Château Cos d'Estournel, 2eme Cru Classé, St Estèphe, 2003

Name: Château Cos d'Estournel, 2eme Cru Classé, St Estèphe
Brand: Château Cos d'Estournel
Price: 1867.07 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1996 2003 2008 2009 2014 2016 2017 2018 2019 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

The nose is remarkable: dark, spiced fruit of huge proportions. The palate yields sweet, ripe black fruits in buckets, the tannins are big but well managed, and the fine terroir comes through on a persistent finish. This is a broad-shouldered wine packed with opulent fruit, in which normal acidity levels go almost unnoticed. Harvested from 11th-26th September and cropped at 33.5hl/ha; a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon/ 34% Merlot/ 1% Petit Verdot/ 3% Cabernet Franc, aged in 65% new oak. 13% abv.

critic reviews

96/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2003 Cos d’Estournel revels in a vintage that shone in Saint-Estèphe. In some ways it is a prototype of the 2009 however, the 2003 feels more natural, more a product of the growing season than a premeditated crowd-pleaser like the 2009. It has that almost gregarious bouquet with plush raspberry ripple, vanilla pod, crème de cassis and pencil lead aromas. As I have noted previously, it has shed a lot of baby fat in recent years, less flamboyant than in its youth. What is so surprising is the delineation evident in this wine, something that it shares with the 2003 Montrose and a virtue denuded many other Left Bank 2003s, especially in the southern Médoc. Maybe at the moment the Montrose just has the edge but that should take nothing away from one of the best 2003s you will find. Tasted at the Cos d’Estournel vertical in London.

DRINKING WINDOW 2020 - 2050

date of review 12/2024

93/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Harvest finished this year on September 25. The 2003 Cos d'Estournel is a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. It has a deep garnet-brick color and quite an herbal nose with notions of dried Mediterranean herbs and roasted meats over a core of creme de cassis, stewed plums and unsmoked cigars plus a touch of new leather. Full, rich, concentrated and decadent in the mouth, the palate, though medium-bodied, packs a wallop of fruit with plenty of earthy/savory accents and an herbal lift to the finish.

DRINKING WINDOW 2018 - 2030

date of review 11/2018