The Maharajah of Saint-Estèphe
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Born in 1762 during the reign of Louis XV and died in1853 under Napoleon III, at the remarkable age of 91, Louis Gaspard d'Estournel had one sole passion: Cos.
Having inherited a few vines near the village of Cos, he recognized, in 1811, the quality of their wine and decided to vinify them separately.
Very rapidly, Cos d'Estournel's wine exceeded the prices of the most prestigious wines and was exported as far as India.
Louis became known as 'the Maharajah of Saint-Estèphe'. To celebrate his distant conquests, he had exotic pagodas erected over his cellar, organized spectacular festivities at Cos and presented the great people of this world with some precious bottles of Cos "Returned from India".
In 1852, overwhelmed with debts he had accumulated in order to extend and beautify his estate, Louis was obliged to sell Cos to a London banker called MARTYNS. Permitted by MARTYNS to remain and live on the land he had so much loved, he died there in 1853, two years before the supreme consecration of his work: the imperial classification of 1855 placing Cos d'Estournel at the head of the Saint-Estèphes.
In 1869, Martyns sold COS D'ESTOURNEL to the ERRAZU, an aristocratic Basque family, who resold it to the HOSTEIN brothers in 1889.
In 1917, COS D'ESTOURNEL was purchased by Fernand GINESTET, one of the leading Bordeaux wine merchants. His grandsons Jean-Marie, Yves and Bruno Prats inherited the château.
Château Cos d’Estournel has belonged to Michel Reybier since 2000. Mr Reybier’s objective has been to uphold the château’s high standards and constant quest for excellence while at the same time continuing the avant-garde style initiated by Louis Gaspard d’Estournel.