{stash:brand} Vintage
Saint-Estéphe, France
Vintage:2019 (Current)
2010 (Past) | 2015 (Past) | 2016 (Past) |
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Reviews
Wine Enthusiast
98 Points
October 1, 2022, Roger Voss
“Gone are the days when this illustrious estate produced the most powerful wine possible. This new release is stylish and packed with great black fruits. Some dark chocolate flavors add density while keeping the wine's perfume and blackberry flavors. It is impressive, likely ready to drink from 2026.”
Wine Spectator
96 Points
March 31, 2022, James Molesworth
“Dark and winey, featuring black currant, fig and blackberry preserve flavors laced with a smoldering hint of cast iron, plus notes of anise, apple wood, sweet bay leaf and warm earth. The finish offers a long sanguine thread that stitches it all up. Gorgeous. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2024 through 2040.”
JamesSuckling.com
99 Points
March 9, 2022, James Suckling
“This is so aromatic with blackcurrants, black berries and raspberries. Pure fruit, together with coffee and nutmeg. Really fresh and clean with bright spices. Full-bodied, yet reserved and tight with fantastic structure. So long. This is a great Cos for the cellar. A real benchmark for the true character. Needs at least five or six years to open and come around. Try after 2029.”
Vinous Media
98 Points
February 2022, Antonio Galloni
“The 2019 Cos d'Estournel is a deep, powerful wine. That has been true on both times I have tasted it recently. Readers will have to be patient. Those who can afford it will be rewarded with a towering, statuesque Saint-Estèphe. With a bit of air the fruit starts to emerge, but this is a very reticent Cos that does not show the opulence that it often does in its youth. Gravel, smoke, incense, tobacco and dried flowers gradually unfurl over time, hinting at a very bright future. The 2019 is impressive. That's all there is to it. Tasted two times.”
Overview
In the old Gascon language, the word Cos means “The Hill of Pebbles.“ Appropriately named, Château Cos d’Estournel is situated on the banks of the Gironde River between Pauillac and St. Estèphe, where the property is clearly defined by the hill of Cos, reaching a height of almost 65 feet.
The vineyard of Cos spreads around the château on 91 hectares. The Cabernet Sauvignon vines find the soil of their choice in the thin layers of gravely soil situated on the top and on the southern slopes of the hill. The Merlot vines excel on the eastern slopes and on the slopes where the Saint-Estephe limestone bed shows on the surface. The vineyard is extremely dense and the average vine age is high (35 years old on the average) in order to enable the roots to extend excessively and to obtain a very slender yield per vine.
Only the wines coming from over 20 years old vines will have the name of Château Cos d’Estournel. Château Cos d’Estournel is today owned by Michel Reybier, and continues to be managed by a member of the Prats family under the direction of Jean-Guillaume Prats.
Winemaking
Manual harvest and selection. At the start of fermentations, the tannins released were spicy with a highly original chalky flavor. The higher alcohol content enabled slower than usual fermentation and higher quality extraction. The high alcohol level also lent roundness and fullness to the wine. Thanks to the total gravity system of our new cellar, we were able to control this exceptionally tannin-rich harvest.
Tasting Notes
Cos d’Estournel has the style of masculine elegance in which immense power is combined with grace and smoothness. Impressive when young for the intensity of its structure and explosive fruit, Cos d’Estournel evolves slowly to completely mature.
Technical Information
Varietals: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot
Wine Alcohol: 14%
New Oak: 55%