This year we decided to avoid the travel lunacy by combining Thanksgiving and Christmas into one visit in between the two holidays to Lauren’s (my finacee) parents who live in Sacramento, CA.  Lauren’s father, Monsieur Guy as we like to call him, has taken an increasing interest in the maturation of wine and asked me to put together a vertical for our celebratory visit. After much deliberation I decided on the Bordeaux estate of Cos d’Estournel, a favorite of mine that is a second growth in St. Estephe on the left bank of the Gironde river. The estate is right next to Pauillac’s Chateau Lafite Rothschild, seperated by the La Jalle de Breuil - a stream the delineates the two AOCs. St. Estephe wines in general are thought to be more “rustic” in style but Cos d’Estournel drinks more like Pauillac due to it’s close proximity.  “Cos” translates to a “hill of pebbles” and this is one of the defining terroir characteristics of the estate. The 91 hectares around the beautiful chateau sit roughly 65 feet above the Gironde providing excellent drainage so the vines have to dig deep for a drink. Vines produce better, more concentrated fruit when they have to work hard for their water and nutrients - just like humans do - c’mon, we have all known a trust fund baby or two! The deeper the vines go the more trace minerals they pick up and the more terroir defined the wine becomes. Another factor of quality is vine age and the average here is 35 years The vineyard is planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot and the final blend varies depending on the vintage condtions.

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We tasted the 1982, 1986, 1990, and the 2005. We decanted them 3 hours before tasting.

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2005 - Intense ruby and magenta color with heavy staining of the tears. Blackberry, plum and cassis fruits with baking spice, vanilla, graphite and intense coffee on the nose. In the mouth it was surprisingly drinkable for being an infant.  The wood was very apparent but the tannins were fairly soft, a result of wine making style or vintage? After tasting the others it was clear that it has a long way to go.

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1990 - Concentrated garnet color with slight staining, the highest intensity of color in the flight. Ceder, sage, saddle leather, nail polish remover, manure, sweet tobacco with dried strawberry, cassis, and fig. The list goes on….a very complex wine. Overall the impression was of organic aromas with sweet fruit that bordered on being overripe.

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1986 - Garnet core that fades to orange with moderate intensity. Powerful smells eminate, not exactly lovely though. My favorite note was from Guy who described this wine as “a brand new out of the box plastic air mattress” smell. For me it was definetly plasticy with glue, burnt toast, charcoal and chemical pickles.  Ummm…..what?  Weird I know. On the palate it was much more typical with green tobacco, peat, black currants and toast but still a disappointment. The last place finisher without a doubt.

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1982 - Color of garnet fading to orange with strong rim variation. Lovely and elegant nose of cassis, toasted marshmellow, balsa wood, licorice, cocoa and roasted meat. Extremely well balanced with silky tannins, sweet black and red fruits with a curious blood orange lingering on the finish. The standout of the the tasting. The perfect example of maturity - balance!

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A big thank you to Joyce and Guy!  What an experience.