The Estate
Château Cos d’Estournel, ranked as a Second Growth in the 1855 classification, owes its name and fame to Louis-Gaspard d’Estournel, known as the "Maharajah of Saint-Estèphe." A visionary, he began exporting his wines to India as early as the 19th century and built the estate’s iconic pagoda-style cellars. From its inception, the estate has stood out for its boldness, its spirit of innovation, and a unique signature combining power and elegance.
Located at the southern tip of the Saint-Estèphe appellation, on the famous Cos hill—“cos” meaning "hill of pebbles" in Gascon—the vineyard benefits from an exceptional terroir of deep gravel over limestone. Bordering Pauillac, the estate shares with its illustrious neighbors a rare geological profile, ideal for ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, the dominant grape variety, alongside Merlot, which brings roundness and velvety texture.
Under the ownership of Michel Reybier since 2000, Château Cos d’Estournel seamlessly blends cutting-edge technology, environmental respect, and artisanal precision. Its gravity-flow winery exemplifies the estate’s pursuit of purity in winemaking. Each vintage reflects remarkable mastery of the house style: a complex aromatic architecture, deep structure, and refined elegance. The estate also produces an excellent second wine, Les Pagodes de Cos.
The Wine
Viticulture at Château Cos d’Estournel is based on meticulous parcel-by-parcel management, combining sustainable practices, soil work, and hand harvesting to preserve the purest expression of the terroir. In the winery, each plot is vinified separately in a state-of-the-art gravity-fed cellar, allowing for gentle, precise extraction, followed by 18 months of ageing in French oak barrels, 50 to 80% of which are new depending on the vintage.
Tasting
The Grand Vin of Cos d’Estournel opens with an intense nose of ripe blackcurrant, sweet spices, and fine wood. The palate is full-bodied and structured, with silky tannins and remarkable freshness carrying through to a long, elegant finish. A great age-worthy wine, both powerful and refined.
