2006 Pagodes de Cos

"The trick in 2006 was to wait as long as possible to harvest," said Jean-Guillaume Prats, who has made the most impressive wine of St. Estephe, using a relatively high 78% of cabernet sauvignon. Prats told me that there was more rain than elsewhere in the Medoc from the town of Pauillac north, and he implied that he was willing to do whatever it took to protect the health of the grapes. "We covered ourselves," is the way he described it. "We were more interested in the health of the vineyards than in following biodynamic methods." Prats compares the young 2006 to the property's 1988 "in its lively quality" but points out that the earlier harvest featured much higher yields (at least 80 hectoliters per hectare) and less-ripe fruit. He carried out a minor saignee of 5% to 10% and used reverse osmosis to concentrate the must in 15% of the cabernet sauvignon vats. "The 2006 is a violent, masculine wine," he summarized, "while the 2004 is easier to understand."