2018 Pagodes de Cos

The second wine of Cos D'Estournel is the 2018 Pagodes De Cos, which checks in as 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. A young, unevolved yet beautifully pure bouquet of cassis, graphite, damp earth, and cedar gives way to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, yet fresh, focused Saint-Estèphe that will benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age, and I've no doubt it will still be drinking nicely at age 20. While a lot of second wines are made in a more up-front, charming, ready-to-go style, this has a more serious, age-worthy vibe. It's a serious wine.

Pure aromas of currants, plums, cherries and Spanish cedar follow through to a full body with super concentration of fruit, yet forever polished and long. A cylinder of wonderfully ripe fruit and tannins goes on for minutes. This needs at least three or four years to soften and begin to come together. Super second wine. Try after 2027.

The 2018 Pagodes de Cos has quite a precise bouquet of exuberant black cherries, kirsch and violet aromas, aromatics that want to make an impression. It retains just about enough delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, and slightly granular in texture, with a bit of chewiness on the finish. But there is plenty of freshness here and it lingers on the aftertaste. Give this 2–3 years to cohere.