Les Pagodes de Cos, St. Estephe, Bordeaux, FR, 2014

Les Pagodes de Cos is the second wine of "Super Second Growth" Cos d'Estournel. Pagodes is made from the same vines that are used to make Grand Vin, though even these "secondary" grapes thoroughly re-sorted before they are included in the blend. The precious terroir of Cos, which translates as "hill of pebbles", is made up of gravel on top of the limestone plateau of Saint-Estphe and is separated from the vineyards of Chteau Lafite by a small stream. Once the hand-picked grapes are brought to Cos' modern cellar, which can be altered to provide the vinfication best suited to the vintage, the wine is fermented, blended and aged in oak for twelve months.