Château Cos d'Estournel is a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

in the Saint-Estèphe

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

of the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

region of France. It is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen ''Deuxièmes Crus'' (Second Growths) in the original

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from ...

. Château Cos d'Estournel produces the eponymous ''grand vin'', the

second wine Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or ev ...

since the 1994 vintage, Les Pagodes de Cos from the estate's younger

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

s, as well as Château Marbuzet from fruit of nearby plots. The property is adjacent to Château Lafite-Rothschild in the neighboring commune of

Pauillac Pauillac (; oc, Paulhac) is a municipality in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The city is mid-way between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave, along the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe. Populati ...

History

The name ''Cos'' (with the S pronounced) refers to a "hill of pebbles" in Gascon dialect and the name ''Cos d'Estournel'' was given in 1810 by Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel. The estate has changed hands several times during its history, starting in 1852 when it was purchased by the English banker Charles Cecil Martyns. In 1869, it was sold to the Spanish Errazu family only to be sold again 20 years later in 1889 to the Bordeaux-based Hostein family. Through his marriage to Marie-Thérèse Hostein, Louis-Victor Charmolue, who also owned Château Montrose, gained control of Cos d'Estournel in 1894. In 1917, it was sold to Fernand Ginestet. The château has remained in the Ginestet family since then, becoming in 1970 part of Domaines Prats, the combined holdings of the Ginestet and Prats families, and controlled by Bruno Prats. In June 2008 it was announced that Michel Reybier, current owner of Cos d'Estournel, purchased Napa winery

Chateau Montelena Chateau Montelena is a Napa Valley winery most famous for winning the white wine section of the historic "Judgment of Paris" wine competition. Chateau Montelena's Chardonnay was in competition with nine other wines from France and California und ...

for an undisclosed sum. By November 2008, however, this agreement was cancelled, the termination of the transaction by Chateau Montelena stated to be due to that Reybier Investments had been "unable to meet its obligations".

Production

From a 100 hectare estate, the vineyard area extends , divided into 30 parcels, primarily composed of the

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, with minor cultivation of Cabernet Franc and

Petit verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

that appears to participate little in the modern production.bbr.co
Château Cos d'Estournel
/ref> The annual production is typically 32,000 cases. Cos wines tend to have a higher blend of Merlot than other classified Left Bank wines.Johnson, Hugh & Robinson, Jancis ''The World Atlas of Wine'', p.88; Mitchell Beazley Publishing, 2005,

Gallery

File:Entrance_of_Château_Cos_d'Estournel.jpg file:vinbieno Château Cos d'Estournel 04.jpg file:vinbieno Château Cos d'Estournel 06.jpg file:vinbieno Château Cos d'Estournel 09.jpg file:vinbieno Château Cos d'Estournel 10.jpg

References

External links

Château Cos d'Estournel official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cos d'Estournel, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers