Winemaker Notes
A sublime vintage with notes of floral blossoms, exotic fruit and fresh almond, Cos d’Estournel Blanc 2018 also has a lovely mineral quality. This year the estate’s Sémillon has surpassed itself, and proves a wonderful counterpart to an equally magnificent Sauvignon Blanc, resulting in a wine with exceptional complexity.2018 marks a new era for Cos d’Estournel Blanc: the balance, freshness and cellaring potential have been taken to the extreme, resulting in a supremely sophisticated, finely crafted wine.
Blend: 67% Sauvignon Blanc, 33% Semillon
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of two-thirds Sauvignon and one-third Sémillon that was brought up mostly in used barrels, the 2018 Château Cos D'Estournel Blanc has a bright gold hue as well as outstanding notes of tart pineapple, white flowers, lemon zest, and white grapefruit. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, bright, racy white with plenty of texture and richness, a notable sense of chalky minerality, and a great finish. This stunning white will keep for 10-15 years.
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James Suckling
A blend of two-thirds Sauvignon and one-third Sémillon that was brought up mostly in used barrels, the 2018 Château Cos D'Estournel Blanc has a bright gold hue as well as outstanding notes of tart pineapple, white flowers, lemon zest, and white grapefruit. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, bright, racy white with plenty of texture and richness, a notable sense of chalky minerality, and a great finish. This stunning white will keep for 10-15 years.
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Decanter
This is rich and textured, and a brilliant white wine, juicy and powerful, with tension, minerality and grip through the finish. Excellent and, for me, proof that over the past few years they have refound a focus and personality for their white, which is less heavy than it was for a couple of years. It has opulence and sexiness but it still maintains its reserve and flint, with juicy lime blossom on the finish. Drinking Window 2020 - 2028
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Blanc is composed of 67% Sauvignon Blanc and 33% Sémillon and was matured in 7% new barriques (13.88% alcohol). It opens very slowly, with a lot of coaxing, to reveal fragrant scents of lime blossoms, yellow apples and fresh grapefruit plus hints of crushed rocks, straw and sea spray. The medium-bodied palate has a beautiful satiny texture and fantastically intense citrus and apple layers with loads of mineral and herbal sparks on the long finish. Give it a good couple of years in bottle to open up, and drink it over the following 10 to 12 years or more. Rating : 94+
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Wine Enthusiast
This complex, wood-aged wine has a deceptively approachable texture. Initially all about white fruits, it underneath offers richness, toast, spice and layers of minerality. The wine is set to age well. Drink from 2023.
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
Deeply colored, concentrated, and distinctive, St. Estephe is the go-to for great, age-worthy and reliable Bordeaux reds. Separated from Pauillac merely by a stream, St. Estephe is the farthest northwest of the highest classed villages of the Haut Medoc and is therefore subject to the most intense maritime influence of the Atlantic.
St. Estephe soils are rich in gravel like all of the best sites of the Haut Medoc but here the formation of gravel over clay creates a cooler atmosphere for its vines compared to those in the villages farther downstream. This results in delayed ripening and wines with higher acidity compared to the other villages.
While they can seem a bit austere when young, St. Estephe reds prove to live very long in the cellar. Traitionally dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, many producers now add a significant proportion of Merlot to the blend, which will soften any sharp edges of the more tannic, Cabernet.
The St. Estephe village contains two second growths, Chateau Montrose and Cos d’Estournel.