The Fine Wine Experience - Château Cos d’Estournel Dinner with Aymeric de Gironde © Linden Wilkie

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In Review…

The Fine Wine Experience - Château Cos d’Estournel Dinner

with Aymeric de Gironde

Grand Hyatt, Hong Kong, 18th June 2014 © Linden Wilkie

Aymeric de Gironde, the fresh faced fresh face at Château Cos d’Estournel got a plane from

Bordeaux to Paris, connected to Hong Kong, arrived at HKG an hour and a half before dinner, yet

managed to join us on time, immaculate in a fine tailored suit and silk knit tie, and completely at

ease. He was joined by other Fine Wine Experience guests who had flown in especially from

Singapore and Mumbai, amongst other places.

It would be lovely to think it was our intense charisma or charm that was the draw, or the sight of

the sunset glow over the IFC/ICC twin towers that framed Victoria harbor from our panoramic

Grand Hyatt view, but I think the opening of three centuries of Cos over one dinner might also

have been a factor. There was electricity in the room, and when the older wines were poured, the

chit chat and buzzed turned to complete silence. What we found, in the end, was one of the

strongest verticals I have yet experienced, to an extent that surprised me.

Almost a year in the planning, we had gathered some special bottles, and the château had kindly

pledged others direct from their cellar, but we were still hopeful of something really quite special

turning up. No sooner had we been discussing that point with the chateau in late 2013, than

Sotheby’s announced a sale that included a bottle of the 1870 with ‘impeccable provenance’. Well,

there you go. £3290 later and it was ours and we were ready.

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Cos – lying at the southern end of St.-Estèphe, just north of Lafite – was created from an

agglomeration of neighboring parcels in the early 19th by the flamboyant Louis Gaspard

d’Estournel. In response to the strikingly individual ‘Oriental’ style of his chai, with its pagodas

and elephant symbol, reinforced by his entertaining with bottles of Cos ‘returned from India’, he

was known as the “Maharajah of Saint-Estèphe”. I like the sound of him. Those parties must have

been a sensation in what must otherwise have been one of the sleepiest parts of France. His efforts

– and the quality of the terroir – ensured that both Cos (alongside Montrose) stood at the top of the

St.-Estèphe hierarchy two years after his death – ranking ‘2nd growth’ in the 1855 classification. To

this day, while the classification has only been amended once (an elevation for Mouton in 1973) –

Cos has sat at the top of the seconds – a “super second” along with the likes of the Pichons, Ducru,

Léovilles, and so on.

The 54 hectare vineyard estate sits intact, as d’Estournel had completed it – a little hillock

separating two gentle slopes. 60% is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon on deep gravelly soil. 40% - a

high proportion for the Médoc – is planted to Merlot. Historically this may have been a hedge

against the risk of not fully ripening the later developing Cabernet in so north a stretch of the

Médoc, but the sheer fleshiness it gives Cos is surely too part of the signature of the estate. As

Aymeric pointed out, it is very well suited to a line of clay in the vineyard.

It is with that fleshiness in mind that by about two thirds of the way through the event I began to

wonder if I had seriously misunderstood Cos these past few years. I have, for as long as I can

remember, not been too keen on young vintages of Cos. I have thought they were way too

alcoholic, too fleshy, too oaky, and some just simply monstrous. In a horizontal line ups of

primeurs barrel samples, or freshly bottled vintages, they would stand out in the same way Pavie

does in St.-Emilion. Absolutely not my taste. I want fruit – and lots and lots of fruit is fine too – so

long as there is poise and a bit of grace and charm to frame the package. The palate should flow.

At Cos, in the past decade or so, I had felt it didn’t. Patience, and time in the cellar, sorts out these

arguments in the end, because while we taste young vintages, we don’t drink them. We wait to see

them open up.





We tasted the 2005 and 2003 at our leisure prior to sitting down to dinner. Most of the trepidation I

had harbored about these Cos vintages evaporated immediately I tasted them. 2005 had been such

a textbook vintage that only a fool would have made anything less than brilliant wine at a vineyard

like Cos, and the 2005 Cos is superb. The test of the terroir (and the handling of the vintage) was

not 2005, but 2003. No amount of careful canopy management, or anaerobic and cool temperature

control handling in the winery could have compensated for the scorching heat of that vintage. As

Ayermic pointed out – it wasn’t so much the hot days, but the hot nights that were the problem.

Vines got no respite, and without water, many vines shut down. The 2003 Cos is decadent, for

sure, but what impressed me was the level of freshness also in the wine, and the feeling of balance

and harmony. In ’03, this could only be preserved if was found in the soil, it could not be

manipulated.

This sat in the back of my mind as we tasted back and forth through the decades. Cos sat at ease

with the jumble I made of its narrative – bracketing vintages into flights that had more to ask about

vintage styles than chronology. What, I had wondered, might we see in the leafier side of Cos by

tasting ’00, ’96, and ’85 together, and what of its grand classicism by grouping ’61, ’49 and ’70

together? (1870!) How about the firm, more highly structured years, like ’95, ’86, ’55 or ’28?

For so many fine wines, leaping back and forth through the decades like that would be jarring.

With Cos last night it wasn’t. While the 2005 was still – as to be expected – fairly closed and

primary, everything from 2003 back to 1928 was still vibrantly fruity, showing freshness and

suppleness, yet the stamp of each vintage was also there to see. It was something of a Cos





epiphany. I had not clicked to this before, including the last time I hosted a vertical in London,

back to the ’28. Perhaps it is something in that combination of aristocratic, intense and sinewy

northern Médoc Cabernet, and the plush and softening effect of that much Merlot in the blend, that

gives Cos this exceptionally long drinking window? There was no doubting the through line of

expression that covered all those decades represented at our table – sometimes a little more on the

leafy side (’96, ’85, ‘53), sometimes more on the spicy side (’03, ’90, ’82), but always (at least in

our ‘highlights tour’ of top years) generously fruity.

It’s left me wondering if I might be proved wrong – in time – about some of the super-scaled wines

of the last decade. I hope so. I’m already confident about the trajectory the ’03 and ’05 are

showing. If Aymeric and his team turn the dial back from 11 to, say, 9, I think they might find (to

my taste anyway) their sweet spot. The vineyard clearly gives it without too much pushing. In any

case, after this showing of 15 vintages spanning three centuries, there is no doubting the quality of

this estate.

We began the evening with a glass of Michel Reybier’s Champagne, which is citrusy and intense,

emphasizing roundness and fullness of fruit. It’s good. The tiny production (10,000 bottles

initially, but set to rise to 100,000 – which is still boutique by Champagne standards), and a focus

on quality, will ensure this will be a fairly expensive bottle on the market.





Then on to Cos – the ’03 and ’05 before the

first course, and then the other 13 vintages

divided into flights with modern European

style courses to match. The one piece of

homework for participants was to vote at the

end. 16 participants were asked to cast two

unranked votes for their top two wines of the

night. The 32 votes are detailed under each

wine voted for below.

2003 Château Cos d’Estournel

Fairly transparent, a deep velvet garnet and

with bricking at the rim, a healthy colour;

sweet and fragrant with singed/confit dark

fruit, very Médoc, very ripe, but there is an

impressive freshness here too, dried roses and

a hint of musk – it is an inviting aroma, now

quite open; a fruit-laden palate, plush and

mouth-coating, it is fleshy and ample in style,

but there is good, natural feeling acidity too,

impressive length of flavor and finish.

There’s good depth of tannin and fruit, and

the balance feels right. Delicious already but

I predict this will age very well – which puts

it in that top minority of ‘03s. 95+


A lovely bright clear ruby/garnet, still a fresh colour though the opacity has dropped a little – now

semi-clear; sweet cassis and plummy nose, very fresh and perfectly ripe, initially there was quite a

strong whiff of toasty oak which sat out as a little cloying in the otherwise quite pure aromas, but

after two hours in the glass this had settled in, and did not jar the senses going back to it after

tasting many older vintages; fleshy, concentrated, and still very youthful, composed decadence, a

layered feeling, florals on the finish. There is great material here. The oak chokes things up a little

and will possibly always feature, but there is terrific quality of fruit and there is sufficient flow to

the wine on the palate. Potentially outstanding. Not yet ready to start broaching the case. 95+


Still a deep glossy ruby, semi-transparent; sweet fruit on the nose, some exotic and enticing notes,

a touch of olive tapenade, toasty oak notes, sweet, fresh and youthful still, but beginning to open

up aromatically, pleasantly expressive; sweet dark fruit on the palate, in contrast to the decadent

’03 and the statuesque ’05, I really admired the relative prettiness of the ’00, it showed some

subtlety. Long finish. This is really lovely now – just coming into its drinking window. 95






Fine clear garnet, semi-clear with a graduated

bricky rim; sweet nose, bright, lifted aromatics

with a distinctly herbal tone, which is cool and

vegetal in a sweet pea sort of way, touch of

coffee bean; good concentration on the palate,

though it is a step back on the throttle after the

’00, ’03 and ’05, quite classic, very

distinctively leafy in expression, but there is

very good fruit in support and the overall

effect is quite food-demanding and morish.

Great with the duck and root vegetable course

served with it. 93


A noticeable step back in time, and shift in

style, but the Cos expression is identifiably

there. Fine garnet colour with bricky rim, an

open and ready appearance; sweet, quite

aromatic nose, just-ripe, cool, with a leafy, mulchy element that is more subdued than the ’96 but

perhaps greener still; really lovely on the palate, open and fragrant with a nice line as well as mid-

palate softness and fruitiness. Leafy and currant. Supremely satisfying and easy to drink, I noted

that its that classic sort of claret you could polish off a magnum of over lunch and not realize you

done it. Fully mature, but very healthy, no rush. 92

1 vote.


Lovely bright clear garnet; fragrant nose, medicinal – sweet and spicy, dried roses and earth, there

is a gentle but persistent intensity on the nose, which opened up over an hour or so in the glass. By

the time I finished it I noted cigar tobacco – this has a really attractive ’61 nose; sweet attack,

initially I thought this might be creaking a little, with a slightly rusty iodine edge to the tannins, but

it really cleared up nicely with a bit more air in the glass. The ’61 concentation is there – not to a

Latour ’61 extent, but there is very good intensity, and a singed biscuity sweetness and ripeness to

it. Velvety Cos. No rush, drinking superbly well. 95

5 votes. 4th place.


Fine, clear, bright appearance, so limpid and healthy, bricked right through, fully transparent;

initially some VA lift and awkwardness, along with a whiff of porcini, and I worried a little that it

might be heading over. The palate too had a touch of porcini. But after 15 minutes or so in the

glass, the fruit and the perfume were asserting themselves. This was the most ethereally perfumed





Cos of the night – supreme fruit, concentration, combined with elegance and flow. Totally

seamless, with a beguiling floral edge. I closed my eyes and tried to find a parallel wine experience

– what came to mind were fine grand cru Burgundies of a similar age. This ’49 is now all

fragrance and silkiness. A very great bottle of Cos. 98

7 votes. 1st place. (One of my two votes included).


Original, beautiful, hand-blown bottle, recorked at the chateau in 1988.

Clear, but still deep, and still holding very good colour at the core, a few flakes of sediment,

despite decanting, a lighter rim with a distinctly olive-green tint suggesting a little oxidation, or

madeirisation (and, I suppose to be fair, just sheer age!), but the appearance is promisingly clear

and limpid – there is no haze, bloom, or cloudiness marring it; the nose is sweet in a positive sort

of way, no acetification, notes of toffee and overripe banana / banana cake denote some oxidation

or madeirisation, but they have not knocked it over. Notes too of earth and dark chocolate – there

is complexity; sweet on the palate, there is fruit here still, though notes of toffee and molasses

compete for it, texture of concentration, good acidity, and fine, classic, still slightly grippy ripe

tannins mark out the shape of what would certainly have been a formidable Cos in its youth. Not a

Peter Pan bottle in the way some clarets of this age I have tasted have been, but no excuses

required either – still a positive drinking experience, and a rare privilege to partake, paid for or not.

90

3 votes.


Deep garnet, semi-opaque still; toasty oak notes on a sweet, fruity nose, lovely freshness, notes of

leather, touch of earth; lovely fruit, flesh and fragrance, ample richness and concentration, there is

some inertia here in the mid-palate, coffee grounds, toasty oak notes, good fruit, a touch of

leafiness denoting some fragrance beginning to come through, but this is still quite sleepy. Good

acidity. The parts are all there. A little four square. Well stuffed though. Miles behind the ’96 now

in evolution. Leave this one in the cellar still. 92+


The first bottle was a bit oxidized, so we opened another. That was popped, decanted and poured

immediately, so it was a little stunned and took time to pen up in the glass. But it was immediately

fresh in expression, and quite attractive. Clear garnet, still a good depth of colour. Floral and quite

spicy on the nose – more Cabernet in expression than is typical for Cos. Great vitality bursting

from the glass. Attractively savoury – it got stuck right into the wagyu beef sirloin, the intensity

and the fine acid cut dealt with the fattiness of the beef very well. 93


Fine clear garnet with a broad bricky rim; a sweet nose, a touch of onion jam and toasted sesame;

sweet fruit on the palate, good concentration, really quite especially fresh in expression, gently

leafy – turning to sweet, attractive spearmint with more air, gentle grip still from the tannins on the





finish. Seems right on the cusp of beginning to dry out and go threadbare, but it hasn’t yet. Classic,

and delicious. Somehwere between the ’85 and the ’86 in style. 93


No less deep than the ’55, but more garnet in the centre and more tawny at the rim; this started out

gently, but impressively fruity, and then after another 30 minutes or so in the glass, the aromas

really began to soar. Despite decanting it ahead of time, this still needed air – and it got plenty in

the relatively flat-bottomed Zalto Bordeaux glass. Really intense fruit, and one of the most exotic

and exuberant of the Cos vintages tonight. Super healthy still. Compact in texture, with layers

revealed within the tannins that hold the finish, this is aromatic and fantastic wine by any measure.

Real intensity. Superb. One of my two wines of the night, along with the ’49. 97

6 votes. 2nd= place. (One of my two votes included).


A full ruby-garnet core – deeper and freshner in colour than a number of ‘90s are now showing –

bricked rim; sweet nose, sweet herbsm fragrant, spicy and gingery nose; lush, quite soft, relatively

low acid Cos, with glycerin driving the texture, red and dark currants, ‘hot tiles’, a touch of cocoa

on the finish. The most exotic of the Cos vintages. Delicious. 94

2 votes.


Quite a full garnet colour, bricked rim; sweet dark fruit on the nose, brooding and spicy, notes of

dates and toffee; lush on the palate, with a creamy texture and a candied edge to the fruit – dark

berry compote with a smoke and caramel twist, and notes of ginger adding complexity on the

finish. Decadent Cos. More substantial than some ‘82s. 95

2 votes.


Clear bricked garnet; cedary and leafy nose, gentle and fragrant, a sweet, fine, positive nose; lovely

sweet and savoury balance on the palate, gently leafy and fragrant, this has a wonderful elegance

to it. Touch of malt denoting both sunshine at harvest and bottle age. Lovely old Cos. One of the

most elegant. 94

6 votes. 2nd= place.





We had sourced very carefully for this event – including quite a number of bottles coming directly

from the château – and the line up solidly represented top level vintages – but even so, this

showing of Château Cos d’Estournel exceeded my expectations, and left me much more enamored.

I would be curious to taste a line up of young vintages, with “CV” of the past decades in the back

of my mind. I do hope that the rein in the style just a bit at least, but I can see now that it is not

entirely a modern-day invention – so many of the old school vintages show a bold, fleshy, spicy

family resemblance too. Power and elegance - that’s what Aymeric de Gironde says he is looking

for at Cos. I’ll drink to that.



Documents

The Fine Wine Experience - Château Cos d’Estournel Dinner with Aymeric de Gironde © Linden Wilkie