What I Tasted on My Spring Break - SPEC's Liquors

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No matter who you are or how dispassionate
you are in looking at wine, if you keep tasting and drinking you
develop some favorites. Maybe you figure out that you like a particular region or chateau or
the work of a particular winemaker. Maybe you do or don’t like mostly Cabernet Sauvignon or mostly
Merlot. <strong>What</strong>ever the key is, you find some favorites – wines you appreciate from vintage to vintage and in which
you consistently find enjoyment. I’ve been tasting and drinking Bordeaux for long enough now to have
developed quite a few favorites. Actually, they are more than mere favorites; many of these properties
have become old friends. With little regard to vintage, here is my take on them.
Ch. Cos d’Estournel is a second growth from St. Estephe that until 1997 was always in the vanguard of the best of the so called “super seconds”. With
the 1997 vintage, owner/winemaker Bruno Prats retired and sold out. His son Jean Guillaume Prats took over with a contract from the new owner. The
1997, 1998, 1999, and, to a lesser extent, 2000 Cos d’Estournel were not bad wines but they did not live up to the reputation and prices of the winery.
During this time, when you asked Jean Guillaume a question, the answer was likely to start with “My father does this …”. It was only a matter of time;
Jean Guillaume Prats broke through in 2001 with an excellent wine that was better than his fine 2000. Then his 2002 topped the 2001.
Now the 2003 has topped them both—and may be the best Cos d’Estournel ever.
Cos is on a roll. (Now when you ask about the wines or the winemaking, Jean Guillaume says “I did…). He has confidence now and it shows in the
wines. The last three vintages have each gained in elegance, finesse and perfume. Cos is not a blockbuster; rather it is an elegant, almost ethereal wine
with a lovely tobacco and black fruit perfume, a hint of Asian spice, and great developmental potential.
The second wine of Ch. Cos d’Estournel is Les Pagodes de Cos.
By the way, the “s” in Cos is pronounced. “Cos” is a Medocaine (the old language of the Medoc) word for hill. Cos’ famous neighbors to the south –
Lafite and Mouton – are on the next two hill tops and both reference their location in their names. Lafite actually comes from the conjunction of two
words: “la hite” (the height). Mouton is a pun on mountain and mutton (Pauillac’s other famous crop after wine is lamb).
Ch. Montrose (St. Estephe) and Ch. Beaumont (Haut Medoc) have always sold well in the Houston area if only due to their geographically familiar names.
Montrose has the additional advantages of being both a top-flight property and St. Estephe’s other second growth (with Cos d’Estournel). While Cos
d’Estournel was in its slump, Ch. Montrose was producing excellent wines in a bigger and richer style from vineyards on the gently sloping plain that looks
across the Gironde estuary to the nuclear power plant in Blaye. That terroir yields wines with richness and spice (sometimes Asian spice like Cos) and even a
bit of earthiness to go along with the very ripe black fruit and subtle tobacco and spice character. Montrose at its best is deep and satisfying. Le Dame de
Montrose is the second wine of Ch. Montrose.