Château Cos d'Estournel, 2eme Cru Classé, St Estèphe, 2018

Name: Château Cos d'Estournel, 2eme Cru Classé, St Estèphe
Brand: Château Cos d'Estournel
Price: 1098.32 GBP

Available Vintages

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

justerini & brooks tasting note

As we have already written for Pagodes de Cos, there has been a revolution at this revered second growth Chateau. Gone are the enormous powerhouse efforts, which to our palates lacked freshness and charm, and now the new regime has implemented a refined style with the emphasis on charm and detail. We weren't altogether convinced by the first few attempts. However, the 2018 is much more compelling. The bouquet offers notes of fruitcake, raisins, spice and ginger. It's really quite stylish and complex with attractive floral cassis and incense, decadent black fruits and ferrous minerals. This has real style and precision. The fruit doesn't feel heavy or overworked, it's natural and ripe, unforced, poised. We really like the energy and brightness of fruit, the way the tannins grip the palate and coat the taste buds with pure fruit. This is a very smart, haute couture Cos. Cos rediscovered. 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

critic reviews

97/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

The 2018 Cos d’Estournel has a deep garnet-purple color. It gives up notes of vanilla, dark chocolate, and licorice, over a core of blackcurrant cordial, stewed plums, and boysenberries. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is chock-full of black fruit preserves, with a rock-solid, grainy texture and a very long, spicy finish.

DRINKING WINDOW 2026 - 2050

date of review 02/2023

97/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Just over the border from Pauillac into St Estèphe, Michel Reybier's Cos d'Estournel is for me the wine of the 2018 vintage in St Estèphe. Perhaps because it often showcases turmeric, cinammon and saffron spices, finding them in 2018 feels in keeping with the signature flavours of the property rather than being overly marked by vintage conditions. There is complexity and power here also damson, fig, cassis and blackberry fruits, alongside muscular tannins. Fresh acidities through the finish keep a sense of momentum and this is powerful with ambition, and it carries it off perfectly. 65% of production went into the grand vin. 50% new oak (a little lower than the usual 60%).

DRINKING WINDOW 2028 - 2045

date of review 10/2021

98+/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2018 Cos d'Estournel is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, aged in 50% new oak barriques. The alcohol weighs in at just over 14.5%. Sporting a deep purple-black color, it needs a lot of swirling to begin to unlock a powerful nose of creme de cassis, stewed plums, wild blueberries and chocolate-covered cherries, followed by nuances of Sichuan pepper, star anise, tree and clove oil, plus a waft of charcoal. The full-bodied palate is densely packed with taut, muscular black fruits and earthy layers, framed by super firm, ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and wonderfully earthy. A very impressive behemoth, this is going to need a good seven to 10 years to truly show its stuff and should drink for a good 40 years and beyond.

DRINKING WINDOW 2028 - 2068

date of review 03/2021

96/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2018 Cos d’Estournel showed a lot of promise when I tasted it from barrel. Now in bottle and given a 2–3-hour decant, it has a gorgeous and disarmingly pure bouquet, slightly high-toned with iodine scents infusing the lush blackberry and boysenberry scents. The oak is seamlessly integrated. The palate is fresh and crisp on the entry, delivering silky-smooth tannins, perfect acidity and a sense of harmony than is very persuasive. I cannot recall a Cos d’Estournel in recent years with such fine tannins. It gently fans out toward the finish while retaining superb precision, completing what is a beautifully crafted Cos d’Estournel with a long future ahead.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2060

date of review 03/2021