Bordeaux 2019 at Two Years: St Estèphe
St Estèphe is a commune which, along with Margaux, sometimes ploughs a very different furrow to that made by neighbouring Pauillac and St Julien. There are many reasons that this is so for St Estèphe (and yet other reasons pertinent to Margaux), many of which I alluded to in my 2019 primeurs report for this commune, because they are relevant to this vintage. The bed of limestone and cooler clay soils that lie beneath the great mounds of gravel can store and release great volumes of water, significant in a vintage marked by dry weather. There is also the more northerly climate, and the narrowing landmass of the peninsula, which begins to feel the squeeze of the Gironde and Atlantic Ocean on either side. All these features can help when warm and dry weather ravages the vineyards as it did late on in 2019.
The result in this vintage is a slew of great wines which cover all bases. There are the grands vins from the cru classé estates, most of which have produced exemplary wines. Then there are the many cru bourgeois properties, some of which provide fine yet good-value drinking, wines which don’t necessarily punch above their weight, but which give plenty of pleasure, sometimes for many decades. Most significant, however, are those châteaux which have ideas above their station, a cohort of powerhouse cru bourgeois properties which every sensible Bordeaux drinker should at least consider for the cellar.
The Wines
Tasted in the shadow of the château’s famed pagoda-style roofs, it was immediately apparent that the 2019 Château Cos d’Estournel is nothing less than fabulous, and clearly one of the stand-out wines of the appellation, and indeed the entire Bordeaux region in this vintage. It has such substance and grip, and yet it carries it all with such grace, delineation and perfume, despite the great brooding mass within. Technical director Dominique Arangoïts reflected on the vintage with a grin – “I remember we were waiting for rain – that is not normal in Bordeaux!”. Once the rain had come it changed the harvest completely, he told me. “Tasting the fruit, the taste before the rain, and after the rain, was completely different. Afterwards the sunny style disappeared, and the fruit was much fresher. Then during the élevage I saw a great tension develop in the wine, as well as great concentration. It was an incredible surprise”.
