Standard - 75cl
ETA: +2 years
ETA: +2 years
Saint-Estephe is known for producing wines with notable power, but there were concerns that this trademark strength might be lacking in the 2024 vintage. At Cos, the power was certainly there. Big rich structure, graphite, tobacco, dark fruit and hint of floral and liquorice notes. Lots of dark fruit like blackberry, black cherries rounded out by a nice minerality. Very persistent with a long length and good aging potential. Impressed.
The 2024 Cos d'Estournel could very well be one of the wines of the vintage. Bright and vibrant in the glass, with tons of energy, the 2024 impresses with its vertical structure, depth and overall balance. Blue/purplish fruit, spice, new leather, lavender and mocha are beautifully delineated throughout. The 2024 is super-classic. The modest 12.8% alcohol is notable, especially because that also means there is less extraction of wood. Cos is one of my early favorites in 2024.
There is huge depth and lots of intensity from this year's Cos. Quite powerful, deeply colored and dense, but there is freshness. Concentrated and tight-grained, with a full body and a pretty lengthy finish. Quite unique for its broadness and density, with lots of blackberries in the finish.
Wonderful fragrance coming out of the glass, perfumed notes with cedar, cherry and chocolate. Juicy, sweetly chewy and grippy, this has so much personality straight away with such density in the mouth for the vintage but so well controlled. Great intensity and follow through with a direct line but not too lean at all. Freshness is there but ripeness is too so you have a great combination of structure and focus. Precise and refined but utterly joyful too. It keeps a straight line towards the finish, narrowing with cola, liquorice and slate but this will grow over ageing. Wonderful, a great effort. 13% press. 0.5% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Ageing 50% new barrels. 3.57pH. A yield of 30hl/ha. Kept organic status.
The 2024 Cos d'Estournel was picked from September 23 to October 7 and matured in 50% new oak. This has an atypically powerful bouquet, revealing black fruit laced with graphite and gravelly scents. The palate has a Pauillac-like entry that's fresh but certainly intense. There's plenty of grip in this Cos d'Estournel that's a little sweeter and reassuringly persistent on the finish compared to its peers. It does not deliver the mineralité of a top-flight Cos d'Estournel, though there's certainly much more fruit intensity than you would expect given the growing season. I observed more classicism during my second record, which suggests that the depth of fruit may become more prominent during barrel maturation. Readers should note it displayed more depth and precision on my second visit on the final day in Bordeaux.
The 2024 Château Cos D'Estournel is a clear step up, with a concentrated, rich, yet still elegant profile. Cassis, graphite, crushed stone, and freshly sharpened pencil notes all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied, has a focused, structured mouthfeel, good acidity, and building tannins. It's going to require patience but is clearly an outstanding Cos in the making. Based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 1.5% Cabernet Franc, and a splash of Petit Verdot, resting in 50% new oak, it hit 12.76% with a pH of 3.57 and an IPT of 71.
Highly textural, with layers and depth, this shows savoury and slim black fruits, real finesse, beautifully precise and grippy texture, cocoa bean, espresso, lovely quality. This feels genuinely old school in the best sense of the word. Harvest 23 September to 7 October. 3.52 pH. 20% new oak, 46% 1st wine.