FLOAT 100 · Wine · No. 65
Chateau Cos d'Estournel 2016
Built by a man who sold his wine to India and dressed his cellars to match, Cos d'Estournel made its 2016 in a cellar with no pumps at all, and less than half the harvest was good enough for the bottle.
- Maker
- Chateau Cos d'Estournel
- By price in wine
- 91 of 100
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Create a free account- Producer
- Chateau Cos d'Estournel, St-Estephe, Bordeaux
- Classification
- Second growth (Deuxieme Cru) in the 1855 classification
- Owner
- Michel Reybier, since 2000
- 2016 blend
- 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc
- Harvest
- September 26 to October 15, 2016, at 45 hectoliters per hectare
- Selection
- About 45% of the harvest went into the grand vin
- Aging
- 15 months in French oak, about 65% new
- Alcohol
- About 13 to 13.5%; listings differ
- Vineyard
- About 70 hectares of vines on a 100-hectare estate, by one count
- Top scores
- 100 from James Suckling, Lisa Perrotti-Brown and the Wine Advocate
The hill of pebbles
Cos d'Estournel sits at the southern tip of St-Estephe, near the border with Pauillac, on a rise known as the hill of Cos. 'Cos' comes from an old Gascon word for a hill of pebbles, which describes its soils: more gravel and less clay than its neighbors, in places 6 to 7 meters deep before it reaches clay and limestone.
The estate took its name from Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel, who founded it in 1810 or 1811; sources give both years. He did not sell through the Bordeaux merchant system but directly to customers, and shipped a large share of his wine to India. That trade inspired the Indian-style architecture the chateau still shows today. It was also one of the first Bordeaux estates to bottle, label and sell its own wine.
D'Estournel died in 1852, and the English banker Charles Cecil Martyns bought the estate. Its new owners sold through the Bordeaux trade, which is likely what put Cos on the merchants' list for the 1855 classification, where it was ranked among the 15 second growths.
From Ginestet to Reybier
Cos passed through several hands in the late 19th century, including the Errazu family in 1869, the Hostein family in 1889 and Louis-Victor Charmolue, of neighboring Montrose, by marriage in 1894. In 1917 it was bought by Fernand Ginestet. Decades later his grandsons Jean-Marie, Yves and Bruno Prats took over, and the estate became part of Domaines Prats in 1970. In 1995 Cos was one of the first brands to begin promoting its wines in China. Bruno Prats sold it to the Merlaut family in 1998.
In 2000 Michel Reybier, who made his fortune in the food industry, bought Cos d'Estournel. He hired Bruno Prats's son, Jean-Guillaume Prats, to run it, and Prats led a complete rebuilding of the cellars with the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Prats left on October 15, 2012, and was replaced by Aymeric de Gironde. After de Gironde departed in 2017, Reybier took over managing the estate himself.
Reybier has kept expanding. In 2008 he agreed to buy Chateau Montelena in Napa Valley, but the deal was canceled that November. In March 2023 he bought the neighboring Chateau Cos Labory and Chateau Andron Blanquet.
A cellar without pumps
The cellars Prats built are moved entirely by gravity. There are no pumps of any kind. Grapes pass through a chilling tunnel that drops them to 3 to 5 degrees C, then are cold soaked for about a week. The 84 cone-shaped stainless steel vats range from 19 to 115 hectoliters, and 12 of the smaller ones have two levels, allowing very precise parcel-by-parcel winemaking.
Instead of pumping juice back over the skins, the cellar uses four 100-hectoliter lift tanks, wine elevators that raise the juice one floor so it can fall back over the cap by gravity. Prats called it a pumpless pump-over.
The vineyard is planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with a little Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot; published figures range from 56 to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and about 40% Merlot. Some Merlot vines date to 1915, and their fruit made the single-vintage COS100, released in 2018 to benefit a charity protecting Asian elephants. Because the vineyard lies near the Atlantic in a cool site, Cos is often one of the last Medoc estates to pick.
2016: patience rewarded
Bordeaux's 2016 season began with record rain over the first half of the year, then turned into one of the driest summers on record. From July into early September most properties saw barely 25 mm of rain; one report called it the driest summer since 1900. Cool nights kept acidity in the grapes, and short rains around September 13 and September 30 refreshed the vines.
Cos picked from September 26 to October 15, at 45 hectoliters per hectare, and was strict at the sorting stage: only about 45% of the crop went into the grand vin. The blend leaned on Cabernet Sauvignon at 76%, with 23% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. It spent 15 months in French oak, 65% new and 35% two years old, and was bottled in July 2018. Published alcohol figures range from 13.07% to 13.5%.
James Suckling scored it 100 in February 2019, calling it 'Extravagant. Magical.' Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW gave it 100 in December 2022 for its epic length and depth, and Jeb Dunnuck 99, describing an iron fist in a velvet glove that would keep for four to five decades. From barrel the Wine Advocate gave 98 to 100. Jancis Robinson was cooler, at 17.5 out of 20. In April 2026 one critic found it had closed down and wrote that it needed five or six more years, but still saw immense potential.
One longtime Bordeaux critic who scored it 100 in 2019 wrote that it showed more freshness and refinement than the celebrated 2009, though he still rated the 2009 the estate's finest. A 2026 retrospective on the vintage called the 2016 one of the best wines Cos has ever made.
The world in 2016
The 2016 vintage grew through a turbulent year. In March bombings in Brussels killed 35 people. On June 23, British voters chose to leave the European Union, and on Bastille Day a truck attack in Nice killed 86.
In July a failed coup attempt in Turkey left more than 240 people dead. In August Rio de Janeiro hosted the first Olympics in South America. In November the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years, and Donald Trump was elected president of the United States.
The bottle today
Cos makes enough wine that the 2016 appears regularly on retail lists. In October 2026 a California merchant listed a 750 ml bottle at $259.94, though shown as out of stock at its store and available from an offsite warehouse. That is an asking price, not a sale.
The estate also makes a second wine, Les Pagodes de Cos, first released in 1994, and buyers should not confuse it with the grand vin.
The numbers
- Vineyard
- About 70 ha of vines in 30 parcels (one source); another describes a 100 ha vineyard in 72 parcels
- Typical production
- About 32,000 cases a year, by one count
- 2016 blend
- 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc
- 2016 harvest
- September 26 to October 15, 45 hl/ha
- Share in grand vin
- About 45%
- James Suckling
- 100 (February 2019)
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
- 100 (December 2022)
- Jeb Dunnuck
- 99 (February 2019)
- Jancis Robinson
- 17.5/20 (February 2020)
Timeline
Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel gives the estate his name (some sources say 1811).
D'Estournel dies; the English banker Charles Cecil Martyns buys Cos.
Cos d'Estournel is ranked a second growth in the Medoc classification.
Fernand Ginestet buys the estate.
Cos becomes part of Domaines Prats.
The second wine, Les Pagodes de Cos, is introduced.
Bruno Prats sells the estate to the Merlaut family.
Michel Reybier buys Cos d'Estournel and hires Jean-Guillaume Prats.
Jean-Guillaume Prats announces he is leaving; Aymeric de Gironde succeeds him.
Harvest of the 2016 begins; it ends on October 15.
Aymeric de Gironde leaves, and Michel Reybier takes over management.
The 2016 is bottled.
James Suckling scores the 2016 100 points.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW scores the 2016 100 points.
Reybier buys neighboring Cos Labory and Andron Blanquet.
A California merchant lists a bottle of the 2016 at $259.94.
The world in 2016
Bombings at Brussels airport and a metro station kill 35 people.
British voters approve leaving the European Union.
A truck attack during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice kills 86 people.
A failed military coup in Turkey leaves more than 240 people dead.
The Summer Olympics open in Rio de Janeiro, the first in South America.
The Chicago Cubs win the World Series, their first title in 108 years.
Donald Trump is elected the 45th president of the United States.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | $260 | Asking price, not a saleRetail asking price per 750 ml bottle ($259.94) at a California merchant, listed as out of stock in store. Not a sale. |
This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.
By reference price, Chateau Cos d'Estournel 2016 is number 91 of 100 in the wine entries of the FLOAT 100. 12 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (65 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- 'Cos' comes from an old Gascon word for a hill of pebbles.
- The founder sold much of his wine to India, which inspired the chateau's Indian-style architecture.
- The cellars at Cos have no pumps; wine is moved only by gravity and glass-walled lifts.
- Only about 45% of the 2016 harvest made it into the grand vin.
- Some of the estate's Merlot vines were planted in 1915.
- In 1995 Cos was one of the first Bordeaux brands to start promoting its wines in China.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 3, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026