Château Cos d'Estournel是法國波爾多的St-Estephe村最著名的酒莊，位於村子南端一處稱為 “Cos(源自當地方言)”的礫石圓丘上，因此成為酒莊名稱的一部分。酒名的 “d'Estournel”則是來自19世紀初的莊主Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel，這位浪漫的傳奇人物為了釀製出心目中的好酒和全波爾多最奇特的酒莊建築，曾經被迫兩度賣掉酒莊；不過他建立起來的聲譽，讓本酒莊在1855年的分級名列二級酒莊，而奇特東方風格的標莊建築，至今仍是令人矚目的地標。從1960年代起，Cos d'Estournel就一直是St-Estephe村酒價最高的，被譽為Haut-Médoc的「超級二級酒莊(super second)」之內！
本酒莊緊鄰著Pauillac村，與Château Lafite之間其實只有一條像大水溝的小溪隔開。它所處的礫石圓丘擁有非常優異的種植葡萄條件，葡萄園裡種植的品種是將近60 % Cabernet Sauvignon、40 % Merlot和些許的Cabernet Franc，如此高比例的Merlot讓它的酒質口感以圓潤柔和著稱，算是Haut-Médoc頂級酒莊中的異數；而且1991年起本酒莊開始採用逆滲透濃縮法來釀酒，成果也獲得相當的好評。
2017 Cos d'Estournel
Cos d'Estournel不負「超級二級」的美名，在2017年份也釀出極精彩而令人驚豔的美酒。它是由66% Cabernet Sauvignon、32% Merlot、1% Petit Verdot和1% Cabernet Franc釀製。香氣上表現出梅子蜜餞、黑色莓果、黑醋栗香甜酒和野生藍莓的美好香氣，並混合了印度香料、薄荷、丁香和礦石氣味；酒體中上，口感堅實，單寧紮實，搭配上藍、黑色漿果香味，餘味悠長而芬芳。它需要幾年的陳年來讓它的香味發展，建議適飲期是2025到2065年左右。
WA:97-100 Drink:NA
The final blend of the 2017 Cos d'Estournel is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Very deep purple-black in color, it offers up intense scents of crushed blackcurrants, blackberries and black cherries with touches of incense, spice cake, star anise and plum preserves plus a perfumed hint of potpourri. The palate is medium-bodied with very firm yet wonderfully ripe, "sweet", fine-grained tannins at just 13% alcohol—something of a miracle in our modern times. The palate sports fantastic freshness and tons of energy emitted from the intensely perfumed black fruit layers, finishing on an epically long-lingering mineral note. Truly profound.
Moderate stress has a way of sending living things – in this case, vines and people – in one direction or the other. This is the thought that ran through my head following my separate tastings at Cos d’Estournel. Due to its proximity to the Gironde estuary, at least there was no frost this year at Cos d’Estournel to get stressed about. Flowering took place on May 22, which was exceedingly early. In June, there were early signs of water stress and the vines were slowing down and sluggish, according to technical director Dominique Arangoïts. But the vines at this vineyard are now coming in at an average age of 55 years old, which suggests they are capable of managing a bit of water stress. Thankfully, by the end of June, there was enough rain to reinvigorate the vines. This hydric stress appears to have equated to the formation of relatively small, thick-skinned berries in 2017. Thanks to the early flowering, it was an early start to the harvest: September 12. Harvest continued through until the end of the month. Apart from the stress of the rains at harvest to contend with, the Chateau’s managing director, Aymeric de Gironde, suddenly upped-sticks and headed over to Troplong-Mondot during harvest. (As an aside, I must mention that Aymeric de Gironde went on to achieve a truly amazing 2017 at his new estate.) When I taste a wine that is, apparently against the odds, an incredible achievement, it fascinates me no end to study the how and the why. I hasten to add, I arrived at Cos d’Estournel for my second tasting of this wine completely unannounced, upon which I was cordially welcomed and invited to taste from the same bottle that a local merchant was sampling. This was tasted fifteen days after my first visit and the wine was looking even more extraordinary, having opened-out just a bit more to reveal glimpses at a vast array of underlying, tightly-wound yet seriously intense aromas and flavors. The frame remained as rock-solid as the first time I tasted it, sporting tannins so beautifully ripe they should serve as textbook examples. Here is a wine of incredible grace and depth, which should unfurl slowly, over many years, offering excellent cellaring potential. Yields for the grand vin in 2017 were 43 hl/ha. 60% new oak is being used for the maturation. The 2017 barrel samples I tasted are the final blends and are already composed in the cellar.
