TN: '76 Chateau Cos D'Estournel

[Van The Man]

I had this wine last night at a dinner with some clients. The note is more or less off memory.....

1976 Chateau Cos D'Estournel; St. Estephe (BR, FR) - $209 (From A Magnum at the Capital Grille)

Excellent color with a pretty hue and not looking particularly aged. No sediment on the walls of the bottle but a decent amount of fine sediment in the bottom of the bottles. The nose was muted initially and blossomed after decanting and being opened for 30 minutes. Wonderful and plentiful sweet cherry, truffles, vanilla, sweet currant and leather. On the palate, the wine was flush and glorious like an old Bordeaux should be. After two hours on the table, it started to fade and become less noticeable both in the bouquest and on the palate.

A delicious wine and I'm glad I had the chance to drink it and enjoy it for what I consider to be a reasonable price.

[Bucko]

I just had the 79 at a tasting - a pretty nice wine from a less than optimal vintage - says something for the winemaker. What was the occasion for the 76 mag?

Bucko

[Van The Man]

Bucko -

I was out to dinner at the Capital Grille in downtown Providence with some people we do business with. As I looked at the wine list, in horror over the prices, I noticed that some of the Bordeaux was actually priced somewhat farily in the big picture. While single bottles of the usual big names, Beringer Reserve, Caymus Special Select and others were in the $175 to $250 for a single bottle, this little gem stuck out at $209 for the magnum. I though it was a (relatively) good buy. Turned out to be so. There were also a number of '81 and '83 1st Growth bottles on the list at $200. Not sure I'd pay $200 for an '81, but I'd not hesitate to pay $20 for an '83 Margaux....in a couple of years.

So, the occassion was that it was just a fairly priced bottle of wine on an over-priced wine list. <g>