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Cos d'Estournel 2018

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Estèphe
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

Cos is in Saint Estephe but borders Pauillac and, in particular, the vineyards of Chateau Lafite. Quality was good in the 1990's but, since the 2001 vintage, it has reached another level. In some vintages the quality level is not far from that of the first Growths. The stunning winery - now 10 years old -is the most modern and sophisticated in all of Bordeaux, with a 100% gravity cellar - no pumps used at all. The 2018 is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

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Label

Tasting Notes

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. 2025 - 2060

96
Neal Martin, vinous.com, March 2021

The richness and beauty of this wine is impressive with blackcurrant, cherry, berry and fresh cloves. The fruit is so pure here. Full-bodied with tannins that are so integrated and refined that you don’t feel them, yet they are there! Very creamy and layered with great length and beauty. It turns to tar and licorice at the finish. Tight now, but the texture is special. Try after 2027.

98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2021

An incredible wine from this estate that's as good as anything in the vintage, the 2018 Château Cos D'Estournel checks in as 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot that was brought up in 50% new French oak. While some 2018s are going to offer pleasure right out of the gate, this isn't one of them, but rather it's a backward, tannic powerhouse of a wine that has flawless balance as well as a level of purity that's off the charts. Thrilling crème de cassis fruit, notes of lead pencil, damp earth, cedarwood, violets, and acacia flowers, full-bodied richness, masses of ultra-fine tannins, and a great, great finish all make for a legendary Saint-Estèphe that will need a good decade of bottle age yet evolve for 50 years or more. If you are tempted to try a bottle in its youth, it needs lots of air.

98+
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, March 2021

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 crème 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. 2028 - 2068

98+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (End of Mar), March 2021

This has some austerity on the attack, then announces its arrival in the inimitable way that Cos is able to do: with a slow build up of exotic spices, liquorice root, cedar and cassis. It stretches out through the palate and you keep waiting for the tannins to punch through like they did in 2010, but it doesn't happen, even though this is a big wine with high alcohol and an IPT of 80. There's a great menthol freshness on the finish, helped no doubt by a fresh 3.65pH. It has the luxurious signature of Cos, the glamorous touch that you look for in this wine - like at Mouton and at Angelus - that is part of their DNA, but it's also married to elegance and a touch of slate minerality. This is a wine that you would be thrilled to own. 12mm of rain on 12 September and 20mm in mid-August were just enough to stop any blockages in ripening, although the 30hl/ha yield is low due to a touch of mildew and some concentration in September. This compares to a more generous 45hl/ha in 2016. 65% of production went into the grand vin. 1% Petit Verdot makes up the blend, and the wine is aged in 50% new oak (a little lower than the usual 60%). A candidate to upscore when in bottle.

Drinking Window 2028 - 2042

97
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2019

Tasted blind. Quite interesting, complex nose with some floral elements. Clean and fresh. Vigorous and very well balanced. Everything is in the right place, even if there’s a hint of heat on the end. 14.5%
Drink 2028 – 2048

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2022

74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Barrel sample.
Black core with narrow purple rim. Intense black fruit with just a hint of charry oak. Smells sweet and ripe but pure and fresh-fruited too. Glorious Cabernet here. Deep, chewy and rich on the palate, firm velvet texture, incredibly moreish and so fresh, as much from the tannins as from the acidity. Leaves your mouth clean with dark, savoury, rocky length. Very precise winemaking. I love those dry clean-tasting tannins on the finish. (JH) 14.9%
Drink 2028-2045

17.5
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2019

Deep purple in colour, with a nose of blueberry, black pepper and toasty oak. There are hints of exotic anise and clove here too. The palate is intense, with a rich, chewy structure and bold, ripe fruits. There are waves of fresh acidity that tame the riper elements and bring notes of dried leaves, cedar and incense. The finish is slick and polished, but remains firm. This is another 2018 that will need time in bottle to show its best.

95+
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2019

(74 Cabernet Sauvignon, 23 Merlot, 2 Cabernet Franc, 1 Petit Verdot) | 50% new oak | 14.59% alc | 30 hl/ha | 3.69 pH | 66% of total production | 80 IPT I tasted the wines with owner Michel Reybier and winemaker Dominique Arangoïts and they were peculiarly quiet as I worked my way through the glasses. This only ever happens when those concerned are extremely pleased with their wines but don’t want to show it. How right they were, albeit without giving anything away! The entire suite of wines from this estate is impeccable, but the Grand Vin is a staggering tour de force. From the incredible volume of fruit on the nose to the exquisite detail on the palate, this is an awesomely balanced wine. It has everything. The fruit is sensationally seductive and its depth is profound. The mouth-watering mid-palate is truly epic and there is freshness and bounce from the first sip to the final flavour memory and this balance is enchanting. This is a spectacular vintage for Cos and everything you could possibly want in a wine is here but, crucially, there is not too much of any one element. So often, larger framed wines can tip out of balance and deliver too much of a good thing. Cos remains masterful, expansive and also precision-tooled in its detail. This is the finest young wine I have tasted at this Château and I have no hesitation in giving it a perfect score. While many foundered, this imposing estate, sitting on its majestic plot of land took the best elements from the complex and baffling season and used them to its advantage. It is true that wineries used to making richer styles of wine are the most successful, in my eyes, in 2018. Cos d’Estournel is one such property and it has made a wine which will taste incredible every day of its life and, inevitably, many of these days will be long after I have departed this world.

20+
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, April 2019
Read more tasting notes...

The 2018 Cos d’Estournel is matured in 50% new oak, a little less than usual. It has a more opulent bouquet compared to the 2016 and 2017 as you might imagine with high-toned but not overbearing black cherries, iodine and cassis aromas. The dialling down of the oak we a good idea. With aeration it manifest enticing violet scents. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that creates what is one of the most lithe Cos d’Estournel releases in recent years. It is silky smooth in texture with fine acidity, the 14.59% alcohol just lending a little decadence towards the finish. It is one of the more heady wines in recent years although everything seems to me kept in check and the tannins feel very fine and precise on the finish, indicative of prudent winemaking. Very fine, even if it does not quite match the ethereal 2016 Cos d’Estournel. Drink 2025-2060.

95/97
Neal Martin, vinous.com, November 2019

The beautiful integration of ripe fruit and ripe tannins gives the wine a layered and agile mouthfeel. Soft and gorgeous with silky tannins that really kick in at the finish and carry the wine for a long time.

98/99
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2019

The 2018 Cos d'Estournel is composed of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc and has 14.59% alcohol. Aging in 50% new barriques, it has a deep purple-black color and drifts effortlessly, gracefully, seductively out of the glass with slowly unfurling notions of blackcurrant cordial, wild blueberries, chocolate-covered cherries and plum pudding with touches of violets, licorice, wild roses and yeast extract plus a waft of loose tobacco. The full-bodied palate is built like a brick house with a solid frame of super firm, super ripe tannins and seamless freshness to back up the vibrant, crunchy, oh-so-muscular fruit, finishing long with loads of mineral layers. Amazing structure will keep this beauty for at least half a century and probably a full one!

97/100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (April 2019), April 2019

Deeply colored, the 2018 Cos D'Estournel shows the incredible purity and elegance that this estate delivers these days as well as fabulous crème de cassis, graphite, white flowers, and spicy oak aromas and flavors. Made from 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot, aging in 50% new barrels, it builds with time in the glass and has a full-bodied, decadent yet also seamless mouthfeel, layers of tannins, and a great finish. This is as classy as it gets and certainly a candidate for the King of Saint-Estèphe in 2018. Given its purity and balance as well as depth of fruit, it should offer loads of pleasure in its youth yet also evolve nicely for 3-4 decades. This estate has been on an incredible roll over the past 7-8 years and this is another killer wine. For those interested in the technical data, this wine hit 14.59% alcohol, with a pH of 3.69, total acids of 3.3, and a whopping IPT of 80.

97/99+
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, May 2019
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.