Pagodes de Cos 2022

Juicy and sporting a fresh edge, this drives steeped red currant and cherry paste notes, injecting dried rose petal, singed alder and warm earth along the way. A late echo of game adds a final flirtation. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2036. 10,000 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.

Close to equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (there's a splash of Petit Verdot), the 2022 Pagodes De Cos sports a dense purple hue as well as a rocking nose of currants, blueberries, tobacco, and sweet oak. This rich, full-bodied, opulent second wine has plenty of mid-palate depth, a fleshy, sexy mouthfeel, and a great finish.

Delicate blueberry-spicy bouquet, fresh blueberry jelly, exotic woods, chocolate pastilles, a hint of lilac and licorice. Full on the palate with a silky texture, grainy extract, good fruit drive, a supportive tannic frame and a medium body. In the focused finish, a potpourri of blackberries, verbena and dark minerality. A wonderfully successful second wine this year!

Inky colour and high spice, turmeric, cloves, white pepper, blueberry, easy to enjoy with great balance provided by bitter rosemary and fennel. Harvest September 7 to 23. Earliest since 1989. 20% new oak for ageing 3.79ph. Dominique Arangoïts technical director, Eric Boissenot consultant.

Inky-black colour. An intense, refined nose, fruity, pure, ripe and... complex! The creamy richness, fleshy opulence, velvety caress and fullness of this wine are tremendous. Regal tannic structure. Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc. Alcohol: 13°98 – pH: 3.72. Yield: 33 hl/ha. This selection represents one third of the production.

The bouquet could belong to a Grand Vin, if you didn’t know the second wine was in the glass: great depth, stony and floral notes combined with radiant fruit; on the palate, elegant yet also gripping, silky tannins, immensely charming, with breed and precision; impressive length. It has gained in elegance compared with previous vintages.

Dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, ochre rim. Sweet wild berries, ripe plums, some cassis and mint, some nougat. Taut, somewhat demanding on the palate with rather dry tannins, subtle fruit on the finish, underdeveloped overall impression, vivid savouriness on the finish, still needs more bottle ageing.