Arden Barnett

9.3

Commanderie de Bordeaux. Theme was BBQ and 2010 vintage. Fantastic event. Insane nose — 4 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.5

Poured from a 375. This wine, even from 375, was really firing on all cylinders and maybe even a bit locked up for the first hour, just shows you that any vintage in the 21st century really should be locked up in the vault, not seeing the light of day for another 10 years from 375. This wine had a classic Pauillac nose. My initial thought was a young Pichon however even Pichon young seems to have more mushroom, more earthy loam and gravel and this one was just so damn smooth in its earthy notes. The wine was robust on the front, lots of earth, mushroom enhancing the youthful blackberry notes. Finished with some peppery notes. Great terroir notes. This wine was awesome, and I think I probably drank half of this while Walter drank the Spoto :) — 6 years ago

with Dan

Ron Siegel

9.3

This was from a pristine btl from the restaurants cellar. So fresh and drinking much younger than its 47 yrs. Red berry fruits, exotic spice with leather, tobacco and mocha notes. Very pure and transparent in a feminine style. Reminded me of a 78 - 85 vintage of Pichon Lalande. Surprisingly good! — 7 years ago

Tony Capone

9.0

Needed some air, opened up nicely, red fruit, some minerals very smooth, it will age well — 8 years ago

Philippe Dauguet

9.2

Un équilibre avec le boisé très réussi ! — 8 years ago

Pamela Ridlon

9.9

2009 vintage. Awesome! — 8 years ago

Erik Longabardi

9.1

Syrup wine — 9 years ago

Jonathan Maltus

8.9

Julian says that it's fruit forward, not complicated, nicely balanced. — 9 years ago

Swii Yii Lim

9.2

Been wanting to try this for a while. Slightly raspy tannins with greener profile than the Pichon Longueville 86 or Latour 94, and drier finish. Light tannic grip and more green peppers on the nose. Good stuff. Can still keep. — 9 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Brilliant. 2012. — 9 years ago

Olivier Grosliere

8.9

A laisser reposer / aérer avant de boire — 10 years ago

Peter James

9.0

Excellent pour. Thanks Conor! DBX rosè tasting! — 5 years ago

Adrian Fischer

9.2

Good body, nice nose, not too dry, mellow oak background. Great little local dry farmed wine. — 6 years ago

Michael Genn

8.9

Made to drink young. More fruit forward and jammy than typical Bordeaux. Tour guide at Chateau Pichon Baron said her Sommelier brother placed this as a Napa wine in a blind tasting. — 7 years ago

John Ruvolo

8.9

Stony acidic, Minerals, medium finish. — 8 years ago

with Lauren

Stephany Duvall

9.3

70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillon, crisp, semi-tropical fruits. Wonderful tast! — 8 years ago

Cody Short

9.1

Really good for such a weak vintage. Had this not been up against an '82 Pichon Lalande I might have rated it even better. — 8 years ago

with Holli

Greg Collins

8.9

I have always loved Graves. It is my favorite region in Bordeaux. I happened into a case of this wine rebuilding my cellar. There was 1 glass left to taste next to the 2000 Pichon Baron. This wine showed well. It is a solid 2nd wine with tobacco, mushroom, Forrest floor, intermixed with red fruits in moderate quantities. Balance is good, but the intensity is muted. A good value at the $50 per I paid at auction but not worth the going rate of $100. 89pts. — 8 years ago

Richard Steinberg

9.6

1995. Wowsa. So well balanced. Young black and red fruit. Gorgeous. Great recovery from a corked 1995 Pichon Lalande. — 9 years ago

Lenard Henson

9.2

Lenard had this 9 years ago

with John

Diedra West

9.8

Diedra had this 9 years ago

James Parker Huston, CWE

Sommelier Charlie Palmer

9.5

Called 1988 Pichon Baron — 10 years ago

Maxence Guilluy

10

Green banana, english candy, light spices, sweet, rose, strawberry, light acid, fresh, abricot, salted butter caramel — 10 years ago

Angelo Casagrande

8.9

Slight corkage on the nose, but very slight. Earthy. Still tasted fine. Earthy, some puckering tannins, deep and dark. Blackberry. But as it sits the corkage is effecting the wine. So we better drink it fast. A mission I can complete. I’ll get another because I think this wine.is better than this bottle. And 13.99 makes it a great value. — 5 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Is there any meal better than steak (Ribeye) and well aged Claret? This is another 1991 Bordeaux experiment of mine. 1991 was a vintage with horrible frosts and a less than favorable growing season, right? A vintage critically panned. This is my 3rd recent 91 from a good producer. And again, it didn’t disappoint. Like 97 and 07, it’s better with the right bottle age than young. Magic evolution happened in the bottle way down the road. This 91 is in great form with a fair amount of life ahead of it. On the nose; a little ripe fruit funk, wonderful dark & lighter red cassis, ripe blackberries, dark cherries, poached strawberries, plums, hues of blueberries, black raspberries, dry cranberries, vanilla, light cinnamon, rich, black turned earth, cedar, soft leather, dry stones, dry top soil, notes of dry herbs and fresh & dry red flowers. The body/palate is medium, round, ripe & still fresh. The tannins nearly completely resolved. Ripe, floral fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, poached strawberries, plums, hues of blueberries, black raspberries, dry cranberries & half cooked rhubarb. Vanilla, light cinnamon, touch of clove & nutmeg, rich, black turned earth, cedar, soft leather, dry stones, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, notes of dry herbs, a little band-aid and fresh & dry red flowers. The acidity drips over the palate and the long, well balanced, still structured, nice tension, good length finish lasts over a minute. Again, love & appreciate the 12.5% alcohol. What a beauty with and without the steak. Next time you’re in your fine wine retail shop and see a quality producers 91 that’s been well stored, buy it and have it with a Ribeye. Photos of; their exotic Estate, Chateau interior, newer barrel room and their vines as viewed from the front of the Chateau that are across the road. Producer notes and history...Cos d’Estournel has a long distinguished history in the St. Estephe. Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, gave his name to the estate after founding in 1811. It did not take long before Cos d’Estournel became famous with wine lovers and royalty all over the world. In those early days, Cos d’Estournel did not sell through Negociants. The owner preferred selling his wine directly to his customers. In fact, Cos d’Estournel was exported to numerous countries across the globe, with a large portion of the production being sold to India. It was that connection to India that inspired much of the unique, east Indian design we see at Cos d’Estournel today. Cos d’Estournel was one of the first Bordeaux Chateaux’s to bottle, label and sell their own wine. This practice continued until the death of Louis Gaspard d’Estournel in 1852. If you’re at the property, the statue on the bench in the front courtyard is of the founder, Louis Gaspard d’Estournel. The Estate was then purchased by an owner that sold their wines on the Place de Bordeaux using the negociant system. If the Chateau was not selling their wines through the negociant system, it would never have been included in the 1855 Classification. Imagine that! So, it turned out to be a fortuitous decision. Cos d’Estournel was sold to the Charmolue family owners of the neighboring Estate of Chateau Montrose. They continued to own the estate until 1917, when it was bought by Fernand Ginestet. This purchase was the beginning of the next major step in the development of Cos d’Estournel. Decades later, the grandchildren of Fernand Ginestet, Jean-Marie Prats, Yves Prats and Bruno Prats took over ownership and management of Cos d’Estournel. In 1995, Bruno Prats sold the property to the Merlaut family, owners of the Taillan Group. The next era in the development of Cos d’Estournel took place in 2000, when Cos d’Estournel was bought by the industrious and wealthy Michel Reybier, who earned his fortune in the food industry. Michel Reybier hired the son of Bruno Prats, Jean-Guillaume Prats to manage Cos d’Estournel. Things further improved with the efforts of Jean-Guillaume Prats who helped design the most modern wine making at that time. A complete renovation of Cos d’Estournel took place in not only the wine making facilities and cellars, but in parts of the Chateau as well. While the wine making facilities are completely modern with their 100% gravity design, the outward appearance retained the original design and feeling that has always been a part of Cos d’Estournel. On October 15, 2012, Jean Guillaume Prats announced he was leaving Cos d’Estournel to join LVMH (Pichon Baron). Jean Guillaume Prats was replaced by Aymeric de Gironde. Following the departure of Aymeric de Gironde in 2017, the owner, Michel Reybier took over managing the Estate. What makes the remodel special is that the cellars of Cos d’Estournel are entirely operated by gravity. There are no pumps of any kind to force the wine. The purpose is to allow a gentleness to the wine and improve its purity and allow for the expression of their terroir. It set a new benchmark for cellars not only in the Left Bank, but in all of Bordeaux. Perhaps, the most inventive part of the cellars is the four 100 hectoliter lift tanks or wine elevators that replace the pumps used in the traditional pumping over and the racking off processes, which introduce air and often destabilize the marc. From the moment the grapes arrive, everything travels by the flow of gravity. Jean Guillaume Prats called this process a “pumpless pump over.” The 91 hectare vineyard of Cos d’Estournel is planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The vineyard is located extremely close to the border between Pauillac and Saint Estephe at the southern tip of the Saint Estephe. The Estate has very old Merlot vines as well, which date back more than 100 years. Part of the terroir is situated on the hill of Cos, which is at a high elevation for the Medoc at 20 meters. They also make a second wine called Pagodes de Cos. This is a great wine to buy in very good vintages. Especially, if your budget prohibits you from purchasing their first wine. — 7 years ago

Damien Bielle

8.9

Belle mineralité, encore jeune — 9 years ago

Rick Galiardo

9.4

Bordeaux wine dinner; 6/18/15: Pichon Lalande 1990 - Lighter color than others, I think passing its prime. A little dry on the finish but perfectly nice still. Gruaud Larose 1989 - Very classic nose and palate of cedar and pine notes. Most silky palate of the bunch. Two at the table thought it was wine of the night. Not as much to my taste but very much classy Gruaud. Cos 1986 - Funky barnyard nose. Deep palate with still strong tannin, but plenty of fruit coming through. Liked it but there was some brett there that to me, hurt. Lynch Bages 1985 - For me, the wine of the night, largely due to the truly stunning nose. A tad dry on the palate but still long finish of dark fruit. — 9 years ago

Doug Powers

10

1983 Chateau Palmer -- simply glorious, lighter color than 1982 Pichon-Lalande, but great balance and acidity, super long finish, great stuff!! — 9 years ago

Karla Fonseca

9.6

Nice and light — 10 years ago

Michael Hildbold

9.9

1995 Bordeaux tasting- La Mission, Cht Margaux, Pichon Lalande, Lafleur, Mouton, La Lagune. Not pictured- Leoville-Las-Cases, Latour, Cheval Blanc, Haut-Brion, and Yquem. — 10 years ago