Bordeaux Primeurs 2013: Château Cos d’Estournel
Aymeric de Gironde summed up the 2013 vintage perfectly: ‘Normally we make wine to make money, this year you needed money to make wine.’ Production at Château Cos d’Estournel was 50% down, a combination of reduced yields through poor flowering and strict selection at harvest. The grand vin is a bright, fresh effort with pleasing aromatics and a lightness of touch that speaks of the vintage. Pagodes de Cos has a salty mineral tang and attractive vibrancy. Neither are weighty St Estèphe. Cos Blanc is wonderful. A bit like Aile d’Argent at Mouton, it’s the supporting actor here that walks off with the Oscar.