Château Cos d'Estournel, 2eme Cru Classé, St Estèphe, 2017
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
Composed of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, yields for the grand vin in 2017 were 43 hectoliters per hectare, and it was aged in 60% new oak. It came in at an alcohol of 13% and an IPT of 68. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cos d'Estournel needs a little coaxing to unfurl, revealing beautiful expressions of preserved plums, boysenberries, blackcurrant pastilles and wild blueberries with hints of Indian spices, menthol, lilacs and mossy tree bark plus a compelling suggestion of iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and well-knit freshness supporting the tightly wound blue and black fruits layers, finishing long and fragrant. This wine will need a good 5-7 years in bottle before it begins to blossom and should go on for at least another 40 years. I expect this wine to be a blockbuster of a head-turner when I come back and taste it at 10 years of age!
The 2017 Cos d’Estournel showed extremely well from barrel and likewise in bottle, continuing this estate’s strong run of form since the 2014 vintage. You instantaneously fall in love with the nose that bursts forth with blackberry, raspberry coulis, crushed stone, iodine and pressed iris petal. The 60% new oak is beautifully integrated. Quintessentially Cos d’Estournel. The palate is medium-bodied with supple black fruit laced with black truffle and graphite, quite Pauillac-like in style, which is no surprise given its location. This is very focused and perhaps understated compared to the 2016, yet its freshness and vivacity are undeniable. "Streamlined, cool and linear" I wrote at en primeur... I have no reason to alter that sentiment.