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Château Cos Labory, Saint-Estèphe Grand Cru Classé

Bordeaux / Haut-Médoc, France 2011 (750mL)
$49.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Château Cos Labory, Saint-Estèphe Grand Cru Classé

Imagine waking up one morning at Château Cos Labory in Saint-Estèphe. First thing to do is pull open the curtains and let the natural light pour in. What’s that estate right across the street? Super Second Growth Cos d’Estournel ($175+ for their 2011). It’s a beautiful morning, so you slip on your running shoes and go for a jog. You cut through their estate vineyard and within a few minutes, you’re passing First Growths Lafite and Mouton Rothschild ($650+ and $500+ for their 2011s). Upon returning to Cos Labory, it’s time for lunch in the courtyard, where today’s bottle is opened.
The point is this: You’re surrounded by the world’s most prominent and expensive chateaux, and the wildly affordable gems being produced at this jewel-box estate have the elegance, depth, and cellaring power to compete at a micro-fraction of the price. Everything else, from the fabled terroir to the winemaking, is nearly identical. This storied Fifth Growth showcases the maturing elegance and finesse that only elite Bordeaux can achieve. At this price, it only strengthens my love for mature Left Bank reds—there’s truly nothing else quite like it in the world. We were only able to import 20 cases and I’m confident our horde of Bordeaux collectors will clean us out, so act quickly!
[NOTE: We take a great deal of pride in securing wines with the best provenance and today’s small batch comes to you directly from Bordeaux. Just ask yourself—would you rather taste a bottle of mature Bordeaux that lived its life in a dark, cold cellar or one from a showy display case in a brightly lit retail store?]

Any idea why Labory and d’Estournel begin with the word “Cos?” It’s a word from Gascon dialect that translates into “hill of pebbles.” Both chateaux are perched on a hill such as this and a large portion of their vines are planted here. Other than sharing a name and being direct neighbors, the similarities don’t end there: In the mid-1800s, Monsieur d’Estournel was so captivated by this property (more so the vines) that he purchased it outright from François Labory. After redistributing many of the vines to his eponymous château, he sold Cos Labory. That didn’t affect its sterling reputation: Just three years after the sale, Château Cos Labory was awarded Fifth Growth status in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. After swapping hands once more in the 1930s it has remained in the same family ever since, with Bernard Audoy currently at the helm.

Cos Labory owns 18 hectares of vines that are planted to a large majority of Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and a touch of Cabernet Franc. For their Grand Cru Classé bottling in 2011, they selected only the finest plots of their Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The grapes were hand-harvested and separate varietal fermentations occurred in stainless steel tanks before a long aging regimen in oak barriques, 50% new. Upon bottling in the latter half of 2013, today’s small parcel remained untouched in Bordeaux for nearly six years. 

When crafted by an elite château, seeking out a lesser-known vintage is one of the smartest buys in wine—that’s why I’m loving 2011 Bordeaux. While blockbuster vintages typically don’t hit full stride until their 10-15th birthday, Cos Labory’s 2011 is already there and should keep operating at a high level over the next decade. This is a vintage and wine for those who want to focus on the “class” in classy Bordeaux. It pours a vibrant dark ruby that hides its eight years sneakily well. The nose reveals deep notes of cassis, black and red plums, dried herbs, crushed gravel, cigar box, cedar shavings, violets, damp rose, underbrush, licorice, black cherry, leather...I could keep going. It’s a Classified Bordeaux that nails the brooding structure and maturing elegance that comes when perfectly marrying Cabernet Sauvignon to Merlot. Expect a broad and supple mouthfeel that is packed with savory earth, blended spices, and finessed red-black fruit. When a bottle delivers a wine of this magnitude and longevity, you can count me in every time. Serve in large Bordeaux stems after a 30-minute decant and savor your bottle over the course of an evening. Cheers!
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Country
France
Region
Bordeaux / Haut-Médoc
Sub-Region
FranceSaint-Estèphe
Soil
Gravel Over Clay-Limestone
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
50% New Barrels
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Bordeaux Stem
Drinking
Now-2025+
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Braised Beef

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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