In the old Gascon language, the word Cos means “The Hill of Pebbles.“ Appropriately named, Château Cos d’Estournel is situated on the banks of the Gironde River between Pauillac and St. Estèphe, where the property is clearly defined by the hill of Cos, reaching a height of almost 65 feet.

The vineyard of Cos spreads around the château on 91 hectares. The Cabernet Sauvignon vines find the soil of their choice in the thin layers of gravely soil situated on the top and on the southern slopes of the hill. The Merlot vines excel on the eastern slopes and on the slopes where the Saint-Estephe limestone bed shows on the surface. The vineyard is extremely dense and the average vine age is high (35 years old on the average) in order to enable the roots to extend excessively and to obtain a very slender yield per vine.

Only the wines coming from over 20 years old vines will have the name of Château Cos d’Estournel. Château Cos d’Estournel is today owned by Michel Reybier, and continues to be managed by a member of the Prats family under the direction of Jean-Guillaume Prats.

Manual harvest and selection. At the start of fermentations, the tannins released were spicy with a highly original chalky flavor. The high alcohol content enabled slower than usual fermentation and higher quality extraction. The high alcohol level also lent roundness and fullness to the wine. Thanks to the total gravity system of our new cellar, we were able to control this exceptionally tannin-rich harvest.

Cos d’Estournel has the style of masculine elegance in which immense power is combined with grace and smoothness. Impressive when young for the intensity of its structure and explosive fruit, Cos d’Estournel evolves slowly to completely mature.

The 2010 is a beautiful, deep crimson color with notes of blackberries and licorice. It is powerful on the palate and an extremely precise wine. Worth waiting for!
 

The 2010 vintage was the product of an exceptional combination of dry weather (2010 was the driest year of the decade) and rather cool temperatures (with the coldest May in five years).