Winemaker Notes
Since its creation in 1994, Pagodes de Cos is made from grapes grown in a dedicated terroir whose vines are 40 years old on average. Seductive, balanced and voluptuous wine, each vintage is an excellent introduction to the style of Cos d'Estournel.
Blend: 62% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 62% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc that's being raised in 20% new barrels, the 2025 Pagodes De Cos is the second wine of this terrific château and is a gorgeous effort that's the equivalent of many a Grand Vin. Ripe currants, cassis, spring flowers, graphite, and smoky oak all define the nose, and on the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, with a layered, rounded mouthfeel, beautiful balance, and nicely integrated acidity. It checks in at a pH of 3.62 and will shine in its youth yet also age gracefully.
Barrel Sample: 92-95 -
James Suckling
A juicy and velvety second wine of Cos, with spices and hazelnuts that highlight the dark fruit in this wine. It’s medium- to full-bodied with juicy fruit and a flavorful finish. Shows structure, but is integrated and polished. 55% cabernet sauvignon, 34% merlot and 11% cabernet franc.
Barrel Sample: 94-95 -
Decanter
Supple and plump, softly chewy and bright with crisp tannins, cooling acidity, ripe fleshy fruit but more blueberry than blackcurrant with a lick of crushed stones on the finish. Really well constructed, not showy at all, but feels confident. A serious wine but with a soft side. A very good Pagodes. Lots to like here. I love the texture and length. 1% Cabernet Franc completes the blend.
Barrel Sample: 94 -
Vinous
The 2025 Les Pagodes de Cos is a huge, somber wine. Blackberry, gravel, licorice, chocolate, incense and cloves hit the palate with serious intensity. Ample and quite dense, the 2025 is super concentrated from start to finish. It's going to need a few years to shed some of its considerable baby fat. This is a gorgeous Pagodes. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2025 Les Pagodes de Cos is shaping up beautifully, wafting from the glass with notes of blackberries, cassis and licorice framed by a touch of toasty oak. Medium- to full-bodied, fleshy and supple, with good mid-palate density, sweet tannins and a lively core of fruit, it's a blend of 62% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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.