Château Cos d'Estournel 2005

Still tight despite a gorgeous wave of rich melted licorice, fig bread, warm plum compote and steeped blackberry flavors. Lovely alder, black tea and balsam wood details give this added range and a sense of detail through the finish before a wall of graphite-edged grip shows up. We're still in wait mode here. -- Blind '01/'03/'05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040. 25,000 cases made.

This inky, dark wine is seductive and immediately approachable, with a nose of sweet black fruit touched with honey and a bit of earth. The texture is silky and dense but not lacking in substance or structure. The blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot with a bit of Cabernet Franc was one of the leading lights in the appellation in 2005, as is often the case. Drinking now, it should continue to improve for decades.

The purity of fruit here is fascinating, with plums, currants and other dark fruits. Then there’s another layer of spices and chocolate. So much cassis. Full and very layered, with chewy, polished tannins and a long, long finish. Just starting to open. It keeps changing. Still needs a year or two, but it’s already gorgeous to drink.

Mid shaded ruby. Faint nose and then a great whack of sweet fruit on the front palate. Creamy, almost buttery palate. Lots of pleasure here even if it’s not exactly a typical stony St-Estèphe. Positively luscious! But perhaps not such longevity as Montrose. (JR)

Good ruby-red. Knockout nose combines currant, plum, minerals, licorice and graphite. Wonderfully sweet, rich and deep, but with near-perfect balancing acidity to frame the wine's lush fruit. This superb 2005 has it all. Finishes with noble, sweet tannins and palate-saturating persistence. On my most recent visit, Prats told me he considered 2005 to be superior to the 2003, and that the '05 may be "our best wine ever."

Firm, full-bodied, powerful, concentrated, youthful, and tannic, it is going to take at least another 5 years in the cellar before this becomes entirely civilized, shedding more of its strict nature so you can enjoy all the ripe currants, blackberries, spice, and earthy nuances. From there, you should be able to enjoy this with ease for at least another 25 years.

Gorgeous blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, chocolate, gravelly earth, and spicy notes all define the 2005 Château Cos D'Estournel, a deep, full-bodied, powerful expression of this terroir that does everything right. Massively concentrated, rich, and unctuous, it nevertheless stays flawlessly balanced and has ripe, polished tannins. Needing plenty of air to show at its best, it's just now getting to the early stages of its prime drinking window and has another 30 years or more of longevity. A word of warning, I have found some variability in this wine with some bottles being more evolved and tired than expected. Provenance is key.

Medium-dark garnet, subtly matte at the core. An open, expansive and warm bouquet with dark roasted notes, lovely Cabernet sweetness over a chocolaty backdrop and fine hints of mint. A supple palate with beautifully integrated acidity; it feels very elegant and has already found its harmony. On the finish, astringency appears on the tongue and restrains enjoyment for now, but ensures it in a few years.

78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Extremely deep garnet with violet-black highlights. Profound bouquet: smoke, black olives, prunes, mocha, black olives, and dark-toasted fine woods; very deep and warm in its expansive aromatics, refreshed mid-palate by a delicate touch of mint. Complex palate, rich; all components—acidity, tannins, and extract—are fully ripe, delivering a mouth-filling dimension, intense and long on the finish. Strongly reminiscent, in its early stages, of the estate’s 1982 in its youth. A great Cos that, in about 10 years, will prompt the question of whether 2003 might actually be the greater vintage for this high-level Super Second. 09: We served this far too young wine at a Wine&Dine in Bad Ragaz. It was so breathtakingly beautiful that I still took a rather large sip. (19/20). 11: Open bouquet, expansive, warm with dark roasted notes, lovely Cabernet sweetness over a chocolaty backdrop and fine minty traces. Soft palate with beautifully integrated acidity, very elegant and somehow already harmonious; on the finish, astringency shows on the tongue and curbs immediate pleasure—which isn’t required yet. (19/20). 12: At a lunch at Cos. Not a crime at all. But those who wait will experience a truly great, fairly classic Cos in a more modern sense. The finish is all black-toned aromatics—so a good sign. (19/20). 16: In the glass next to it was the 2003 Cos, thundering along. The 2005 played coy for half an hour and then steadily got going. So decant. (19/20). 20: Dark wine-red, garnet at the core, quite dense in opacity toward the rim as well. Dreamlike bouquet, truly dark at first and showcasing a magnificent Cabernet in the lead. On the second approach it shows fine herbal notes, rock candy, black chocolate notes, and hints of mint. Pure harmony already on the nose. On the palate, superb balance—fine, dense; the tannins are silky and gather in the finish. A dream Cos with all the trimmings. Gorgeous now and for several more decades. Guaranteed! (19/20).

Silky, dense, complex, elegant, full bouquet; black berries, cassis cream, licorice, fine woods, dark tobacco. Dense, multi-layered, powerful, elegant palate with concentrated, dark, refined fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a silky, full structure, diverse dark aromatics, and a very long, dense, full, fruity finish with plenty of lingering flavors. 20/20 drink - 2045

Vibrant, with stately ruby-red depths, touches of smoked oak, grilled cocoa bean and liquorice. This is powerful, with depth to the slate-strewn tannins. Tobacco, saffron, sage, crushed stones, baked earth; there is an opulent ripeness to the fruit, just on the precipice of tertiary. A lovely wine, broad-shouldered, still a few years from reaching its plateau. A few years ago I wrote of the Cos 2005, 'Good luck trying to predict when this wine will reach its end,' and I still absolutely stand by that comment. 100% new oak.

The 2005 Cos d'Estournel is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-brick in color, it delivers blackcurrant pastilles, baked plums, and blackberry pie scents with smoked meats, cigar box, new leather, and dusty soil hints in the background. Full-bodied, concentrated, and muscular, it has firm, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral-laced. Drinking well now, it should cellar through 2045 and beyond. In 2000, Michel Reybier - former food mogul and subsequent owner of the La Reserve group of luxury hotels, spas and restaurants - purchased this property. Jean-Guillaume Prats, Bruno’s son, was asked by Reybier to stay on for a period as the managing director of the estate and it has to be said that he treated the property with the same passion and shared vision for greatness as ever. In 2004, Dominique Arangoits came on board as winemaker and remains today as the humble, down-to-earth orchestrator and rock of this estate.

This 2005 shows impressive volume, youthfulness and power. The palate is rich and full-bodied, with abundant yet ripe tannins and a warm finish. It heralds Cos's new style.

Logo on the cork: The crown Bad bottle I knew the bottle-to-bottle variation was pronounced for this vintage at Cos. The cork is the cause. This new tasting confirms it. Dark, intense, evolved color. Moderately aromatic nose, fruity, fresh, and licorice-like. Caressing, fruity palate, soft and lacking depth. Medium length.

Saint-Estèphe has a reputation for tannins, and this 2005 Cos lives up to that. But it does much more, because the tannins add richness along with intensely ripe black fruits, dark plums and figs. The dense tannins are finely balanced with fresh acidity, and a long-lasting aftertaste. Impressive.

The Château Cos d’Estournel 2005 has a more opulent and riper bouquet compared to the Montrose 2005, with blackberry, Morello cherry, dried orange peel and, with further aeration, sage and leather notes that come together beautifully. This is quintessential Cos d’Estournel, one that has improved over the last couple of years. The palate is full-bodied with very fine tannins, a little easier-going than Montrose, but that takes nothing away from the freshness and energy in this Saint-Estèphe. You could argue it has a touch more precision than Montrose, but they are simply two sides of a very shiny coin.