017This could be the wine of the vintage. There is ample depth, sweetness of fruit, silky tannins and a regal character with notes of dark chocolate, boysenberries and spice in the finish. Decanted 30 minutes, the wine got better and better as it built up steam. Yes, if you want to picky, there is a touch of grit in the finish, but there is such a beautiful wealth of quality to the fruit, I did not care. And due to the weakness of the vintage, the wine sells for a song, compared to the top vintages of COS. This is not a wine to invest in, but it's definitely a wine to drink. 6,592 Views Tasted Apr 25, 2015Filled with licorice, cocoa, spice, earth, cassis and blackberry, this subtle wine sneaks up on you with 20-30 minutes of air. The tannins soften, the wine fleshes out and the textures gain silkier characteristics. This is an outstanding wine and because the vintage has a mixed reputation, for Cos, the wine is priced fairly. Drink it for pleasure now, or age it for more complexity. 8,895 Views Tasted Dec 7, 2014Forward in style, this began showing well after 30 minutes in the glass. Round in texture, with ripe, spicy blackberry, cassis, earth and tobacco, it was already a pleasure to drink. It has the stuffing to improve, but if you have more than a few bottles, there is no reason to wait. 8,317 Views Tasted Sep 20, 2012Ruby colored offering a full, rich mouth of juicy Cabernet, chocolate, spice and cassis. Full bodied and sillky, this does not show signs of under ripeness found in other wines from the vintage. 5,859 Views Tasted Jun 27, 2009 |
When to Drink Chateau Cos d'Estournel, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
Chateau Cos d'Estournel can be enjoyed early, with a long decanting, but it is not when the wine shows its best. The wine is much better with several years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage. Most vintages demand at least 12 to 20 years before the wine starts showing its best attributes.
Chateau Cos d'Estournel offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 15-40 years of life. Young vintages can be decanted for 2-4 hours or more. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.
Serving Chateau Cos d'Estournel with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips
Chateau Cos d'Estournel is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Young vintages can be decanted for 2-4 hours. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.
Chateau Cos d'Estournel is perfect for pairing with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted braised, and grilled dishes. Cos d'Estournel is also good with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.
Cos d'Estournel Blanc and other wines of the estate
Chateau Cos d'Estournel also makes a dry, white Bordeaux wine, Cos d'Estournel Blanc from a 10 hectare parcel of vines. The wine is produced from a blend of of approximately 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, although that can vary depending on the vintage. The white wine grapes are grown north of Saint Estephe, in the Jau-Dignac and Loirac regions.
In 2018, to improve the quality of their white wine, the estate introduced a second white wine, Pagodes de Cos Blanc. Most of the vines used to produce Pagodes de Cos Blanc were previously used in Goulee Blanc, which is no longer in production.
For the white wine of Cos d'Estournel, the terroir is a mix of sand, clay, small stones and limestone soils. The vineyard is close to their Goulee property, which is in the Medoc, directly north of Saint Estephe which is a naturally cooler terroir.
The debut vintage for Chateau Cos d'Estournel Blanc was 2005. For the first few vintages, the production was close to 100 cases.
Because the initial production was so small, the wine was not available for sale as a future until 2009. At that point, the production rose to close to 200 cases, which was considered enough for their white Bordeaux wine to be offered as a future.
To produce Cos d'Estournel Blanc, the wine is barrel fermented and aged in a combination of new and one-year-old, French oak barrels to maintain maximum freshness. There is no malolactic fermentation or skin contact. The wine is best enjoyed in its youth. The wine is sold as a generic AOC Bordeaux Blanc.
Cos d'Estournel Blanc is best served with all types of seafood and various cheeses.
Chateau Cos d'Estournel makes a second wine, Les Pagodes de Cos, which was first produced with the 1994 vintage. Originally, the second wine was called Marbuzet. The majority of the fruit came from their vineyard called Marbuzet, hence the name. The name was changed after both properties were purchased by Michel Reybier.
Today, the grapes used in the second wine, Les Pagodes de Cos can from time to time, include fruit from Marbuzet, their other estate in St. Estephe, as well as grapes from young vines and declassified wine intended for Cos d'Estournel.
Since 2005, Les Pagodes de Cos has morphed into one of the better second wines in all of Bordeaux. On average, Les Pagodes de Cos is aged in 40% new, French oak barrels.
In 2003, the Reybier group produced their debut vintage of Goulee by Cos d'Estournel from a vineyard they own in the Medoc, which is situated north of St. Estephe. In 2009 Michel Reybier and Chateau Cos d'Estournel purchased vineyards in Tokaji with they obtained the Hetszolo estate.
Michel Reybier is also an investor in Champagne, with a company he owns, The Pressoirs de France group. The company is a large supplier of bulk and inexpensive Champagne to big supermarkets in England. The wine is sold as Michel Reybier Champagne. In 2020, Michel Reybier purchased a large vineyard in Provence, Chateau La Mascaronne.
More than just interests in vineyards takes place in Bordeaux for the owner of Cos d'Estournel. In 2019, they opened a high-end hotel in Saint Estephe, La Maison d'Estournel on the site of the previously named Chateau Pomys. The hotel has 14 well-appointed guest rooms and suites, a restaurant, and a wine-tasting bar. In addition, Reybier also owns the luxury chain of hotels, La Reserve.
Starting with the 2012 vintage, Cos d'Estournel began to use the Tesa system of anti-counterfeiting measures as well, allowing consumers to verify the authenticity of their bottle with the use of a bar code sticker that is placed on the label and the original wood case.