Bordeaux 2016: early start for Cos

Bordeaux second growth Cos d’Estournel has surprised many this morning with an early release for the price for its 2016 wine and one with no change on the price of its 2015 vintage.

It’s an early start to the campaign for the Saint-Estèphe property, which is normally an estate one might expect to see a little deeper into the campaign.

The 2016 wine is available at €120 a bottle ex-négociant, exactly the same price as the 2015 wine although the weaker pound will mean it is more expensive for UK buyers; costing around £1,400 a case whereas the 2015 was £1,270 per dozen on its release, an increase of around 10%.

Nonetheless, Cos has mimicked the three major Sauternes estates that have so far released in not raising its price from 2015. Is this a sign of things to come?

Cos has been a château that has divided opinion in several recent campaigns both for its rich wine style (especially in 2009) and for some high prices.

On the other hand, the 2014 was widely praised as an excellent, ‘classic’ Saint-Estèphe and as one of the commune’s top properties it managed to make a good wine in 2015 in what was a tricky vintage in the northern Médoc.

By all accounts Saint-Estèphe made a much better fist of things in 2016 and scores for Cos so far have been good: 97-98 from James Suckling, 96 From Tim Atkin MW, 18 from Jancis Robinson MW.

The 2015 was already a fairly hefty 40% above the release price of the 2014 despite not being, potentially, much of a superior wine. The Wine Advocate’s Neal Martin rated the 2014 94-points, calling it “streamlined” and “destined to turn into a lovely Saint-Estèphe”. The 2015 meanwhile still has a 92-94 point spread and he judged it “linear and conservative” and said it, “does not quite deliver…the complexity of a top-tier Cos d’Estournel.”

Martin’s scores and notes for the 2016 are not yet out but if he too is broadly in line with other critics then perhaps the price will begin to seem correct, if at the same time condemning the 2015 as wildly out of line.

At the very least, this first tranche of top-flight claret could prove an interesting bell weather for how the rest of the campaign may play out. Second wine, Pagodes de Cos and Cos d’Estournel blanc were also released at €32 and €84 p/b ex-négoce respectively. Like the grand vin they are priced the same as the 2015 wines.