Winemaker Notes
An impromptu lunch with friends is the perfect occasion to open a bottle of Pagodes de Cos. It is reminiscent of the simple pleasures of life, like homemade blackcurrant syrup, a bowl of just-picked red cherries or a freshly opened jar of citrus jam. Pagodes de Cos is at once indulgent, comforting and vivacious, like a carefree conversation with family or friends in a familiar place.
Blend: 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2023 Pagodes De Cos is a gorgeous effort offering lots of ripe red and black fruits, some graphite, toasted spice, and savory tobacco notes, medium to full body, and ripe tannins. It has a savory, firmer edge and will need some time.
Barrel Sample: 91-94 -
James Suckling
Spicy and complex. Aromas of spices, nutmeg, red currants and blackberries. Medium-bodied with round and polished tannins and a savory finish. The second wine of Cos d’Estournel. Needs two or three years to come around. Drink after 2027.
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Vinous
The 2023 Les Pagodes de Cos makes a strong statement out of the gate. A blast of intense dark fruit, leather, spice, menthol, game, licorice, dried herbs and chocolate infuses the palate with remarkable textural intensity. Ample and resonant in the glass, with fabulous balance, Les Pagodes is exceptionally fine in 2023. The long, sustained finish is a thing of beauty. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Wine Enthusiast
A cinnamon aroma and flavors of toast and spice give this wine a fruit and tannin character. The dry core and the juicy blackberry fruits are enticing, still firm and with aging potential.
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Decanter
Strongly aromatic on the nose, the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot really making their mark despite comprising only 2% of the blend each. Vivid pink/purple in the glass, amazing vibrancy to the colour. Bright and buzzy, great energy, a little powdery with the tannins at the fore giving the structure but good length and balance and weight. Grippy, expansive and fresh, lots of life and cool crunchy blue and red fruit at the fore. Ends dry and powdery. Feels a little subdued and taken over by the structure right now but there’s clearly power on show. Could be lovely in time. Ageing 20% new oak.
Barrel Sample: 92 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Les Pagodes de Cos wafts from the glass with aromas of mulberries, cassis, spices and rose petals, followed by a medium- to full-bodied palate that is round and enveloping, layered and perfumed, framed by velvety tannins and culminating in a long, fresh and fragrant finish. Ethereal and delicate, this blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot is a classic at this address, with the vintage placing a particular emphasis on freshness. Rating: 92+
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Wine Spectator
A friendly, pure style, with damson plum and cherry coulis notes rac- ing alongside lilac and potpourri hints atop chalky threads. A subtle twang of iron gives this a piercing feel at the very end. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
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.