Pagodes de Cos - Saint-Estèphe 2023

The Wine Cellar Insider

94

byJeff Levethe3/30/2026

Dark black fruits, licorice, herbs, flowers, exotic spices and chocolate-tinted cherries, with just a hint of chocolate create the perfume. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant, supple, and creamy. This is a refined vintage for Les Pagodes de Cos, finishing with fresh, red, and dark red fruits, a touch of spice, and chocolate-mint in the supple in the finish. This is going to be delicious if tasted early, and it will age well too. The wine blends 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2027-2040.

Vinous

93

byAntonio Gallonithe3/16/2026

Bold and sumptuous, the 2023 Les Pagodes de Cos is a very sexy wine. Racy contours wrap around a core of dark red/purplish fruit, spice, new leather, mocha, pomegranate and cloves. This rich, heady Saint-Estèphe should start drinking well in another year or two. In 2023, Pagodes is quite the extrovert.

Vinous

91

byNeal Martinthe2/1/2026

The 2023 Les Pagodes de Cos is a step up from the G d'Estournel this year, with more expressive and slightly riper blackberry and blueberry scents laced with light violet aromas. The palate is medium-bodied, with fine but quite firm tannins that frame the pure black fruit laced with subtle briny notes. Fine length, quite strict and linear in style, I would afford this three to four years in bottle.

Jamessuckling.com

94

byJames Sucklingthe1/27/2026

A white with aromas of sliced pears, green apples and some stones. It's medium- to full-bodied with layered fruit and a crisp finish. White peach, crushed stone and salt flavors at the end. 80% sauvignon blanc and 20% semillon. Drink now or hold.

Jeb DUNNUCK

91-94

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/13/2024

Based on 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2023 Pagodes De Cos is a gorgeous effort offering lots of ripe red and black fruits, some graphite, toasted spice, and savory tobacco notes, medium to full body, and ripe tannins. It has a savory, firmer edge and will need some time.

The Wine Independent

90-92

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/7/2024

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 Pagodes de Cos charges out of the gate with bold notes of crushed black and red currants, fresh black cherries, and bay leaves leading to suggestions of lavender and graphite. Light-bodied and elegantly styled, the palate delivers compelling tension and bright, crunchy red berry flavors, supported by grainy tannins and finishing on a lingering chalky note. The blend is 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot.

The Drinks Business

92-94

byColin Haythe5/7/2024

Pagodes de Cos (St-Estèphe; 51% Cabernet Sauvignon; 45% Merlot; 2% Cabernet Franc; 2% Petit Verdot; IPT 69; pH 3.74; aging in oak barrels, 20% of them new; 12.9% alcohol; tasted with Michel Reybier and Dominique Arangoits). Deep and velvety, very Cos in its opulence, but tranquil cool and resplendent in the mid-palate. Cedar, graphite and brambles. Creamily textured and with staggering freshness. Supple and quite succulent in its sapid juiciness. There’s a lovely Cabernet lift and lots of energy to this. A broad and ample frame, reinforcing the sensation of a lithe and crystalline mid-palate. Suave and elegant. Velvet aromatically, more silk on the palate. Tender and chewy on the finish with a restrained spiciness, but lots of pepper. Very fine indeed. 

The Wine Cellar Insider

92-94

byJeff Levethe5/6/2024

Licorice, flowers, cherries, and a hint of chocolate create the perfume. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant, and focused on freshness over volume. This is a refined vintage for Les Pagodes de Cos, finishing with fresh, red, and dark red fruits, a touch of spice, and just a hint of cocoa in the finish. This is going to be delicious if tasted early, and it will age well too. The wine blends 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV, 3.74 pH. Drink from 2027-2040. 92-94 Pts.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

93

byJane Ansonthe5/6/2024

Vivid ruby colour, reserved aromatics, well balanced, chalky slightly austere tannins, less exuberant than the 2022 vintage, while still delivering seductive and highly spiced black cherry and cassis fruits, showcasing the potential of St Estèphe in the vintage. Harvest September 12 to 29, 20% new oak. In organic conversion.

Vinous

92-94

byAntonio Gallonithe4/30/2024

The 2023 Les Pagodes de Cos makes a strong statement out of the gate. A blast of intense dark fruit, leather, spice, menthol, game, licorice, dried herbs and chocolate infuses the palate with remarkable textural intensity. Ample and resonant in the glass, with fabulous balance, Les Pagodes is exceptionally fine in 2023. The long, sustained finish is a thing of beauty.

Vinous

90-92

byNeal Martinthe4/29/2024

The 2023 Les Pagodes de Cos, representing 47% of the volume of the château, has a plush crushed strawberry, cassis and violet-scented bouquet that displays some prudent use of oak. The palate is svelte and silky in texture and harmonious, with a judicious pinch of white pepper and graphite. A nicely poised, persistent finish wraps things up in style. This is a classy Les Pagodes that should give 12 to 15 years of drinking pleasure.

Wine Advocate

91-93

byWilliam Kelleythe4/26/2024

The 2023 Les Pagodes de Cos has turned out beautifully, offering up aromas of cassis, orange zest, vine smoke and incense, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and polished palate with a deep core of fruit, supple tannins and a lively, mouthwatering finish. It's a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Jamessuckling.com

93-94

byJames Sucklingthe4/25/2024

The polished and creamy texture here is extremely attractive, with blueberry, blackcurrant and crushed-stone aromas and flavors. It’s medium-bodied with linear tannins, showing polish and finesse. Creamy mouth-feel. Second wine of Cos. 12.9% alcohol. 51% cabernet sauvignon, 45% merlot, 2% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot.

Vertdevin

94

byJonathan Chicheportichethe4/24/2024