Cos d'Estournel Wine Dinner with Valentine Labarthe

A really enjoyable evening over a 12-person dinner at The Pawn hosted by the engaging Ms. Valentine Labarthe of Cos d'Estournel.

• 2006 Château Cos d'Estournel Blanc 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux

  This is a recent new wine first produced in 2005 in only 2,000-3,000 cases. The grape varietal is 60% Sauvignon Blanc grafted onto very old red wine root stocks which penetrate the "Sancerre-style" terroir on Cos D'Estournel. Very light greenish sunlight colour. Fresh, vibrant nose of green Granny Smiths apples and distinct Sancerre-ish minerality. Similar on the palate with great acidic appley freshness and minerality developing into fresh pineapples and tinned lychees on the palate. Very enjoyable but preposterous at US$125 a bottle.

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• 1996 Les Pagodes de Cos 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Still dark red....just lightening to transparent at the meniscus, typical of a good 1996 Bordeaux. Lovely nose of blackberries and still fresh sawn oak. On the palate it is a lovely fresh balance of darl blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, softened tannins and nice acidity. A bit thin on the middle palate but sweet. Moderate length. Quite impressive for a second wine but this devolved to emulsion paint with time in the glass.

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• 2006 Les Pagodes de Cos 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Looks quite a lot older because of its light and near-transparent colour. Canned blackcurrant catering jam on the nose. Light stawberry and cream soda palate. Lots of vanilla. Not much length. Seems a different style of winemaking from the 1996.

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• 1997 Château Cos d'Estournel 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Deep red/purple colour, slightly translucent. Wow..... classic Cos nose that is absolutely stunning and surprisingly mature. Good fruity and chalky palate but thin and obviously from a wet year. Dry tannins are almost fully resolved on the back end. Pleasant but not one to keep.

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• 1999 Château Cos d'Estournel 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Similar deep red/pruple and slightly translucent colour to the 1997. Nose is a lot more reticent compared to the 1997. But this has much more heft, depth of fruit and delineating tannin on the palate,;all classic secondary characteristics Bordeaux. Got even better with extended time in the glass. Good length and some resonance which also got better and better with time. Won't improve with more age but is a really enjoyable and extremely well-priced Cos at this moment. Drank from magnum, which probably helped considerably.

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• 2004 Château Cos d'Estournel 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Deep purplish/red colour, totally opaque. Primary but attractive spicy deep coffee-oriented nose with concentrated wild blackberries and box-wood. Mouthcoating, slightly austere, well-balanced palate with strong blackberries on the back end. Still very tannic and acidic-structured. Moderate length and not yet much resonance. Very good.

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• 2006 Château Cos d'Estournel 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Opaque purple but surprisingly lightened at the edge. Nose is completely primary: boxwood and not much else. Lovely very sweet and fruity on the palate....lots of mocha on the back end. Great structure and balance.....a big wine. This has all the elements to become a great wine. Apparently, 2006 was a very low-yeilding year where selection was uncompromising. Very impressive indeed.

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I increasingly think that, in a world where wine making best practice and world-class wine making talent has become readily accessible, the secondary and tertiary producers of great French Bordeaux have no clue how to price their product. Tonight was a quintessential case in point: Cos has produced an intriguing and unusual new style of Bordeaux white wine but ridiculously priced at the same level as the 2004 and 2006 flagship red (US$ 125), which themselves are not competitively priced when a magnum of the 1999 costs no more. The answer is to buy the 1999 for near-term drinking.