Cos d’Estournel – check in on some recent vintages

In fall 2006 when I was a stagiere at Chateau Haut Bailly, Jean Guillaume Parts, then General Manager of Chateau Cos d’Estournel invited me to spend two days at the Chateau to participate in the harvest. Chateau Cos d’Estournel together with Chateau Montrose and Chateau Calon Segur are the triumphirate in St.Estephe. Cos has more Merlot than the other two Chateau and therefore often makes a slightly softer and riper wine than the other two, which is not a bad thing given we are in St.Estephe, a clay rich region known for its structured wines. If I had ot give one pice of advice on St.Estephe. Dont open before age 20.

Tasting notes from recent tastings

Vintages 2010-2017

2013 Château Cos d’Estournel 95+ Points
This was good, not as overdone as the wines during the Jean Guillaume Prats area. Lots of dark fruit, fresh, some undergrowth.

2013 Château Cos d’Estournel 93 Points
During a merchant tasting, decanted for 2h. Medium purple. Discrete nose of blue and dark fruit chocolate, oak, foresty aromas. Medium bodied palate with very good balance of fruit, acidity and tannins. A lighter Cos but all well in place. Really pleasant, give it a few more years and the terroir driven aromas will expand as well. 93-94

2012 Château Cos d’Estournel 94 Points
During a merchant tasting. Dark purple. Very nice nose with lots of blue fruit, forest floor, ripe and fresh, really nice in fact. On the palate this is mid weight with great drinkability. Looks like Cos did everything right in this vintage and learned from past mistakes of over-extraction attempts. Given the price, this together with the 2008 are the Cos to buy (and probably the 2014 which is not bottled yet).

2010 Château Cos d’Estournel 98 Points
During a merchant tasting. Dark purple. Wow, the nose is open after decanting, did not expect that. Expressive aromas of dark fruit, smoke, forest floor, pine, the full Medoc Kaleidoscope, really impressive. The show then really takes off on the palate. Fabulous mid mouth presence, freshness and depth. Layers and layers of cool fruit. Long and aromatic finish. The 08, 06, and 12 next to it are good but this is just in a league on its own in terms of aromatic depth. Wow, hands down the best Cos and not the 2009 which suffers from cooked fruit (see my note there).

Vintages 2000-2009

2009 Château Cos d’Estournel 91 Points
I first tasted this wine during the 2009 arrivage and then again a few times either in 09 horizontals or Matchplays against Montrose. I am not impressed at all by this wine. It is far to hot and “cooked” for me with lots of alcoholic heat. Cos has more Merlot than Montrose in its blend, so the hot 2009 did not really play into their hand as much, rather 2010 did (see my note there). Right next to the 09 Montrose it smells like a Provence wine. I am not a “religious” against fruit forward Bordeaux. As a matter of fact, when you drink Bordeaux from the 80/90ies you often wish for more fruit, but this has gone way overboard. The more extracted the wine, the less aromatic complexity and freshness, that is what is happening here. RP gave it 100 and says this is the best Cos ever. Nay! The best Cos bu a mile is the 2010. If you have the 09, buy the 2010 and put it next to it in a few years and you will clearly see it. If you don’t have that kind of cash, buy the 2008 and 2012 are both are 100-200 USD less and fantastic offerings with high freshness and drinkability.

2008 Château Cos d’Estournel 94 Points
Dark purple, Nose of dark fruit, chocolate, earth and a touch of barnyard, good typicity. Enters the palate with good mid mouth presence and soft tannins. Nothing rustic here in this St.Estephe, nicely polished. There is freshness, there is cool blue fruit, drinkability. Very nice. This to me is with the 2012 the best Cos in the market. Both quality and QPR are great. Of course the 2010 is in a different league but also price wise. And just in case you were asking, no, I don’t like the 2003 and the 2009. They suffer from over-ripeness and in most bottles I have tasted display unpleasant heat and cooked fruit.

2007 Château Cos d’Estournel 92 Points
During a Merchant tasting. Medium-dark garnet. Expressive nose of earthy aromas intermixed with forest and barnyard, very nice. I think in general, the nose is always a very strong asset of a mature Cos as it is fragrant and very Medoc. No need to guess whether this is from anywhere else. Enters the palate light and fresh, soft tannins but does not build further in the mid palate. Alas, it is 2007. A great restaurant vintage. Always soft and ready but will of course not have the depth of the top years. Drink up.

2006 Château Cos d’Estournel 93 Points
During a Merchant tasting. Medium-dark purple, still quite young in color. The nose is muted, the wine still closed. Coaxing aromas of dark fruit lots of chocolate, forest floor. On the palate this is tight and young. Not unpleasant but the wine has an extracted feeling to it like some of the modern Pomerols. I don’t think it is beyond the point where it will prevent the structure to be pleasant once mature but for now this is a clear wait for me. Drink after 2018.

2003 Château Cos d’Estournel 94 Points
Dark purple. Nose of dark fruit with noticeable toasty/coffee note so typical for the 2003. Full bodied with lots of volume, a bit of heat, good structure. Aromatically a bit weak, not much terroir, also a typical trait of 2003. in one word, a good but not a great Cos. For that look for the sublime 2010.

2001 Château Cos d’Estournel 92 Points
The 01 is a solid performance Cos in this “so so” vintage. The wine did already well when younger and is now on its plateau. Very earthy, smoky, a bit bretty, typical rustic St.Estephe style with present but ripe tannins. Not for the easy-fruity wine lover. Drank it tonight at a stake house, perfect companion. The men at the table liked it, the women found it a bit too rustic.

Vintages 1986-1996

1996 Château Cos d’Estournel 96 Points
Wonderful top nose of licorice and cassis, not too tertiary yet, really has some reserves left, followed by a potpourri of earthy elements, bacon, vanilla. The palate is elegant, medium bodied, grippy but ripe tannins, good acidity. Really a texbook Bordeaux that in Napa only Dunn probably makes.

1995 Château Cos d’Estournel 95 Points
Dark purple with brownish hue. Expressive nose of dark fruit with pine, forest, earth, oak, nice and complex, I especially like the pine/eucalyptus notes. Medium bodied, good structure, well integrated tannins. A touch rustic overall but really nice St.Estephe aromatics. A very solid Cos.

1999 Château Cos d’Estournel 92 Points
During a Merchant tasting. Dark garnet. Very pleasant, earthy nose with pine and mint, good Medoc typicity. Enters the palate cool and fresh, excellent drinkability with food. This is a very pleasant Cos but just like the 2007 it lacks a bit of stuffing in the mid palate. Nevertheless, a very solid effort for the vintage. Drink up.

1985 Château Cos d’Estournel 93 Points
Medium dark garnet. Nose of dark fruit, dense with mint, tobacco and earth, spicy. Great presence on the palate but tannins not as soft as in a recent sample.

1986 Château Cos d’Estournel 94 Points
Served blind. Medium ruby with garnet rim. The cork was in impeccable condition with only the first 25% soaked. At first the wine was closed and tannic with a dry edge. I guessed much younger, very youthful. After ca. 1 hour the wine opened up substantially revealing a powerful core with lots of terrific aroma around eucalyptus, blue fruit, forest, cassis. A very strong showing after all. The slightly dry finish (a not so good trait of the ’86) prevent an even higher note. A very good bottle in the 93-95 range depending on your tolerance for a slightly drying finish.