We spent the whole morning at Château Cos d’Estournel, the first left bank château we visited on the tour, including a verticale tasting of 5 vintages.
See: Winery Tour and Vertical Tasting at Château Cos d’Estournel, 2ième Grand Cru Classé, Appellation Saint-Estèphe - Bordeaux Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours, France
From Château Cos d’Estournel we went to Maison d’Estournel, a Michelin-rated restaurant belonging to Château Cos d’Estournel, were we had lunch.
Château Cos d’Estournel
Château Cos d’Estournel boasts of one of most impressive architecture in all of Médoc.
In 1791 Louis Gaspard d’Estournel inherited holdings in Saint-Estèphe upon the death of his father. Over the years he added more land to his holdings, and bought several vineyards in the commune of Saint-Estèphe. The potential of Saint-Estèphe in those days was not fully recognized compared with the appellations further south (Pauillac, Saint-Julien, etc.), which were already fully exploited. Louis Gaspard was enthusiastic about his wines but there was no reputation for this appellation at this time. He ran into financial difficulties and the estate was acquired by a debt collector in 1811. He remained on board as manager and was able to buy it back in 1821. In the meantime recognition for Saint-Estèphe wines was on the rise and in the decades that followed Louis Gaspard was able to buy the best plots off neighboring estates.
Settled in, and seemingly financially secure, Louis Gaspard d'Estournel started to build new cellars and a “châteaux”. His taste reflected his many travels to the Orient, and he constructed tall pagodas, and an imposing arch decorated with lions and unicorns. The doorway was sent over from the Palace of Zanzibar. In 1852 – one year before his death - he again had to sell and the châteaux changed hands many times since then.
Current owner is industrialist Michel Reybier, who acquired Cos d’Estournel in 2000. He kept Jean-Guillaume Prats, descendant of the Ginestet-Prats family, owners from 1917 till 1998, as Managing Director. He was a divisive figure. He was one of the influential persons in Bordeaux pushing for a “new” Bordeaux style.
From 2013 to 2017 Aymeric de Gironde was Managing Director. He shifted to a fresher, more elegant and poised style of the Cos d’Estournel wines.
Today owner Michel Reybier manages the estate himself and winemaking is in the hands of Dominique Arangoïts who also has a keen awareness of balance and freshness.
Maison d’Estournel
MICHELIN Guide’s Point Of View
Freshly picked porcini mushrooms, St-Émilion lamb, oysters and prawns from the Médoc, game in season. The ingredients are allowed to speak for themselves, selected and made to sing by a chef who even has his own vegetable garden. In fine weather you can enjoy the terrace that boasts a view over the superb grounds and vineyards.
Arriving
Lunch
The Chef
Bye-bye
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