{"id":71559,"date":"2025-03-21T15:07:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T14:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/laudace-dinnover\/"},"modified":"2025-03-25T10:54:31","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T09:54:31","slug":"laudace-dinnover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/home\/cos-chronicle\/laudace-dinnover\/","title":{"rendered":"The Audacity to Innovate"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”custom-intro”]<\/p>\n

B<\/span>ehind the scenes: the white wines of Cos d\u2019Estournel.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” css_animation=”fadeInDownBig”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”71398″ img_size=”900×700″ alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The renaissance of white wines in the M\u00e9doc<\/strong><\/p>\n

The M\u00e9doc is often associated with its outstanding red wines, but white wines were once prominent as well. They only came to be overshadowed by red wines after industry crises and the 1855 classification, to the extent that the specifications for the M\u00e9doc designation of origin in the 1960s excluded white wines entirely. This held true until the recent creation of the M\u00e9doc Blanc designation. Cos d\u2019Estournel anticipated this development with the launch of Cos d\u2019Estournel Blanc in 2005, driven by a daring vision of crafting an exceptional white wine on lands celebrated for their extraordinary red wines.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The search for an outstanding terroir<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was Michel Reybier\u2019s express desire to create a white wine at Cos d\u2019Estournel, but this would require finding a terroir in the M\u00e9doc with optimal conditions for growing Sauvignon Blanc and S\u00e9millon. \u201cWe found a unique terroir in a place called Goul\u00e9e,\u201d explains Dominique Arango\u00efts, technical director of Cos d\u2019Estournel. <\/em>\u201cIt is the white wine grown furthest north along the Gironde, and it benefits from the proximity of the estuary, which widens to 13 kilometers there, compared to 7 kilometers in Saint-Est\u00e8phe. This body of water, which is saltier because closer to the ocean, brings briny sea spray.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located on what was once an island, this vineyard of gravelly soil and deeper layers of clay and clay-limestone soils offers ideal conditions for maintaining freshness and tension. To optimize the quality of the first harvests, white wine varietals were grafted onto older Cabernet Sauvignon vines, using a challenging, costly technique. \u201cThis set us ahead twenty years in terms of maturity and quality,\u201d marvels Dominique Arango\u00efts. Other plots in the northern M\u00e9doc have since been added to the vineyard:[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”\u201cWe are looking to recreate the same complementarity of terroirs for our white wines as we enjoy for our red wines.\u201d” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:24|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a” css_animation=”fadeInDown”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]A tailored approach to winemaking <\/strong><\/p>\n

Cos d\u2019Estournel\u2019s approach to crafting its white wines is exceedingly precise. Grapes are gently pressed in vertical presses like those used in the Champagne region, a rarity in the M\u00e9doc. \u201cIt allows us to obtain musts of great purity, reducing the need for clarification,\u00a0the process by which we separate the clear must from sediment,\u201d explains Dominique Arango\u00efts. Fermentation takes place in barrels, each of which is tended to individually before blending. As is the case for the red wines of Cos d\u2019Estournel, <\/em>blending is not subject to predetermined proportions, and the expression of the terroir takes precedence over the individual identities of the different varietals. \u201cWe never consider varietals when we are blending,\u201d underscores Dominique Arango\u00efts. \u201cWe seek to make the best Cos possible and then we look afterwards.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”71395″ img_size=”700×500″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_column_text]A unique signature, between freshness and minerality <\/strong><\/p>\n

The white wines of Cos d\u2019Estournel are singular for their precision and finely honed character. Ga\u00ebtan Lacoste, head sommelier France at Michel Reybier Hospitality, evokes[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”\u201cprecise, stony wines supported by delicately scented aromas. They fully express the place where they originate.\u201d” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:25|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Cos d\u2019Estournel Blanc stands out for its understated complexity and cellaring potential. Created in 2018, Pagodes de Cos Blanc offers a more approachable interpretation of the terroir. \u201cThanks to its ancient S\u00e9millon, the white wine of Cos offers great cellaring potential,\u201d remarks Charles Thomas, director of sales at Cos d\u2019Estournel, \u201cwhile Pagodes de Cos Blanc is more immediate.\u201d Dominique Arango\u00efts adds,[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”\u201dPagodes de Cos Blanc is perfect for an ap\u00e9ritif; it offers fruity aromas that are a bit more explosive, and the Sauvignon Blanc is more expressive.\u201d” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:25|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”71416″ img_size=”800×1000″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Wine connoisseurs in search of exceptional white wines \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite their rarity, the appeal of the fine white wines of the M\u00e9doc continues to grow. According to Ga\u00ebtan Lacoste, \u201cThe emergence of white wines in the M\u00e9doc offers an alternative to the white wines of the Graves region; they are somewhat less ample and offer greater tension than those of its neighbor to the south.\u201d Charles Thomas also perceives an evolution in consumer habits:[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”\u201dThere is an overall white wine phenomenon. It\u2019s hotter than it used to be, and consumers are eating less meat. So white wine is becoming more popular due to these new trends.\u201d” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:25|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Cos d\u2019Estournel Blanc and Pagodes de Cos Blanc are sought after by wine connoisseurs, mainly in mature markets: Europe, North America and Asia (Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore).<\/p>\n

\u201cOur white wines surprise and entice with their finesse,\u201d <\/em>concludes Charles Thomas.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Behind the scenes: the white wines of Cos d\u2019Estournel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5558,"featured_media":71400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-journal-de-bord","category-article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t