Each year, the weather leaves its mark on the terroir of Cos d’Estournel. 2020 was characterized by highly unusual, even breathtaking weather conditions that required our teams and our vines to draw upon their most precious resources and surpass themselves, with exceptional results.
Following a damp winter, our clay soils were replete with water and prepared for the growing cycle. In spring, as the rest of the world slowed its pace, the vineyard at Cos d’Estournel developed vigorously: dry, warm temperatures led to bud break ten days earlier than usual. Sustained warm weather would make precocious development a hallmark of the vintage.
A crucial and decisive event in the growing cycle, flowering began on May 21 and took place very rapidly, evenly and early, in a powerful echo of the 2005 vintage. The estate’s grapes produced a large quantity of seeds, and their tannins would bring unusual energy to the vintage.
