Château Cos d'Estournel is a

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

in the Saint-Estèphe

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

of the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

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 Exposition Universelle (1855), 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III of France, Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordea ...

. 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 e ...

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

vine A vine 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 themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

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.

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 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 ''V ...

of 60%

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

and 40%

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

, with minor cultivation of

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

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