2023 G d'Estournel

I was deeply impressed with the 2023s at Cos d’Estournel. “We did a green harvest for the first time since 2008, Technical Director Dominique Arangoïts explained. “There was no real heat until mid-August. Then we got one spike from August 17 to 24 and another from September 3 to 10. Yields were 47 hectoliters per hectare, a significant jump from 2022 when they were just 33 and probably too low. Berry size was normal, but there were a lot more berries and more seeds within those berries, so we opted for longer macerations at lower temperatures.” Proprietor Michel Reybier has numerous business interests to look after, but he is ever-present at Cos d’Estournel, and that attention shows.

When I dropped in at Cos d’Estournel, proprietor Michel Reybier was accompanied by head winemaker Daniel Arangoïts. “Due to the weather in 2022, we had high fertility in the buds and more complexity. We had good conditions for bud break. Flowering was from May 27 to 31 when temperatures were between 29 and 30°C. The vintage reminds me of 2005, as there is homogeneity between bunches, with more seeds per berry than usual. We had a normal summer with temperatures not too high until August 17, when we had the first heat wave up to 38°C and September 3 and 10 again. These heat waves arrived late on, already ripening berries, and we were afraid about the fruit and alcohol levels, but when we sampled the berries, the vineyard suffered blockage, and alcohol levels remained constant. The potential yield was unusual, so we decided to do some green harvesting on the old Merlot vines for the first time since 2008. That was not an easy decision, but we wanted to maintain density. We started picking on September 12 and finished on 29. When we started tasting the berries, we found that the ripeness of the seeds was not perfect, so we had to be gentle during vinification, fermenting at 26°C instead of 30°C and no foulage [crushing] and also shorter skin contact, 21 instead of 28 days. We knew that the alcohol was not high at 12.9%, and you feel the tannins at this stage, so it is best to be prudent.”