Winemaker Notes
A comforting lull. Pagodes de Cos Blanc inspires a feeling of serenity, as time slows down and one can savor the simple pleasures of spending time with loved ones. Like an old friend, Pagodes de Cos Blanc is genial and spontaneous, recalling the delights of a carefree stroll or a moment of bliss in a garden filled with fragrant blossoms, as it offers an intense, delicate feeling of calm.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a really pretty second wine, showing a very contrastive palate of dried lemons and mangos with zingy acidity. Full-bodied and layered with a vivid finish. 90% sauvignon blanc and 10% semillon. Barrel Sample: 94-95
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Decanter
Thick citrus fruits - honey-edged lemon, lime, orange peel, grapefruit and pineapple on nose and palate. Full with lots of character and personality. High acidity does well to match the richer palate - keeping the energy and liveliness - with texture and grip. Nicely detailed with power and persistence.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Pagodes De Cos Blanc is mostly Sauvignon Blanc yet includes 10% Semillon, and it shows how good the whites are today from this château. Vibrant gold-hued, with a great nose of white grapefruit, ripe citrus, flowers, and chalky minerality, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, high yet integrated, clean acidity, and a great finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Sémillon, the 2020 Pagodes de Cos Blanc exhibits aromas of nectarine, gooseberries, white flowers and pastry cream, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy palate framed by tangy acids, concluding with a lemongrass-inflected finish. This is a strong effort in the genre.
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Wine Enthusiast
Very Sauvignon Blanc, this has a grassy character. Fresh citrus and bright acidity give total freshness to the wine. The lightness is delicious. Drink from 2024.
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Wine Spectator
Presents peach, green almond and yellow plum notes that give this a fun, off-beat profile, with a honeysuckle flourish on the finish. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.
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.