Château Cos d'Estournel’s 1996 is a big, brooding monster, and surely one of the best Médoc's of the 1996 Bordeaux vintage. 

Sited on a gravelly ridge, overlooking the Pauillac-Saint-Estèphe border and looking down on the vineyards of Château Lafite Rothschild, Cos d’Estournel (resplendent in an oriental facade carved from soft golden sandstone) is a fitting monument to its wines.

Cos d'Estournel (Cos being a hill of pebbles) produces more elegant and less angular Saint-Estèphe than its Bordeaux neighbours, due largely to a relatively high percentage of Merlot in its blends.

Hugely structured, thick and deeply concentrated black fruits with smooth, velvety tannins beginning to emerge. And what a finish!

"Classy and impressive young Bordeaux from an appellation that stepped up in '96. Dark-colored, with plenty of currant and spice aromas, the wine is full-bodied, with very velvety tannins and allspice, berry and currant flavors. Long, long finish. One of the wines of the vintage, it's a beauty." Wine Spectator (Jan 1999)