Château Cos d'Estournel 2019

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. 15,000 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.

Vivid red-purple rim to the glass; blue fruits, plums and black cherries presented with pleasant floral aspects alongside a wonderful freshly brewed coffee aroma, soft and delicate but just noticeable. This is absolutely delicious, round and plump on the palate but not heavy, well defined with a fruit precision marrying blackcurrants and cherries with some cocoa and liquorice nuance. The velvety texture and overall clarity stands out, driven and precise with layers of pretty chewy, perfumed fruit underpinned by generous acidity. Sophisticated and enjoyable. Wonderful styling at Cos in 2019.

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.

The 2019 Cos d'Estournel is a deep, powerful wine. That has been true on both occasions 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 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 twice.

Full-bodied, concentrated, refined and showy, this is the modern era's version of a classic vintage for Cos d'Estournel. Initially you find a litany of spices, incense, flowers, espresso, and red with black currants, mixed with blackberries. Intense, rich, deep and lively, the fruit displays freshness, length, purity, energy, lift, and the structure to age and evolve for decades. In comparison with recent great vintages of COS, with 2019, the wine exchanges the power and concentration found in 2018 and 2016 for a greater sense of elegance, purity and classicism. Drink from 2030-2060.

Deep garnet, opaque core, purple reflections, brightening at the rim. Inviting black cherries, notes of blackberry, cassis and a hint of liquorice. Nuances of fine oak in the background. Juicy and elegant, good complexity, fresh, blackberries also on the palate, integrated tannins, savoury aftertaste, a touch of nougat, firm finish. A wine with charm and certain ageing potential, very harmonious, already approachable, mineral and very long-lasting. Once again the number one in St. Estephe.

A very complete wine, complex, with rich and floral aromas emerging alongside ample dark fruit, cassis and tobacco notes. The palate is dense and muscular, yet nuanced, with a wealth of vibrant dark fruit, cocoa notes, mild spiciness and gentle oak leading to a very long finish.

The Grand Vin 2019 Château Cos D'Estournel is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot, from yields of 43 hectoliters per hectare and a healthy 14% alcohol. Aged in just 55% new French oak, this is a pretty, elegant, seamless Saint-Estèphe with plenty of redcurrant- and cassis-like fruit alongside pencil lead, graphite, and chalky minerality. Medium to full-bodied, it shows supple, fine tannins, wonderful purity, and a classy, regal profile that staunch traditionalists will love. Exceedingly elegant and driven by finesse, with a touch of Château Lafite-like character, I initially compared this wine from barrel to a more elegant version of 2016, but now from bottle I think 2014 is a better comparison for its weight, balance, and overall style. It has a silky, charming personality that already offers pleasure, but it won’t reach maturity for a good 7–8 years and will deliver 25+ years of prime drinking.

Powerful, concentrated and textured black cherry, cassis and blueberry fruits, laden with black truffle, cocoa bean and liquorice root. Reduction on the first nose gives a gunsmoke edge; this is full of personality and opens to show fresh acidities and finessed tannins. Such a good vintage at this estate, one to cellar for a good few years and then luxuriate in when it’s ready. 40 hl/ha.

A brilliant success for the château, delivering a wine of superb balance. The palate is juicy, flavorful, and deep at once, with a bright finish that makes it a benchmark for the château.

Logo on the capsule: AL Dark, intense, beautiful color. Very aromatic nose with ripe fruit. Hints of spice and blackberry. Soft on the attack, juicy mid-palate, very flavorful, the wine caresses the palate. It develops with a noble touch and flavors toward a great, complex, savory finish, with a finely knit tannic backbone. A delightful whole.

96–98. Barrel Sample. The beautiful perfume of this stylish wine are the first impression. They set the scene for the wonderful black currant fruits and dark tannins that meld together on the palate. Made with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, this structured wine shows long-term aging potential.