Full throttle BDX. Napa-esque. There is warmth but it holds alcohol well. Tons of fruit. Almost syrupy I mean it is all there but it is just so much. 2016 is anorexic by comparison.
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Bordeaux 2018 - 5 Years On - 7 Reds: Time to check in on some top 2018s, and the initial observations were all confirmed: A) This is obviously the ripest, sweetest Bordeaux vintage in the last decade. While only one wine (Cos d'Estournel, 88pts) was overripe and overdone, two others (Calon Segur - 94pts, Grand Puy Lacoste - 91pts) are not for purists and are quite sweet - at least this young. B) Despite the ripeness, the wines are generally very balanced and harmonious, not as extracted or thick as many 2009/2010s. C) The structural frames are of high quality with ultra-fine tannins and good acid backbones. However, with so many other great vintages produced in recent years, this is not the vintage to chase - especially for purists. The group winner was the highly elegant, seductive yet aristocratic Pichon Lalande (rated 95pts), just ahead of my WOTN, the floral, perfumed, airy Canon (96pts).
TN: Holy shit, that’s troubling! Two bottles of Cos tasted double blind, both bought En Primeur from different sources, both stored in different cellars under ideal conditions and both bottles showed worrisome signs of decline with soy sauce notes and some hints of oxidation that reminded me of many over-extracted, overripe (and today dead) wines of the first decade of this century. Both bottles opened with very ripe, slightly overripe red berries, earthy notes and crushed rocks… and then all the Cos spiciness. With time oxidation and soy sauce notes become more and more noticeable. The structure is impeccable, but the wine seems to be already on a downward path. In the best moments this was drinking quite well and on a 92-ish level but in hindsight, all these concerning notes of decay and the overripeness make the 88pts rather seem generous.
Decanting: The first bottle decanted for two hours, the second not decanted. Consistent results.
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Part of a small Bordeaux 2018 5-years on tasting. The wines were partially served single-blind. Main observations: 1/ the vintage pairs concentration and ripeness with weightless and elegant structures. 2/ tannins are generally finely grained and well-integrated. 3/ Extraction levels managed well with only 1 instance of heat and no overripe fruit. 4/ Best bottles were Canon and Pichon Longueville.
Tasting note: Deeply earthy with a cool mineral fundament. Ripe and extracted blueberry and dark cherry. Unfortunately there was notable heat as well and distracting oak. This felt engineered, same on the palate which showed rather imbalanced , astringent and out of whack. But more sweet and fruity in the second pour, hence could still improve with some time.
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Part of a small Bordeaux 2018 5-years on tasting. The wines were partially served single-blind. Main observations: 1/ the vintage pairs concentration and ripeness with weightless and elegant structures. 2/ tannins are generally finely grained and well-integrated. 3/ Extraction levels managed well with only 1 instance of heat and no overripe fruit. 4/ Best bottles were Canon and Pichon Longueville.
Tasting note: Decanted 2h. Fresh from the bottle this appeared to be singing. But after the decant this came across rather restrained and closed, an unexpected anis and menthol touch. Earthy bases but very subtle The palate was stern with a long finish and grippy tannin. In the end something didn‘t tie up here and the group was wondering if this was a bad bottle. Had a second bottle blind which was better, but still far from greatness.
Commanderie de Bordeaux: 2000 Lafite, LLC, & Cos (The Minikahda Club, Mpls): Very dark red/purple saturated color. Double decanted, slow O for about 3 hours. Drank a glass over 2 plus hours. Juicy purple fruits, dense, firm, oak, black licorice, Indian spice box, a bit bitter presently on the mid and back end. There's a lot of fruit, but this, as you might expect from a young Cos, is wrapped up in structure and oak at this point. The most backwards of the trio of '18 Lafite, LLC, and Cos. Score reserved.
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What can you say? Tastes like it was made to be impressive and indeed, it is impressive. It's been a long time since I've had it besides a First Growth, but I would have to believe that the wine is all there.
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Anhelo Cos d'Estournel Dinner: [Anhelo Cos d'Estournel Dinner] Drank alongside the 2000 and 2018 Cos. Most tightly wound up (obviously) with black fruit, violet, bramble, sour cherries and licorice. This is very tannic and big, with almost Napa-styled fruit (but no over-extraction). Long complex finish. Really hard to tell how this will evolve, but definitely requires time. 92-93 today.
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This remains as lovely as when we had it last November. Delicious with tortellini , Alfredo sauce with blue cheese chunks, walnuts and Pippin Apple pieces added. Also had Romaine spear lettuce salad.
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No notes but this is a heck of a wine! Beautiful dark fruits and mineral that is drinking so damn well now (similar to how Calon Segur was previously but this wine is an overall better build - balance and potential). Excellent 94++
74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Massive and broad in the aromas. Powerful berry character of blackberries, plums, lots of graphite, leather, forest spices, barrel spices and salts. Full-bodied and solid wine that still manages to stay healthy. Powerful fruit of blackberries, plums, leather, matches, smoke and slightly sweet fruit peel. Long, complex finish. Structured and great wine in the masculine genre.
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Bordeaux 2018 - Langtons tasting (Virtual with samples sent): The most voluptuous of wines tasted. A real fruit cake experience. Mixed fruit with spices. Deep and brooding but still with an apparent frame of structure holding it all nicely together.
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Nose: [58°] Fresh red plums, dried fibrous red cedar bark, red berries, fresh forest floor basked in sunlight. [64°] With time in the glass comes graphite, darker earth and a dried up riverbed. With tons of air time, the dark fruit becomes more like a blueberry and blackberry puree.
Palate: [58°-64°] Dark yet fresh red fruits, brooding earth with black mulch, softly spiced damp oak and refreshing river minerals. Great acidity that carries the fruits and minerals high and refreshing while maintaining a dark fruit profile, keeping the dark earth riding just a notch below as support. Minerals linger long into the finish with the addition of dark graphite and pleasantly bitter earth.
Attributes: Clear dark medium ruby. Dry with medium-plus amounts of fine, grippy tannin. Medium-plus body with medium-plus acidity. Great finish of at least 20-22 seconds.
Thoughts: This took a while to really hit its stride, it wasn't until around the 8-9 hour mark did this start to really taste good. Unfortunately, I was impatient (as always).. I did too much tasting in between, digging for the goods. I should have waited longer; it was my last two glasses that were the best. This is very much like a coarsely shaded piece of drawing at the moment. This will become a much more integrated and refined with a handful of years, becoming nicely detailed and much finer in shading. 96+
Serving notes: Bordeaux glass. Emptied bottle into a decanter at cellar temp ~55° for 3 hours before serving, continued to decant while consumed over another 7 hours (total 10 hrs). Recommend serving ~64° with a decant of at least 8 hours at cellar temp if opening now.
Inky. Open nose, dark berries, chocolate, cigar notes. Flamboyant palate with dark berries and spice popping up. Fine gripping tannins. Sweet long finish.
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Taste with Langton's 2018 Top Chateau of Bordeaux - virtual event. Decanted two hours prior.
Appearance: deep mulberry. Nose: black fruits, dark chocolate, spice and a hint of earth and barnyard (though not unpleasant). Palate: full bodied, big tannins as expected for a young St Estephe. A great wine but needs time (20+ years for me).
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Nose- Dark fruit and forest loam. Palate - Delicious dark fruit, smooth, long finish. A beautiful wine! Great with strozapretti, asparagus and Alfredo sauce!
11/5/21 - Is also wonderful with Margarita pizza!
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The dryness of this beautiful wine is severe and gets in the way of all the beautiful thick fruit that gave that dryness birth. This is probably one of the more full boded wines of 2018 left bank, and while its going to take time for it to fall into perfection, It is so sexy and drinkable now. In general the 2018's are probably the sweetest Bordeaux's I have tasted dating back to my start in 2000, and this Cos, is the poster child for the vintage. Its red and black fruit compote swimming in smoldering earth and violets. HOLD
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Vinous Seminar: Use to be a brutish wine and now new modern gravity feed winery treats more gentle, more refined tannins. Easier to drink younger now. Higher Merlot gives lush dark quality.
Dark inky earthy black cherry aromas dominate here. Violet floral edge. Dark coffee black fruits deep, cedar, tobacco. Big powerful wine and velvety voluptuous lush texture. Long sweet tannins with massive fruit. Big round tannic structure makes me wonder if it shuts down. Lots of energy here and broad texture. Meant to lay down. See this getting more complex, great raw materials. Really good potential and a sense of serious breed here. 96-98
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98 vvPunkte Leuchtendes Rubin. Die Nase ist ein kleines Spektakel, ungemein komplex mit der für Cos so typischen Kräuterwürze, dazu Mokka, blonder Tabak, eine herrliche Frucht, Blaubeeren, Cassis, florale Töne, steinig kühle Noten, ein Gedicht. Im Gaumen weich und vollmundig, opulent, bereits erstaunlich zugänglich und dennoch mit jugendlicher Kraft, konzentrierte Frucht duelliert mit feinsten Tanninen, die Qualität derer ist über alle Zweifel erhaben, der Wein zeigt Spannung, Struktur, Opulenz und Eleganz. Im Abgang trotz seines mächtigen Charakters erstaunlich frisch und leichtfüssig. Bestätigt die guten Eindrücke, die ich schon En Primeur hatte. Das ist ganz sicher einer der schönsten Cos d’Estournel, die je produziert wurden. 2025-2045+ (April 2021) vvWine.ch
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I have always been a big fan of Cos although the price is a stretch for me, the quality is undoubtedly gone up over the years. This is just a beautiful wine which retains the typical Cos notes but with wonderful purity and less heavily extracted than some of the previous vintages. I love it and am tempted to buy a case but there are so many great 2018s I think deliver as much pleasure for 1/2 the price, including Potent Canet, Canon, Smith Haute Lafite and Haute-Bailly which are now in my cellar. But this really has it all, a delicious, pure, elegant, complex, knocks your socks off wine.
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Just a stunning bottle of wine, everything is rocking here. Deep and dark in color, the nose pops with flowers, licorice, 5 spice, currants, blackberries, orange rind, smoke and cigar wrapper. Full-bodied, elegant, long, deep, rich and pure, the vibrancy in the fruit keeps the seemingly-endless, expansive finish on the tip of your palate. Blended from 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the wine comes in at 14.5%. Much less wine was made this year as yields were only 30 hectoliters per hectare.
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Nose: perfumed and effusive right away.. Sweet and tart red berry notes, cherry, blackberry, graphite, swisher sweet tobacco and floral notes. Palate: rounded and expansive in the mouth with a layer of chocolate cherry from the merlot, creamy roundness and blackberry, graphite and cassis from the cabernet. Component parts are so idenetifiable. Finish: Already long and detailed, but so much room to grow.
A nice showing of the material in this bottle. Another modern winner from Cos d'Estournel
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Kerpow! This is a big but balanced Cos, fun and effusive with a sumptuous, billowy boysenberry, plum, graphite, inky, potpourri nose. Plush and lush on the palate, this is admittedly a bit warm - but it’s not hot. It carries the ABV well in a way that many winemakers would do well to examine. Does it pip the 2016? Not for me. But does it deserve a place in the cellar? Does it show off the vintage in a masterful manner? Is it fun to drink? Yes, yes, and yes.
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Saint Estephe mainstay from a great year. 14.5% ABV. First delivery from my 2018 futures, but only the 375mL came so far.
Pop, decant in the bottle about an hour, then pour.
Deep ruby, into purple. Intense nose of fresh huckleberry with menthol.
Front, strong almost overwhelming blackberries, graduating to blueberries with a little sweetness about the middle, with some cigar, graphite and cedar on the back. Lingering with spices and blueberry on the tongue. This is an intense wine, tons of tannins. I plan to cellar for about 20 years. Lovely.
Edit: after another hour in the bottle, the blueberry and slight sweetness become more pronounced and the overwhelming front has calmed down a little.
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2018 Bordeaux tasting event (Stockholm): Lots of deep dark fruit, cassis, sour cherries, licorice, grass, spices i.e. very much more complex nose than most. Perfectly pitched with great balance and with brilliant prospects. 97-98p
Tasted after 2018 Calon Segur and next to 2009 Cos. A bit darker and more concentrated than the former, less delicate and vibrant. More power and weight, lovely dark fruit, notes of spices, tobacco, graphite, liquorice. Lots of depth and structure, ripe tannins, well integrated acidity. Impressive length. Excellent. 96-97+
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EP2018 tasting: Wow nose and bouquet - black fruits, spices, perfume of flowers. Palate of black fruits, plums, liquorice with slight tobacco and mint leaf tertiaries. Full bodied and decadent, yet not overwhelming. Savoury. Long warm finish. I’m impressed. Tasted 3 times tonight. One of the top 3 EP2018 tasted tonight. 93-97
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With its telltale Asian spice perfume, the color is impossible to see through. Full-bodied, dense, rich and fleshy, the wine coats your palate with a display of red and black fruits, spice, smoke, earth and licorice. The tannins are polished. The fruit, even with this much weight and flesh, remains fresh and balanced. The finish keeps on going long after the wine has left its glass and gone to where it was intended to go. I timed it, and it surpassed the 60 second mark! This is positively stunning and if you’re a lover of COS, as this is one of the best vintages produced in the long history of the estate, this belongs in your cellar. The wine was made from blending 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, reaching 14.6% alcohol with a pH of 3.7. The harvest took place September 19 to October 6. The Grand Vin was made from only 65% of the harvest. 98-100 Pts
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Geproefd op Château Cos d’ Estournel op woensdag 03.04.2019. 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot en 1% Cabernet Franc. Indrukwekkend, ristretto. Lang, niet drogend. Goede zuurgraad! 96-98
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2/3/2024 - RickyBobby62 Likes this wine: 95 Points
95. Beautiful bouquet. Blackberry fruit, then a coffee taste, with a vanilla finish. Really good now.
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9/9/2023 - Eriklainen wrote:
Full throttle BDX. Napa-esque. There is warmth but it holds alcohol well. Tons of fruit. Almost syrupy
I mean it is all there but it is just so much. 2016 is anorexic by comparison.
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9/3/2023 - Cailles wrote: 88 Points
Bordeaux 2018 - 5 Years On - 7 Reds: Time to check in on some top 2018s, and the initial observations were all confirmed: A) This is obviously the ripest, sweetest Bordeaux vintage in the last decade. While only one wine (Cos d'Estournel, 88pts) was overripe and overdone, two others (Calon Segur - 94pts, Grand Puy Lacoste - 91pts) are not for purists and are quite sweet - at least this young. B) Despite the ripeness, the wines are generally very balanced and harmonious, not as extracted or thick as many 2009/2010s. C) The structural frames are of high quality with ultra-fine tannins and good acid backbones. However, with so many other great vintages produced in recent years, this is not the vintage to chase - especially for purists. The group winner was the highly elegant, seductive yet aristocratic Pichon Lalande (rated 95pts), just ahead of my WOTN, the floral, perfumed, airy Canon (96pts).
TN: Holy shit, that’s troubling! Two bottles of Cos tasted double blind, both bought En Primeur from different sources, both stored in different cellars under ideal conditions and both bottles showed worrisome signs of decline with soy sauce notes and some hints of oxidation that reminded me of many over-extracted, overripe (and today dead) wines of the first decade of this century. Both bottles opened with very ripe, slightly overripe red berries, earthy notes and crushed rocks… and then all the Cos spiciness. With time oxidation and soy sauce notes become more and more noticeable. The structure is impeccable, but the wine seems to be already on a downward path. In the best moments this was drinking quite well and on a 92-ish level but in hindsight, all these concerning notes of decay and the overripeness make the 88pts rather seem generous.
Decanting: The first bottle decanted for two hours, the second not decanted. Consistent results.
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6/19/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 90 Points
Part of a small Bordeaux 2018 5-years on tasting. The wines were partially served single-blind. Main observations: 1/ the vintage pairs concentration and ripeness with weightless and elegant structures. 2/ tannins are generally finely grained and well-integrated. 3/ Extraction levels managed well with only 1 instance of heat and no overripe fruit. 4/ Best bottles were Canon and Pichon Longueville.
Tasting note:
Deeply earthy with a cool mineral fundament. Ripe and extracted blueberry and dark cherry. Unfortunately there was notable heat as well and distracting oak. This felt engineered, same on the palate which showed rather imbalanced , astringent and out of whack. But more sweet and fruity in the second pour, hence could still improve with some time.
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6/19/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 86 Points
Part of a small Bordeaux 2018 5-years on tasting. The wines were partially served single-blind. Main observations: 1/ the vintage pairs concentration and ripeness with weightless and elegant structures. 2/ tannins are generally finely grained and well-integrated. 3/ Extraction levels managed well with only 1 instance of heat and no overripe fruit. 4/ Best bottles were Canon and Pichon Longueville.
Tasting note:
Decanted 2h. Fresh from the bottle this appeared to be singing. But after the decant this came across rather restrained and closed, an unexpected anis and menthol touch. Earthy bases but very subtle The palate was stern with a long finish and grippy tannin. In the end something didn‘t tie up here and the group was wondering if this was a bad bottle. Had a second bottle blind which was better, but still far from greatness.
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6/14/2023 - rocknroller wrote:
Commanderie de Bordeaux: 2000 Lafite, LLC, & Cos (The Minikahda Club, Mpls): Very dark red/purple saturated color. Double decanted, slow O for about 3 hours. Drank a glass over 2 plus hours. Juicy purple fruits, dense, firm, oak, black licorice, Indian spice box, a bit bitter presently on the mid and back end. There's a lot of fruit, but this, as you might expect from a young Cos, is wrapped up in structure and oak at this point. The most backwards of the trio of '18 Lafite, LLC, and Cos. Score reserved.
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4/8/2023 - pdemaio wrote: 95 Points
Unbelievably smooth for such a you wine. A lot of berry flavors. Blueberry, huckleberry, salal berry.
Long finish—40+seconds
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11/20/2022 - Jason Wu Likes this wine: 94 Points
Inky, graphite, cedar, cassis. Powerful and intense. Too young! 94++
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11/1/2022 - Irish_Wine wrote: 94 Points
Medium ruby.
Ripe and concentrated on the nose. Blackcurrant, blackberry, black cherry, mint, graphite, cedar, vanilla.
Concentrated and intense on the palate. Lovely long finish.
*** Tasted as part of a walkaround 2018 Bordeaux tasting. Not full notes ***
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10/31/2022 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
What can you say? Tastes like it was made to be impressive and indeed, it is impressive. It's been a long time since I've had it besides a First Growth, but I would have to believe that the wine is all there.
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10/26/2022 - Michael Hung Likes this wine: 93 Points
Anhelo Cos d'Estournel Dinner: [Anhelo Cos d'Estournel Dinner] Drank alongside the 2000 and 2018 Cos.
Most tightly wound up (obviously) with black fruit, violet, bramble, sour cherries and licorice. This is very tannic and big, with almost Napa-styled fruit (but no over-extraction). Long complex finish. Really hard to tell how this will evolve, but definitely requires time. 92-93 today.
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10/6/2022 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Made to be impressive. And it is impressive.
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8/30/2022 - CourtlyDoc Likes this wine: 94 Points
This remains as lovely as when we had it last November. Delicious with tortellini , Alfredo sauce with blue cheese chunks, walnuts and Pippin Apple pieces added. Also had Romaine spear lettuce salad.
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8/22/2022 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 94 Points
No notes but this is a heck of a wine! Beautiful dark fruits and mineral that is drinking so damn well now (similar to how Calon Segur was previously but this wine is an overall better build - balance and potential). Excellent 94++
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11/30/2021 - Andre Brattland wrote: 95 Points
74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Massive and broad in the aromas. Powerful berry character of blackberries, plums, lots of graphite, leather, forest spices, barrel spices and salts. Full-bodied and solid wine that still manages to stay healthy. Powerful fruit of blackberries, plums, leather, matches, smoke and slightly sweet fruit peel. Long, complex finish. Structured and great wine in the masculine genre.
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11/23/2021 - nwebstar Likes this wine: 96 Points
Bordeaux 2018 - Langtons tasting (Virtual with samples sent): The most voluptuous of wines tasted. A real fruit cake experience. Mixed fruit with spices. Deep and brooding but still with an apparent frame of structure holding it all nicely together.
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11/21/2021 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 96 Points
Nose: [58°] Fresh red plums, dried fibrous red cedar bark, red berries, fresh forest floor basked in sunlight. [64°] With time in the glass comes graphite, darker earth and a dried up riverbed. With tons of air time, the dark fruit becomes more like a blueberry and blackberry puree.
Palate: [58°-64°] Dark yet fresh red fruits, brooding earth with black mulch, softly spiced damp oak and refreshing river minerals. Great acidity that carries the fruits and minerals high and refreshing while maintaining a dark fruit profile, keeping the dark earth riding just a notch below as support. Minerals linger long into the finish with the addition of dark graphite and pleasantly bitter earth.
Attributes: Clear dark medium ruby. Dry with medium-plus amounts of fine, grippy tannin. Medium-plus body with medium-plus acidity. Great finish of at least 20-22 seconds.
Thoughts: This took a while to really hit its stride, it wasn't until around the 8-9 hour mark did this start to really taste good. Unfortunately, I was impatient (as always).. I did too much tasting in between, digging for the goods. I should have waited longer; it was my last two glasses that were the best. This is very much like a coarsely shaded piece of drawing at the moment. This will become a much more integrated and refined with a handful of years, becoming nicely detailed and much finer in shading. 96+
Serving notes: Bordeaux glass. Emptied bottle into a decanter at cellar temp ~55° for 3 hours before serving, continued to decant while consumed over another 7 hours (total 10 hrs). Recommend serving ~64° with a decant of at least 8 hours at cellar temp if opening now.
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11/7/2021 - iobtoel Likes this wine: 96 Points
Inky. Open nose, dark berries, chocolate, cigar notes. Flamboyant palate with dark berries and spice popping up. Fine gripping tannins. Sweet long finish.
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11/4/2021 - BAJRiley Likes this wine: 96 Points
Taste with Langton's 2018 Top Chateau of Bordeaux - virtual event. Decanted two hours prior.
Appearance: deep mulberry. Nose: black fruits, dark chocolate, spice and a hint of earth and barnyard (though not unpleasant). Palate: full bodied, big tannins as expected for a young St Estephe. A great wine but needs time (20+ years for me).
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11/4/2021 - CourtlyDoc Likes this wine: 95 Points
Nose- Dark fruit and forest loam.
Palate - Delicious dark fruit, smooth, long finish. A beautiful wine!
Great with strozapretti, asparagus and Alfredo sauce!
11/5/21 - Is also wonderful with Margarita pizza!
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8/30/2021 - Purple Tooth wrote: 97 Points
The dryness of this beautiful wine is severe and gets in the way of all the beautiful thick fruit that gave that dryness birth. This is probably one of the more full boded wines of 2018 left bank, and while its going to take time for it to fall into perfection, It is so sexy and drinkable now. In general the 2018's are probably the sweetest Bordeaux's I have tasted dating back to my start in 2000, and this Cos, is the poster child for the vintage. Its red and black fruit compote swimming in smoldering earth and violets. HOLD
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6/6/2021 - KenK Likes this wine: 97 Points
Vinous Seminar: Use to be a brutish wine and now new modern gravity feed winery treats more gentle, more refined tannins. Easier to drink younger now. Higher Merlot gives lush dark quality.
Dark inky earthy black cherry aromas dominate here. Violet floral edge. Dark coffee black fruits deep, cedar, tobacco. Big powerful wine and velvety voluptuous lush texture. Long sweet tannins with massive fruit. Big round tannic structure makes me wonder if it shuts down. Lots of energy here and broad texture. Meant to lay down. See this getting more complex, great raw materials. Really good potential and a sense of serious breed here. 96-98
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5/22/2021 - vvWine.ch wrote: 98 Points
98 vvPunkte Leuchtendes Rubin. Die Nase ist ein kleines Spektakel, ungemein komplex mit der für Cos so typischen Kräuterwürze, dazu Mokka, blonder Tabak, eine herrliche Frucht, Blaubeeren, Cassis, florale Töne, steinig kühle Noten, ein Gedicht. Im Gaumen weich und vollmundig, opulent, bereits erstaunlich zugänglich und dennoch mit jugendlicher Kraft, konzentrierte Frucht duelliert mit feinsten Tanninen, die Qualität derer ist über alle Zweifel erhaben, der Wein zeigt Spannung, Struktur, Opulenz und Eleganz. Im Abgang trotz seines mächtigen Charakters erstaunlich frisch und leichtfüssig. Bestätigt die guten Eindrücke, die ich schon En Primeur hatte. Das ist ganz sicher einer der schönsten Cos d’Estournel, die je produziert wurden. 2025-2045+ (April 2021) vvWine.ch
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3/13/2021 - Pianojim wrote: 99 Points
I have always been a big fan of Cos although the price is a stretch for me, the quality is undoubtedly gone up over the years. This is just a beautiful wine which retains the typical Cos notes but with wonderful purity and less heavily extracted than some of the previous vintages. I love it and am tempted to buy a case but there are so many great 2018s I think deliver as much pleasure for 1/2 the price, including Potent Canet, Canon, Smith Haute Lafite and Haute-Bailly which are now in my cellar. But this really has it all, a delicious, pure, elegant, complex, knocks your socks off wine.
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3/9/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Just a stunning bottle of wine, everything is rocking here. Deep and dark in color, the nose pops with flowers, licorice, 5 spice, currants, blackberries, orange rind, smoke and cigar wrapper. Full-bodied, elegant, long, deep, rich and pure, the vibrancy in the fruit keeps the seemingly-endless, expansive finish on the tip of your palate. Blended from 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the wine comes in at 14.5%. Much less wine was made this year as yields were only 30 hectoliters per hectare.
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1/31/2021 - RockinCabs wrote: 96 Points
Nose: perfumed and effusive right away.. Sweet and tart red berry notes, cherry, blackberry, graphite, swisher sweet tobacco and floral notes.
Palate: rounded and expansive in the mouth with a layer of chocolate cherry from the merlot, creamy roundness and blackberry, graphite and cassis from the cabernet. Component parts are so idenetifiable.
Finish: Already long and detailed, but so much room to grow.
A nice showing of the material in this bottle. Another modern winner from Cos d'Estournel
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1/29/2021 - englishman's claret wrote: 96 Points
Kerpow! This is a big but balanced Cos, fun and effusive with a sumptuous, billowy boysenberry, plum, graphite, inky, potpourri nose. Plush and lush on the palate, this is admittedly a bit warm - but it’s not hot. It carries the ABV well in a way that many winemakers would do well to examine. Does it pip the 2016? Not for me. But does it deserve a place in the cellar? Does it show off the vintage in a masterful manner? Is it fun to drink? Yes, yes, and yes.
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11/17/2020 - novocane wrote: 97 Points
Saint Estephe mainstay from a great year. 14.5% ABV. First delivery from my 2018 futures, but only the 375mL came so far.
Pop, decant in the bottle about an hour, then pour.
Deep ruby, into purple.
Intense nose of fresh huckleberry with menthol.
Front, strong almost overwhelming blackberries, graduating to blueberries with a little sweetness about the middle, with some cigar, graphite and cedar on the back. Lingering with spices and blueberry on the tongue. This is an intense wine, tons of tannins. I plan to cellar for about 20 years. Lovely.
Edit: after another hour in the bottle, the blueberry and slight sweetness become more pronounced and the overwhelming front has calmed down a little.
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10/3/2019 - Mascarello59 Likes this wine: 98 Points
2018 Bordeaux tasting event (Stockholm): Lots of deep dark fruit, cassis, sour cherries, licorice, grass, spices i.e. very much more complex nose than most. Perfectly pitched with great balance and with brilliant prospects. 97-98p
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7/3/2019 - rossi.wine wrote: 97 Points
Tasted after 2018 Calon Segur and next to 2009 Cos. A bit darker and more concentrated than the former, less delicate and vibrant. More power and weight, lovely dark fruit, notes of spices, tobacco, graphite, liquorice. Lots of depth and structure, ripe tannins, well integrated acidity. Impressive length. Excellent. 96-97+
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6/1/2019 - vinhonotte Likes this wine: 95 Points
Vintage Club - Bordeaux 2018 En-Primeur and Gala Dinner (Andaz Hotel): Nose and palate driven by chocolate and cherry. Acidic, tannic, intense and high alcohol. A buckload of cassis fruits, and strawberry, wheat and grass. Showing up really well at such a young age. Nice!
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6/1/2019 - dnnk88 Likes this wine:
EP2018 tasting: Wow nose and bouquet - black fruits, spices, perfume of flowers. Palate of black fruits, plums, liquorice with slight tobacco and mint leaf tertiaries. Full bodied and decadent, yet not overwhelming. Savoury. Long warm finish. I’m impressed. Tasted 3 times tonight. One of the top 3 EP2018 tasted tonight. 93-97
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4/19/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
With its telltale Asian spice perfume, the color is impossible to see through. Full-bodied, dense, rich and fleshy, the wine coats your palate with a display of red and black fruits, spice, smoke, earth and licorice. The tannins are polished. The fruit, even with this much weight and flesh, remains fresh and balanced. The finish keeps on going long after the wine has left its glass and gone to where it was intended to go. I timed it, and it surpassed the 60 second mark! This is positively stunning and if you’re a lover of COS, as this is one of the best vintages produced in the long history of the estate, this belongs in your cellar. The wine was made from blending 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, reaching 14.6% alcohol with a pH of 3.7. The harvest took place September 19 to October 6. The Grand Vin was made from only 65% of the harvest. 98-100 Pts
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4/3/2019 - dvansteenderen Likes this wine: 97 Points
Geproefd op Château Cos d’ Estournel op woensdag 03.04.2019.
74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot en 1% Cabernet Franc.
Indrukwekkend, ristretto. Lang, niet drogend. Goede zuurgraad! 96-98
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