Chateau Cos d'Estournel

With towering Pagodas, herds of stone and topiary elephants, a front door imported from the Sultan of Zanzibar’s palace, Chateau d'Estournel is a unique, breathtaking and beautiful winery designed to complete the entire vinification process using only the gentle force of gravity. The magic of Cos is not just above ground. Cos, meaning “Hill of Pebbles”, has a remarkably deep pebble layer forcing vines and  their roots down through an arid layer, searching for the precious water reserves at a staggering depth of 19m.

There is nothing conformist about the iconic Cos D’estournel and thus mirrors the daring maverick that founded the estate in 1811.

Louis Gaspard d'Estournel

Louis Gaspard d’Estournel originally owned 14 hectares and quickly bought up some of the finest plots in the Bordeaux region.

D'Estournel was a visionary with a fascination for exotic and distant markets. In the early 19th century, he achieved the amazing feat of selling wine into India, something which trade even today, struggle to do.

The wines grew rapidly in reputation and price. Patrons included Queen Victoria, Napoleon II, as well as both Tzar Nicolas I of Russia and Karl Marx - how different history might have been had they met and sorted out their differences over a bottle Cos.

Like his wines, Louis aged well and died in 1853 at the age of 91 at a time when life expectancy in France was just 39. Sadly, he did not see his wines achieve their 2^nd Growth status.  

Six years later in 1859, French writer Jules Verne wrote, ‘The wine was a 15-year-old Cos d’Estournel, which deserved respect. First of all, Edmond served it in large glasses which be quarter filled; then, giving his guests the lead, he raised his glass to eye level, looked deep into his ruby liquid, stated that his deep-coloured wine had body, nose, and exquisite character; he then lowered his glass, swirled it gently from right to left and then more quickly from left to right, thrust the bony protuberance with which Nature had endowed him into the glass and for several minutes took in the gentle emanations this intelligent swirling had produced. After a minute of silent ecstasy, he closed his eyes and absorbed all the pleasure, increased by the passing of the years, of this beneficial liquor. That is how to drink a Bordeaux.’

To this day Louis Gaspard d'Estournel remains one of the most important and enigmatic figures in Bordeaux history.

AUCTION DETAILS
Thursday 17 September | 10.30am
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

This is an online auction with an auctioneer.

VIEWING/CONDITION:
All wine and spirits are stored off-site. Images of lots for the purposes of condition can be viewed online and should be referred to prior to bidding. Descriptions, ullages and conditions of wines are described as correctly as possible at the time of the publication of this catalogue. Purchasers of old wines must assure themselves regarding ullage levels, labels etc. No returns will be accepted.

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