In Bond Fine Wine. 2009 Château Cos d'Estournel, Saint-Estephe, Bordeaux, France. Second Growth • Red Bordeaux in 12x75cl. Top critic score: 100/100 (RP). Sold in bond by Albany Vintners, independent fine wine merchants.
A famed Second Growth and the leading estate in Saint Estephe, superbly situated adjacent to Lafite on the bend between Saint Estephe and Pauillac. Cos d'Estournel is a property that is constantly measuring itself against the First Growths in an effort to push quality even further, and with the vision of Jean-Guillaume Prats, Cos has achieved new heights with a superb run of vintages since 2001. The emphasis here is on detail and precision, in the vineyard and in the cellar where no expense has been spared; a a new modernist state-of-the-art chai opened in 2009, designed to use gravity flow to move the grapes and must, to minimise handling of the grapes and to allow each parcel to be vinified separately. Its second wine is the very good Pagodes de Cos. Cos is rich, aromatic and sumptuous in style. A wine to rival the First Growths.
Neal Martin (NM) — 89–91/100 · Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com, 29/03/2010
Tasted twice on separate occasions at the property. Stylistically, the Cos d'Estournel sets itself apart from the entire Left Bank, though I am uncertain whether this is a positive thing. Coming in with an IPT of 99 and tangible 14.5% alcohol, it is endowed with an extremely rich, decadent nose with macerated black cherries, cassis, a touch of creme de menthe, melted chocolate and a hint of fig.…
James Suckling (JS) — 100/100 · JamesSuckling.com, 22/09/2015
This is amazing as always with layers of fruit and firm, velvety tannins. Full body, incredible depth of fruit and length. Currants, raspberries and Indian spices. It goes on for minutes. A monumental Cos. Greatest ever from here. Better in five years, but amazing.
James Suckling (JS) — 100/100 · -, 15/02/2012 · Drink 2018+
What a fabulous nose of currants, raspberries and Indian spices. Nutmeg and clover. Full-bodied, with an amazing precision and superb compacted fruit. Endless. Laser guided. Shows such intensity. Decadent and rich and changing all the time. Mystical wine. Dense, yet agile. More refined than when I tasted it in November in Hong Kong. Try in 2018.