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| | Vintage | 2016 |  Label 1 of 700 
 | | Type | Red | | Producer | Château Cos d'Estournel (web) | | Variety | Red Bordeaux Blend | | Designation | n/a | | Vineyard | n/a | | Country | France | | Region | Bordeaux | | SubRegion | Médoc | | Appellation | St. Estèphe | | UPC Code(s) | 000004209652, 086454010123, 087000353176, 3339010811014, 3339011133016, 3339011411015, 3339011611019, 3339011611118, 3339011666019, 3364420081252, 3609050766934, 400005967344, 400009765489, 830293008762 |
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 96.1 pts. and median of 96 pts. in 57 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Haystack on 4/15/2024: Had the 2016 at Chateau Cos d’Estournel two days ago. It is in a quiet period. Strongly recommend waiting. (4973 views) | | | Tasted by Mark1npt on 2/27/2024 & rated 94 points: I feel like I'm a bit late to the party, here. That's my fault.
Whatever phase this wine is in right now, it's not the LPB 100 pt phase. At all........
Decanted 4 hours, slow ox'd another 3-4 til finished. At no time did this wine approach even a 95.
From the pnp, it's a black, tannic, tar laden cab. 4 hours in the nose wakes up a little, but it takes another 2-3 hours for the nose to warrant a 94. The palate has the stuffing, but it's an iodine laden, toasty cab right now, with some depth. I will def be holding my remaining bottles for spacing out over the next 20 years. I love Cos......but this is not a phase or time that does this vintage justice. (7647 views) | | | Tasted by seijaro on 2/18/2024 & rated 95 points: 2 1/2 hour double decant, third place in a flight of three: 94,94,95,95. A lovely Bordeaux that is ripe and delicious. Competitors were 2014 Quilceda Creek, the winner with one 95 and three 97s, second was Booker ONES Syrah with a 93 and three 95s. After an hour, the Cos slipped a point with two tasters, while both the others improved a point with everybody. Nevertheless, a treat to drink this dependably good Bordeaux. (7149 views) | | | Tasted by brh_wine on 1/2/2024: First taste of this collection. Maturing nicely. One person noted a bit of tar in the mouth but this blew off. Nose had muted merlot notes. Some moderate tannins in mouth and generally kept developing and opening up over 45 minutes. Should have a good future.
Thanks to all who pointed out 1st version of this note where somehow the flawed box was checked. Should be corrected now. It was not flawed, sorry for the confusion. (8810 views) | | | Tasted by BernieMSY on 11/22/2023 & rated 97 points: Decanted for three hours prior to tasting.
Dark purple color, almost opaque. Violet nose.
This one bolts out of the gate like a champion thoroughbred. Sleek and polished, it features gobs of black fruit balanced by plenty of savory notes. The finish is long and while the tannins are firm, they are in no way impediments to the overall enjoyment of this extraordinary wine.
Even though it is great right now, it has the potential to score a perfect 100 in a few years. If you’ve got one, I suggest holding onto it. If you’ve got a few, I suggest giving one a try right now. This is an extraordinary Bordeaux at the very beginning of its maturational plateau. Bravo! (8328 views) | | | Tasted by Dwongl on 6/9/2023 & rated 95 points: Decanted for 2 hours and clearly not enough. Muted on the nose but opened up after a while. Not a fruit bomb. Dark garnet in colour, lovely cherries on the nose. Tannins really well balanced and silky. Too easy drinking and started to develop greater weight after about 4 hours. A bit of graphite and flint. Clearly still too young and I see the potential over the next 10 years. (11952 views) | | | Tasted by danielbird193 on 5/16/2023 & rated 93 points: Tasted a small glass from a bottle opened about 18 hours previously. The deeply perfumed red fruit on the nose belies the severity, even austerity, of the initial palate. A gentle warmth appears as it develops, with well integrated tannins and a graphite, almost flinty, core. The finish is long and appealing.
Perhaps my experience was tainted by not having tasted when initially opened, but I can't say this reached the level experienced by other tasters on here. That said, this is a very good example of Saint-Estèphe doing what it does best. A solid 93 point wine at this stage, with plenty of potential for an upgrade at future tastings. (11022 views) | | | Tasted by gamlingman on 5/5/2023 & rated 94 points: Another big boy last night to culminate a birthday celebration. Retract previous review in lieu yes I can tell the difference in a $300.00 wine LOL. Decanted for a bit 1st thing I notice is the heavy musk that all these wines have as characteristics. Its deep & dark and it has some pop and I can't wait to get into it.
1st taste was SPICE wow didn't expect that from this varietal . Lots of dark currants, dark berries in your typical deep dirt Bordeaux. A few minutes later it mellows incredibly into this smooth song of a river of flavors that finish with bright notes with no hint of the musk that is prevalent in the beginning.
As time wore on it changed even more to an almost sweet spicy finish again. Talk about wines evolving in a short time? A fabulous wine drinking well now but certainly has more time to grow. (10764 views) | | | Tasted by Montesquieu on 5/1/2023 & rated 95 points: Everyone in our tasting group of 16 seems to own this wine, and since some argue it's drinking great now/young, we decided to open one despite its being in the company of some legendary aged bottles. The 1979 Dunn HM and 1993 Dalla Valley Maya were incomparable, but this Cos certainly would have highlighted an evening without those beside it. Having tried it young, I won't be opening my bottles now but instead saving them for much later, when I'm sure this will rate higher. (10072 views) | | | Tasted by seijaro on 2/11/2023 & rated 96 points: A real beauty, a well-developed Bordeaux with classic Cos D flavor profile. Four drinkers alongside a 2016 Realm Bard, at lunch 96,96,97,97 tied with the Realm. Great fun with Reuben sandwiches. (11249 views) | | | Tasted by UFGators on 11/19/2022 & rated 96 points: As a previous tasted noted, this is one of the few 2016s that I have had that is not shut down at this point. This wine has all the makings of a future legend with some bottle age. Everything is in perfect balance. Definitely best to give this some time to allow more complexity and depth to come through but you can drink this now if you have a bottle to spare. 96-98++ (10006 views) | | | Tasted by csimm on 11/1/2022 & rated 97 points: Bordeaux tasting - with a few pirates: Consistent. Consistent. Consistent. The slow build on this wine over time really spoke to me. I kept coming back to this bottle. It wasn’t too flashy. It wasn’t too classic. It was a beautiful hybrid of old and new worlds. Purple plum and black raspberry saunter arm-in-arm with deep cherry, currant, cedar, and Christmas spice notes. The equilibrium of flavor and the balanced expansion really take this to the next level. A tick up from my last bottle back on 8/30/2019. One of the few 2016s I’ve had recently that aren’t crawling into a corner, the Cos is a drink now (a decant might have made this even more alluring) or hold for another decade and check it out then. I’ll try to hold my remaining bottles until then…. Good luck with that though… (13236 views) | | | Tasted by WineBurrowingWombat on 10/29/2022 & rated 96 points: Bordeaux tasting with some Napa outsiders (The Embrace of Silence): Aromas of brooding red and black fruits, deep earth and scattered oak.
The fruits on the palate are more black, bitter tannin like black tea and dark, savory minerals.
This was a nice wake up after a few that didn't want to show their goods. This showed way more when I had it for the first time a few years ago. Age definitely did this one well. I hope age doesn't do this too hard where it goes into another phase.. (10897 views) | | | Tasted by sfwinelover1 on 10/29/2022: Bordeaux and Beyond (The csimm_M Estate): Yet another contribution from our boundlessly generous hosts. I found this more withdrawn than many of the others, as early tastes were dominated by mixed spice, forest floor, camphor, dark florals, a bit of tobacco with light amounts of mixed dark berries and a red currant/raspberry note adding a welcome lift. I’d have found it impossible to put any score on it until my last taste, when the fruit began asserting itself more and really working in tandem with the structure. At that point, this perked up to a 93-94++ for me, but it showed signs that perhaps a couple of hours later, this could have been at least a couple of points higher, and with 5 years or more of additional bottle age, a couple of more points than that. While I had a general feeling that for most of the night, all of the night in some cases, we weren’t seeing these cuvées at their best, this wine, the Montrose and the SQN seemed to be the apogees of that. Score withheld. (10572 views) | | | Tasted by bsumoba on 10/29/2022 & rated 96 points: Wine: the Gathering Old World, Bordeaux (Château de Chris et Melissa): With all the hype of the Cos, I was also excited to try this and it did not disappoint. It battled the 10 Angelus for the 2nd spot of the night all evening. Not surprisingly, this has great fruit and good balance. I have the rest of the bottle sitting at home. I will update this TN with my 3 day impression. Something tells me it will be better on Day 3. Still, a phenomenal wine and it lived up to the hype. (9537 views) | | | Tasted by ChicagoBas on 6/16/2022 & rated 96 points: Excellent. Great mouthfeel. Decanted overnight. (11268 views) | | | Tasted by Everything Ahead on 4/11/2022 & rated 96 points: (This was decanted for 6 hours and followed over 3 nights)
Day one: not much here except for a strong raw meat/blood note that actually made me worry a little about Brett (wild yeast) unfortunately. Probably a reductive note (?)
Day two: Ahh, yes, now we're talking. Kaleidoscopic aromas that change in multifarious ways as I sniff: cooked/candied dark blue/black fruits including such a pure blueberry liqueur (or is it blueberry cobbler?) note that I had to keep going back to it. Soil, camphor, cassis, and smoldering campfire/coal in the background. That meaty/bloody note still hovering around, but in a more integrated way. Finish so smooth and balanced. A "big" wine and yet not overbearing, with great acidity and alcohol in check.
Day three: The most striking strawberry (both ripe fresh and cooked/jam) notes just permeate this now, which surprised me as the fruits were totally dark blue the previous. That meaty/bloody element is there along with the coal. Everything just about in equilibrium
Cos always bewitches me. The aromatic depth they achieve is off the charts if you give it time (i.e. days) to show you what it has to offer.
This is better than the beguiling 2014, but not by much. If not for that overly strong (at first) blood/wild yeast note and preponderance of strawberry on day three, I would rate this bottle even higher. Such a promising future. Don't touch remaining bottles for 10+ years. Rating: 96+ (12368 views) | | | Tasted by Clube on 3/13/2022 & rated 100 points: 25 th McKinsey anniversary (12021 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 10/21/2021: Wine Spectator 40th Anniversary; 10/21/2021-10/23/2021 (Marriott Marquis): Very accessible, drinking well, nice fruit. I think the Chateau has changed their style a bit with time and this was showing well. (16662 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 9/4/2021 & rated 95 points: Bordeaux 2016 - 5 Years On - 8 Top Reds: All wines tasted single blind. This tasting proved again that 2016 is an amazing vintage. Compared to many other recent vintages, the 2016s show no excess in any category (especially beneficial for right banks these days) but wines that are still fully ripe. The aromatic complexity and precision are off the charts and structural frames are luxurious. Compared to the more solar 2015s wines we tasted last year, the 2016s will need more time to integrate and open up and might be a tad less charming at this point, but the potential is immense. Group winner was an incredible Ausone, ahead of the Pichon Lalande and an incredible and singular Montrose (which for me was a tied #1 with the Ausone).
TN: Expressive nose with intense ripe red and dark berry aromas, herbs and minerality. Superb precision and very inviting. On the palate the same aromas with a bright red fruit core at the center and some additional aromas fine fresh tobacco. Again, all aromas are delivered in HD. Slightly grainy tannins at first but with any minute in the glass, the wine became softer, rounder and more integrated. Very well integrated acidity providing a perfect lift. Very airy feel and creamy texture. Good length. Quite complete already but not yet the most complex wine. What was surprising, and the same is true for Montrose, is how open, ready and feminine these St. Estephe wines were showing. The Montrose (rated 97+ pts) is the better wine today (and will be in the future) but the Cos is certainly one of the best Cos ever produced too.
Decanting: Decanted for roughly 2 hours which seemed right.
Group rank: #4 out of 8 wines
Group score: 95.0 pts (18594 views) | | | Tasted by sirpat00 on 8/12/2021 & rated 95 points: Bordeaux 2016 5-years on: Small horizontal of Bordeaux 2016 five years on. We tasted 8 wines in total from 4 appellations with 2 each in every flight. The setting was single-blind. All wines were at least double-decanted. Top performers were Ausone, Pichon Lalande and Figeac, making St Emilion the best performing appellation. Pomerol, on the other hand (VCC, Conseillante) didn't shine. St Estèphe was surprisingly ready. Pauillac felt early, but incredibly structured. We kicked off with a Selosse Substance and finished with Yquem 2013 and I also snuck in a Pichon Baron 1923. Ranking of all wines included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
Bright cassis fruit, otherwise quite reductive immediately after opening hence decided to go for a 2h decant. Afterwards this added sweet, spicy accents and sour cherry fruit. Surprisingly red in terms of fruit profile on the palate. Silky texture with a linear structure to it. Early days obviously, but promising and already super palatable. The 2016 has come a long way already since bottling, taming the initial wildness. (14577 views) | | | Tasted by wineappellation on 7/13/2021 & rated 96 points: Tasted blind. Nailed it totally.
Decanted for 3 hours. Hedonistic, full and rich, gravel, cassis, tobacco, whiff of creamy sweet new oak.
Let it sleep. Will be legendary in 15-20 years. 96++ (14683 views) | | | Tasted by vcc on 3/15/2021 & rated 100 points: What a great wine and what a fantastic vintage!
Wait another 5+ years and you'll be delighted (IMO). (17979 views) | | | Tasted by nfurlong on 12/22/2020: This bottle at least, has entered the Hibernation period. PNP through Venturi, very closed. Austere. Some gravel, cigar box and hints of black raspberry, but far more acid than fruit. Capped with Argon, second day still closed. Third day ever so slightly better, some blackberry and black cherry eeking through, but based solely on this bottle, I'm afriad we're in for a long winter (decade). No rating. (14747 views) | | | Tasted by wineotim on 11/4/2020 & rated 91 points: I really wanted to join the ranks of CT reviewers to score this at 95-100, but alas another disappointing '16 Bordeaux. This vintage has to be the most overrated in recent times. This wine is medium violet, clear, with high toned flowery primary fruit. Not layered or even very interesting, thankfully there is some mild structure to carry the cherry rhubarb like flavors. I really loved the '12 and '14 vintages oddly, one wouldn't expect that typically. I would say the '16 Calon Segur is my leading candidate for being best in this hyped vintage. Sadly I can't decide whether to score this 92 or 91, so I did a coin toss. (16413 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (9/5/2022)
(Ch Cos d'Estournel St-Estèphe Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Andy Howard MW
Decanter, Bordeaux 2016 IMW tasting: top wines (12/1/2021)
(Château Cos d'Estournel, Cabernet Sauvignon, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, Château Cos d'Estournel virtual tasting (2/9/2021)
(Château Cos d'Estournel, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, Southwold: 2016 Bordeaux Blind (Aug 2020) (8/1/2020)
(Cos d'Estournel Cos d'Estournel Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (1/23/2020)
(Ch Cos d'Estournel St-Estèphe Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Bordeaux 2016: Firing On All Cylinders (2/28/2019)
(Chateau Cos D'Estournel Red) Login and sign up and see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (1/29/2019)
(Château Cos-d'Estournel St.-Estèphe, France) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2016 Bordeaux…It’s All In The Bottle (Jan 2019) (1/2/2019)
(Cos D'estournel Cos D'estournel Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, The DBs: Bordeaux 2016 In Bottle (Jan 2019) (1/1/2019)
(Cos D'estournel Cos D'estournel Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, December 2018 (12/1/2018)
(Château Cos d’Estournel St Estèphe Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, 2016 in bottle (10/7/2018)
(Château Cos d'Estournel, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, JA Cos d'Estournel Vertical (7/1/2018)
(Château Cos d'Estournel, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2016 Bordeaux: It’s Now or Never, Baby (Apr 2017) (4/17/2017)
(Cos D'estournel Cos D'estournel Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (4/5/2017)
(Ch Cos d'Estournel St-Estèphe Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (4/4/2017)
(Château Cos-d'Estournel St.-Estèphe, France) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, Bordeaux En Primeur 2016 St-Estèphe (4/2/2017)
(Château Cos d'Estournel, St-Estèphe, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, April 2017 (4/1/2017)
(Château Cos d’Estournel St Estèphe Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, Southwold: 2016 Bordeaux Blind (Aug 2020)
(Cos D'estournel Cos D'estournel Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and Decanter and Vinous and JebDunnuck.com and JamesSuckling.com and Winedoctor. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Cos d'Estournel Producer website – Read more about Chateau Cos d’EstournelRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.St. Estèphe Read more about St. Estephe and its wines Whereas the first activity recorded in Saint-Estèphe goes back as far as the Middle Bronze Age, the first vines date from the Roman Occupation. But it was the Bordeaux merchants who by aging and selling Saint-Estèphe wines themselves were largely responsible for this appellation's fame. And in the nineteenth century, noted for its prosperity, the great estates of today were created. The movement continues today with the merging of small estates.
A land of great wines, Saint-Estèphe is situated almost in the centre of the Médoc, close to the Gironde Estuary. The appellation is equidistant from Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave.
The beds of soil are characterized by their remarkable diversity, the result of their undulating relief and excellent drainage. Quartz and well-rounded pebbles mingled with light, sandy surface soil are found everywhere, giving the wines a distinctive finesse. And the subsoil is made up of the famous Saint-Estèphe limestone, which outcrops on the west of the commune.
Tasting
Thanks to ideal conditions of climate and geology, Saint-Estèphe wines are characterized by their sturdy qualities and robust constitution. Accordingly, they can be laid down for a very long time while yet preserving their youth and freshness. Distinguished by a subsoil which is more clayey than that in the other communal appellations which lie by the river, the wine here attains a distinctive individuality : a very rich tannic structure, a fine deep red colour and an exceptional backbone with aromas of great finesse.
Production conditions (Decree dated September 11, 1936):
In order to have the right to the Saint-Estèphe appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the communes of Saint-Estèphe, "excluding any parcels in that area which are situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils",
- satisfy precise production conditions : grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |
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