Winery: Château Cos d’Estournel
Wine: Red Bordeaux Blend
Location: Saint-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France
Purchased: The Corkscrew
Price: $150.00

Jonathan received a gift certificate to the wine store in town so we figured what better way to spend it than to blow it on one bottle of wine. It was his birthday so we did have an occasion to celebrate. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have popped open a 40-year-old bottle of wine. It was the first opportunity for both of us to sample wine older than us. It was quite an experience. It’s amazing to think that when we were born the wine was already 10 years old and probably in someone’s cellar. Sure it could have been opened then, but chances are it would have been tight and in serious need of a decanter. I wonder about the 40 year journey this bottle has been on and where it’s been? I know I’m just a wine dork because I think it’s amazing that after 40 years it fell into our hands.

The top is a picture of the 1970 bottle I found online. The second picture was our bottle. You be the judge.

Jonathan and I were both a little nervous about opening and tasting this bottle of wine. The outside of the bottle had mold growing on it and you could barely read the label. At the same time we couldn’t wait! We figured if it’s bad, it’s bad. Upon opening, the cork was completely soaked so we were hoping for the best. Cos d’Estournel displayed an orangy, rusty color in the glass, it was definitely looking it’s age. There was quite a bit of sediment in each of our glasses on the first pour.

I thought the nose of the Cos d’Estournel was the most intriguing aspect of this wine. For being nearly a 40 year-old bottle it still displayed quite a bit of fruit on the nose. Jonathan and I also noticed that the aromas were similar to that of sherry like dried figs, plums, raisins and nuts. I was expecting a more earthy, leathery, mushroomy type nose and it wasn’t there at all. Jonathan commented that if he wouldn’t have known this was a 40 year-old bottle he wouldn’t have guessed it based on the nose.

On the palate, the wine showcased the mushroomy, leathery, smokey, earthy flavors. It was nicely balanced with still a few gripping tannins, which surprised me for the age. However, the finish was gone. There was nothing left on the end of this wine. Overall, I’d say this wine had reached it’s prime and was starting the slow decent over the hill. It wasn’t bad, but we had missed it in it’s heyday.

Given the name Cos d’Estournel in 1810 by Louis-Gaspard d’Estournel, the château has changed ownership several times in its history. In 1852 it was purchased by an English banker, Charles Cecil Martyns and then sold in 1869 to the Errazu family from Spain. A Bordeaux family purchased the château 20 years later and maintained control until the sale in 1917. Fernand Ginestet purchased the property and it became part of the Domaines Prats in the early 1970s.

Château Cos d’Estournel is a classified second growth wine according to the Wine Classification of 1855. The estate consists of about 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and small portions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Annually, Cos d’Estournel produces about 32,000 cases. The château itself features very unusual architecture with a pagoda style building, making it unique in Bordeaux.