Location: Chateau Cos D'Estournel sits on a ridge immediately North of the Pauillac border and Chateau Lafite Rothschild. (Appellation Saint Estèphe Controlée)

Classification: Second Growth

Grape Variety: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc

Vineyards:  170 acres.  The Cabernet vines are planted at the summit of the incline where they can gain maximum benefit of the gravel, while the Merlot is planted in the zones of the calcareous outcrop.

History: "Cos", in a regional dialect, means "hill". In 1820, Louis Gaspard D'Estournel constructed the oriental cellars, chateau, and vineyards. In 1855 it was classified a second growth. Ownership of the Chateau has changed hands approximately every 30 years until 1917 when Fernand Ginestet (Bruno Prats maternal grandfather) bought it.  It was subsequently and until very recently owned by Bruno Prats.  Prats sold the property in late 1998 to the Bernard Taillan group and four Argentine businessmen.  

With the 1997 label, the chateau returned to a label style similar to one the chateau had used in the 1890's.  The label in engraved similar to bank notes and is much harder to counterfeit.

Vinification and aging: The wine is fermented in enameled steel vats and then aged in barrels for 18 months. At the time of bottling, a procedure of sweeping the filled bottles with carbon dioxide is used. This has the effect of filling the gap between the wine and the cork with carbon dioxide rather than oxygen.

Style: Black currant fruit, massive, rich, full-bodied, yet graceful.

Food: Ideal with leg and lamb, and other meat dishes.