Château Cos d'Estournel, 2eme Cru Classé, St Estèphe, 2009

Name: Château Cos d'Estournel, 2eme Cru Classé, St Estèphe
Brand: Château Cos d'Estournel
Price: 2782.25 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1996 2008 2009 2014 2016 2017 2018 2019 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

This has become the controversial wine of this vintage, already likened to Pavie 2003. Don't let this put you off, this is an astonishing wine. Yes it is enormous, alcoholic, modern and unlike any Cos before it. Big, yes, but very beautiful, impressive and extremely decadent. There are notes of super ripe cassis, gravelly minerality, cut flowers and blackcurrant fruit pastels; a veritable kaleidoscope of brooding aromas intertwined with high toned berries and floral hints. Wave after wave of ripe fruit cascades over the palate. Dark chocolate covered cherries, velvety fruit; plush almost debauched in its richness and concentration. Layer after layer of delicious, luxurious fruit, but this has structure too. The tannins are like velvet edged granite; solid, well textured and honed. A really impressive polished Cos. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc.

critic reviews

91/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2009 is a Saint-Estèphe lauded in some quarters upon release, anointed with perfect scores, albeit not from myself. From my introduction in barrel with then estate manager, Jean-Guillaume Prats, the 2009 felt over-endowed, a wine predesigned to flutter its lashes during en primeur, one that equated sheer power with quality. I last drank this vintage six years ago. It remains decadent and ostentatious on the nose, rich and almost over-generous with crème de cassis and iodine scents. It comes across more Napa than Bordeaux, and contentiously, perhaps that was the intention? Likewise, the palate is decked out with lush and slightly overripe black fruit, relatively low acidity and plenty of weight but not much in the way of finesse. Admittedly, I don't find the wine unenjoyable, and my score should reflect that. You have to admire its hedonism, and if that’s your bag, you’ll love it. But the 2009 harks back to a period when even some of the Médoc’s grandest châteaux seemed to follow a?recipe, when more was always more.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2040

date of review 02/2025

94/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

A wine that caused plenty of arguments among critics and wine lovers at the time, and 15 years on it remains full on and pumped up. Silky texture, smoked caramel, intense cracked pepper, cloves, incense, olive peel, blackberry and damson fruits, impactful but a little too much even now. The terroir character is just starting to assert itself, and this is a one point upscore since I tasted it at the ten years on point. 100% new oak.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2045

date of review 10/2024