G d'Estournel 2019

Cos d’Estournel - the bold, the beautiful, the monumental Bordeaux Second Growth that often and repeatedly scores 100 points from multiple critics, besting its next-door-neighbor First Growths at all levels.

Cos d’Estournel - the wild and crazy French chateau that features pagodas, elephants complete with Hathi Howdah; whose very name itself breaks all French language pronunciation rules you could think of.

Cos - the hugely internationally successful winery that introduced a bold, new creation of a wine in 2004 named Goulée. Made at the exact same quality level as its Grand Vin yet to be drunk more forward. What could be better that enjoying your Cos without a decade-long wait?

Yet, to my understanding it was a total failure. Not because of the wine, but maybe because pronounced incorrectly by Americans, it sounds like an evil fantasy creature. And even pronounced correctly, it sounds like that very same creature is doing something you don’t want it to do. And, if my Chinglish still stands, the name would render to “fluffy yellow dim-sum cake” in that huge wine market. Darn international marketing is hard!

But all kidding about the name aside, Cos d’Estournel does make truly sensational Bordeaux wines. And they are all rather dear on the wallet. In 2004, the chateau introduced a new wine, the above-mentioned Goulée. I remember Goulée’s introduction, and not only was the pitch terribly confusing, but the name seriously didn’t help.

So with this vintage, the 2019, Cos got it right and cleaned things up and made the wine entirely clear - “G” is crafted with the same dedication and expertise as the Grand Vin, but it comes from a vineyard in the Medoc region of Bordeaux, instead of Saint Estephe. In essence, Cos is following in the footsteps of many other Bordeaux chateaux and producing a “third” wine from the region surrounding their home vineyards in order to introduce clients to the style of Cos d’Estournel. As they say, and I entirely believe - this is the perfect introduction to the winery:

The 2019 vintage of G d’Estournel delivers vivacity and balance; it is at once fresh and rich, vigorous and discreet. Vibrant and highly spirited, with unmistakable notes of pepper, it is a long, silky wine, whose nose of blackcurrant and violet is highlighted by aromas of eucalyptus, thyme and rosemary.

If you love Cos d’Estournel - or Bordeaux in general - this is a wine not to miss.