we are the crowd, we're c-coming out

got my flash on it's true,

need that picture of you

it's so magical, we'd be so fantastico

leather and jeans, garage glamorous

not sure what it means but this photo of us

it don't have a price,

ready for those flashing lights

'cause you know that baby

Crank it up.  Let it take you up the D2, the Rue de Chateaux, out of the clogged confines of the city of Bordeaux, through the whole of the Medoc, speeding past historic Chateaux, to climb the hill beyond Pauillac, just past Chateau Lafite.  Leave all that you know about Bordeaux behind you, as you approach the hottest rock star on the Left Bank. 

I'm your biggest fan

I'll follow you until you love me, papa-paparazzi

baby, there's no other superstar

you know that I'll be your papa-paparazzi

promise I'll be kind, but I won't stop until that boy is mine

baby you'll be famous, chase you down until you love me

papa-paparazzi

Chateau Cos d’Estournel, Ste. Estephe, has pulled out all the stops.  With the most modern, elaborate, and (let’s be frank) opulent vat room and cellar in Bordeaux, Cos is now firmly positioning -- declaring --  itself as one of the elite, luxurious and aspirational French wines.  An architectural, design, and vinification program undertaken over 10 years ago is complete.  And the unifying theme is literally as old as the Earth  -- gravity.  As shown in the video, grapes are brought from the vineyard in small tubs, lovingly conveyed by motorized belt to a receiving room 25 feet overhead, to enter a top-down wine making program.  There are nearly 100 large, specially designed thermally controlled stainless steel tanks -- beautiful stainless that would send a Sub-Zero back to refinishing school -- one for each plot in the massive 90 hectare (225 acre) vineyard.

The wines never see a pump, suction, or even a hose.  All is done with an elaborate system involving hand-truck and dolly-guided vats to transport fresh grapes from vineyard to vat, in whole clusters, undamaged, and not pressed.  The sheer weight of the mass of bunches creates the extraction and chemical processes needed to transform the juice.

This space would host a rockin’ party! This elevated cat walk over the barrel room is a perfect runway.  Bring it!

The 2009 Cos is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and 2% Cab Franc.  Reaching an alcohol level of 14.5% -- very high by traditional Bordeaux standards -- this wine is pure extroversion, exuberance, and non-stop drama. 

Cos d’Estournel is the perfect wine for Lady GaGa. 

Reimagined.  Reinvented.  Renewed.

And ready to dominate -- in your Poker Face. 

Photos:  Inside the vat room, the entire interior -- dark wood, spot lighting, glass elevators, stainless, and a shrine room for a vintage library - is a breathtaking display of power, luxury, and decadence, with an Indian-Asian influence from the history of the winery.

Cos is not the inventor of gravity flow production.  It has been used in Burgundy for over 100 years, and in many other Bordeaux Chateaux.  No less than Chateaux Margaux is giving it a go for 2009, transforming their legendary large vat program to gravity-driven micro-plot vinification.  Margaux has made sensational, All-world wines throughout time -- 2005, 2000, 1990, 1983, 1928, and 1900, to name a few -- using guys wearing rubber boots standing amid the tractor-hauled grapes, shoveling them into de-stemmers and pumps to fill big, beautiful wooden foudres (below).  So is the new investment really necessary?  The question answers itself.  But time marches on, and the top producers continue to invest and innovate, to push themselves to greater heights, hopefully without losing their core identity in the process. Later this week, I will visit Chateau Margaux and this will doubtless be a topic of discussion, without even asking, knowing Mr. Paul Pontallier and his approach to tastings.  He is a consummate professional, and will be the first to admit if Margaux does something in the cellar to interfere with what the vineyard is trying to say!

Old School.  Chateau Margaux, circa 1982-2008, using traditional methods to express its terroir, has also moved to a gravity flow system for 2009.

In the chateau’s tasting notes, Cos speaks of spice and a certain chalky or gravelly character as part of the Ste Estephe terroir. Ste. Estephe neighbor and venerable great growth Chateau Montrose does, too. These attributes were not in evidence in this morning's sample at Cos. They were, however, present in the Montrose, along with leather, and a core of dark fruit on a structured backbone where you could recognize more going on than overwhelming fruit extraction, even at this stage.

Of course its clear that these wines do not possess these elements to the exclusion of other wines. But the differences between them were striking, a reflection of the philosophy, methods and outcomes desired by each Chateau.

At this stage, the 2009 Cos does not show itself as a food wine, or a wine of amazing complexity. It shows itself as an incredible centerpiece, something to be admired and inspired by.  A wine that is not shy about making its mark and a Chateau staking its claim in Bordeaux.  To me, it said, "I would rather die than deny my fans a wine of love and fashion.”  Cos has completed its transformation, re-inventing itself, ready to push itself through to the next level, from super-second, to super-stardom. 

Now let’s see if Mr. Parker’s 100 point scoring system will be enough to score this pounding heart beat from Bordeaux!