So good is this 2016 Saint-Estèphe from ‘Super Second’ Grand Cru Classé Château Cos d’Estournel that it was awarded a perfect score of 100 points by two of international wine’s most influential critics. We continue to work closely with a select few négociants to bring in wine that has been acquired directly from the châteaux, and we received just 10 original wooden cases (6-bottle) of the 2016 ‘Cos’ from one such négociant.
Dear Reader,
Built-in 1831 purely as a winery, the Château of Cos d’Estournel is at the heart of a 100-hectare estate, with 70 hectares under vine. Interestingly, one of the blocks in the vineyard is now 104 years old. Despite already being ranked a second growth in the famous 1855 classification of the Médoc, it was only once Michel Reybier purchased ‘Cos’ in 2000 that it solidified its place amongst one of the very best estates in the Médoc and arguably the best in Saint-Estèphe.
Cos is located in the south of Saint-Estèphe on the border with Pauillac, and its vineyards are planted on a south-facing gravel ridge with a high clay content, just north of none other than Château Lafite Rothschild.
We tasted at the estate in 2018 and it was easily one of the most impressive château visits. Named after its 19th-century owner, Louis-Gaspard d’Estournel, he is also the reason for the château’s oriental design.
The 2016 Cos d’Estournel is made up of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, aged in 65% new and 35% two-year-old French oak for 15 months. The wine was bottled in July 2018.
We received just 10 original wooden 6-bottle cases of this wine.
100 points | Neal Martin for Vinous | January 2019
“The 2016 Cos d’Estournel was a bona fide showstopper out of barrel, the best that I had encountered in over 20 years of visiting the estate during en primeur, so my expectations were piled high when I returned to find out how it performs in bottle. Deep, almost opaque in color, it sports a very intense but broody bouquet with fathomless deep black fruit tinged with blueberry and violet. The aromas almost seem to envelop the senses. The palate is medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannin that I have never witnessed in any other vintage of Cos d’Estournel. There is a beguiling symmetry to this Saint-Estèphe, as well as unerring mineralité. The persistent, tobacco-tinged finish can be felt 60 second after the wine has departed. This is a monumental, benchmark Cos d’Estournel that will give not years but decades of pleasure, though I suspect it will close down for a period in its youth, hence my drinking window.”
100 points | Lisa Perrotti-Brown for Wine Advocate | 30 November 2018
“The 2016 Cos d’Estournel is…deep garnet-purple colored and starts off a little closed and reticent, opening out slowly and seductively to reveal beautiful lilacs, rose hip tea, crushed stones and camphor nuances over a core of crème de cassis, kirsch, wild blueberries and mocha plus wafts of incense and wood smoke. The palate is simply electric, charged with an energy and depth of flavors that seem to defy the elegance and ethereal nature of its medium-bodied weight, featuring super ripe, densely pixelated tannins that firmly frame the myriad of fruit and floral sparks, finishing with epic length. Just. Magic.”
