Top shoulder fill, excellent ruby color with no signs of bricking. I coravin'ed a glass earlier in the week, and had about an hour to contemplate it. We finished the last of the bottle yesterday evening at a gathering with friends, when it followed a very fine '88 Montrose (thanks Mike!) and '05 Allemand Reynard, so between palate fatigue and slight inebriation, I trust my impressions from early in the week more. It had a lovely woodsy aroma, with cedar, forest floor and a bit of star anise and Asian spices. A bit shrill in the midpalate, this is no doubt in decline, but it still gives much pleasure to lovers of aged, classic claret.
Did not label as flawed, but wine may have had some TCA. Seemed to improve with time and was still drinkable on initial opening. Fruit was subdued and earthy undertones led the nose. medium tannins still carry the palette. Re tasted a day later and wine seemed to have improved slightly. Still not sure if the bottle was flawed - will need to try anther to be sure
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it is a little disappointment within the group after tasting the 1976 Cos with the others: the wine is declining quickly and does not give too much pleasure at the moment. Considering the "power" of Cos this is hard to believe, but it is true: drink your 1976 Cos now, because it can only go down further along the road. As a tip: it is benchmarked with 1976 Ausone which is still such a pleasant wine at the tasting.
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Not as good as the last one. Cork fell apart into the wine, so I filtered it. Musty and a bit dull, but came around with some air. Just OK, but still fun.
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garnet color , nose of asian spices , delicate. On the palate still performing , round and balanced , medium long finish. 40 years but you can't believe, only Bordeaux can live so long
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I made an unholy mess of the cork, which was damp and crumbly. Still, I avoided it falling into the wine.
The first small taste showed only old wine, and too warm.
Five minutes in a cold collar and then a decant helped. Light, but deep bricking. Old wine and floral scents on the nose, with a touch of old leather and pencil.
On the palate a hint of fruit, but mostly plum and a bit of raisin. Still some acid to help.
On the downward curve, but it got better after an hour, and was a delicious dinner companion.
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Varied and eclectic wines at Salil's (Vernon, CT): A nice aged Bordeaux with all the classic notes you would expect: dried currants, cedar, cigar box and earth. Soft and velvety on the palate but a bit more flesh would have bumped this into another level.
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Wines that didn't suck (Vernon, CT): Great fill, good cork, and very nice ruby color. The fruit is in the background, ceding to woody, tobacco notes. Bit of old-wine sourness portends the downswing. Initially - good. Perhaps 88 points.
After two hours of air - builds some richness that really improves the wine.
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A few good men, many great wines (My place, CT): One of the better showings I've had from a '76 lately. Quite a few have been tired, but this bottle was still very fresh with lots of dark berries and blackcurrant flavours, cedar, graphite, some old wood and dried tobacco leaf notes, fully mature but not in any way tired.
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Bit of funk initially blew off with 30-60 minutes of air. Pretty fruit of sweet cherry, with tobacco and savory notes. Began to fall apart after about two hours. A pretty Bordeaux that is definitely on the downswing. Drink now or a while ago.
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Sweet dark cherry fruit on the nose and palate, backed up by secondary notes of old leather, earth, and cigar box. Fruit is still in good shape though at full maturity and becoming a bit tired, particularly after about an hour. Good body, tannins are fully resolved and the finish is medium-plus or more. Good to Very Good – Drink Now
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Fully developed, there's some dusty red fruit at the core, but it's really all about the tertiary earthy, tobacco, and other savoury developed notes here. It's quite compelling to sit down with and follow for an hour or so, but after more air starts to fade into that more generic, tired old red wine territory.
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Wines from the 70's: 1975 Prieure-Lichine, 1976 Cos d'Estournel, 1978 Ducru-Beaucaillou & 1979 Leoville Las Cases.
My wine of the night. Drinking wines as old as this is a completely different experience. Earth, leather with great complexity. The fruit is no longer the backbone of the wine. The bouquet is very different from a young to middle age Bordeaux. The bouquet impressed me. The food preparation needs to be adjusted to fit with older wines. This wine went well with Roast Squab Breast and Duck Confit with Foie Gras Toast. I hope to try this wine again. Thank you Paul for the introduction!
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Earth, cedar and leather nose; lean with light fruit; needs about an hour; had some moments of soft textured sweet licorice and silky tannins with smokiness.
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Light ashy nose with earthy cedar; herbaceous with light and sweet blackberry-mocha; mature tannins and balanced; nice texture; somewhat sour and tannic on finish; better palate than nose; much more than expected from the vintage.
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Impromptu gathering - Cos, Velvet Glove, SQN, Alban, Larkmead and etc. (Charlie Palmer - Washington DC): Pleasant surprise, expressive sweet ripe black fruit driven nose, cassis, cedar, mineral, a hint of ash. Soft and round, fully integrated tannins, a bit of lead pencil/dust and medium finish. The nose remains expressive but the palate is a bit flabby. 94 point nose and 90 point palate. I kinda of like this wine, a classic claret although a bit ripe.
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Five Decades of Cos D'Estournel with Richard Brazier (Handford Wines, London): The hot 1976 vintage still is churning good wine experiences. Similar to the Pichon Lalande this was pretty solid wine. Granted its better days were behind it still it was alive, with decent fruit and a lovely balance across. Decent fruit, nice open nose. Once more good surprise from 1976
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Slightly dull nose, fruit quite tired, round and mature with a bit of a tannic bite towards the finish and a lovely end note that is quite intriguing and interesting. Drink up.
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Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs (TWO CHEFS, MIAMI, FL): The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. It smells like blackberry, black currant (cassis) and lead pencil. The body is light/medium. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes short. Alvaros wine. Past its prime.
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educational afternoon with some good friends; Bordeaux. (@ PdV): Dark ruby. The bouquet is expressive and youthful with cassis and pleasant oak. The acidity and tannin are perfectly ok. Full bodied and firm. Spreads through the whole mouth in a very pleasant way. Already delicious. This wine is in its young adult stage now and will probably improve the next 2 years and has enough power to stay on this level for several years more.
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11/13/2021 - GrapeScott wrote: 89 Points
Top shoulder fill, excellent ruby color with no signs of bricking. I coravin'ed a glass earlier in the week, and had about an hour to contemplate it. We finished the last of the bottle yesterday evening at a gathering with friends, when it followed a very fine '88 Montrose (thanks Mike!) and '05 Allemand Reynard, so between palate fatigue and slight inebriation, I trust my impressions from early in the week more. It had a lovely woodsy aroma, with cedar, forest floor and a bit of star anise and Asian spices. A bit shrill in the midpalate, this is no doubt in decline, but it still gives much pleasure to lovers of aged, classic claret.
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4/18/2020 - MWassenberg wrote: 89 Points
Did not label as flawed, but wine may have had some TCA. Seemed to improve with time and was still drinkable on initial opening. Fruit was subdued and earthy undertones led the nose. medium tannins still carry the palette. Re tasted a day later and wine seemed to have improved slightly. Still not sure if the bottle was flawed - will need to try anther to be sure
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11/12/2018 - Mmark wrote:
Declined even further than previous taster suggested. Hardly giving anything.
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1/21/2017 - John Tang wrote: 89 Points
it is a little disappointment within the group after tasting the 1976 Cos with the others: the wine is declining quickly and does not give too much pleasure at the moment. Considering the "power" of Cos this is hard to believe, but it is true: drink your 1976 Cos now, because it can only go down further along the road. As a tip: it is benchmarked with 1976 Ausone which is still such a pleasant wine at the tasting.
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10/9/2016 - kiichli wrote:
Not as good as the last one. Cork fell apart into the wine, so I filtered it. Musty and a bit dull, but came around with some air. Just OK, but still fun.
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9/29/2016 - Gian wrote: 93 Points
garnet color , nose of asian spices , delicate. On the palate still performing , round and balanced , medium long finish. 40 years but you can't believe, only Bordeaux can live so long
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6/22/2016 - kiichli wrote:
I made an unholy mess of the cork, which was damp and crumbly. Still, I avoided it falling into the wine.
The first small taste showed only old wine, and too warm.
Five minutes in a cold collar and then a decant helped. Light, but deep bricking. Old wine and floral scents on the nose, with a touch of old leather and pencil.
On the palate a hint of fruit, but mostly plum and a bit of raisin. Still some acid to help.
On the downward curve, but it got better after an hour, and was a delicious dinner companion.
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3/22/2016 - mdefreitas wrote: 91 Points
Varied and eclectic wines at Salil's (Vernon, CT): A nice aged Bordeaux with all the classic notes you would expect: dried currants, cedar, cigar box and earth. Soft and velvety on the palate but a bit more flesh would have bumped this into another level.
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3/22/2016 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 90 Points
Wines that didn't suck (Vernon, CT): Great fill, good cork, and very nice ruby color. The fruit is in the background, ceding to woody, tobacco notes. Bit of old-wine sourness portends the downswing. Initially - good. Perhaps 88 points.
After two hours of air - builds some richness that really improves the wine.
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3/22/2016 - salil wrote: 91 Points
A few good men, many great wines (My place, CT): One of the better showings I've had from a '76 lately. Quite a few have been tired, but this bottle was still very fresh with lots of dark berries and blackcurrant flavours, cedar, graphite, some old wood and dried tobacco leaf notes, fully mature but not in any way tired.
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3/19/2015 - indiscriminate palate wrote:
Bit of funk initially blew off with 30-60 minutes of air. Pretty fruit of sweet cherry, with tobacco and savory notes. Began to fall apart after about two hours. A pretty Bordeaux that is definitely on the downswing. Drink now or a while ago.
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3/19/2015 - WMWG Likes this wine:
Sweet dark cherry fruit on the nose and palate, backed up by secondary notes of old leather, earth, and cigar box. Fruit is still in good shape though at full maturity and becoming a bit tired, particularly after about an hour. Good body, tannins are fully resolved and the finish is medium-plus or more.
Good to Very Good – Drink Now
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3/19/2015 - salil wrote: 89 Points
Fully developed, there's some dusty red fruit at the core, but it's really all about the tertiary earthy, tobacco, and other savoury developed notes here. It's quite compelling to sit down with and follow for an hour or so, but after more air starts to fade into that more generic, tired old red wine territory.
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12/20/2014 - paulst Likes this wine: 94 Points
Lead pencil and rubber; smooth blackberry; textured and jammy; long sweet finish.
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12/19/2014 - CellarBord Likes this wine:
Wines from the 70's: 1975 Prieure-Lichine, 1976 Cos d'Estournel, 1978 Ducru-Beaucaillou & 1979 Leoville Las Cases.
My wine of the night. Drinking wines as old as this is a completely different experience. Earth, leather with great complexity. The fruit is no longer the backbone of the wine. The bouquet is very different from a young to middle age Bordeaux. The bouquet impressed me. The food preparation needs to be adjusted to fit with older wines. This wine went well with Roast Squab Breast and Duck Confit with Foie Gras Toast. I hope to try this wine again. Thank you Paul for the introduction!
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11/24/2014 - paulst Likes this wine: 91 Points
Earth, cedar and leather nose; lean with light fruit; needs about an hour; had some moments of soft textured sweet licorice and silky tannins with smokiness.
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10/13/2014 - paulst Likes this wine: 91 Points
Light ashy nose with earthy cedar; herbaceous with light and sweet blackberry-mocha; mature tannins and balanced; nice texture; somewhat sour and tannic on finish; better palate than nose; much more than expected from the vintage.
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9/2/2014 - dcwino wrote: 92 Points
Impromptu gathering - Cos, Velvet Glove, SQN, Alban, Larkmead and etc. (Charlie Palmer - Washington DC): Pleasant surprise, expressive sweet ripe black fruit driven nose, cassis, cedar, mineral, a hint of ash. Soft and round, fully integrated tannins, a bit of lead pencil/dust and medium finish. The nose remains expressive but the palate is a bit flabby. 94 point nose and 90 point palate. I kinda of like this wine, a classic claret although a bit ripe.
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3/18/2014 - Papies wrote: 91 Points
Five Decades of Cos D'Estournel with Richard Brazier (Handford Wines, London): The hot 1976 vintage still is churning good wine experiences. Similar to the Pichon Lalande this was pretty solid wine. Granted its better days were behind it still it was alive, with decent fruit and a lovely balance across. Decent fruit, nice open nose. Once more good surprise from 1976
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3/18/2014 - rossi.wine wrote: 90 Points
Slightly dull nose, fruit quite tired, round and mature with a bit of a tannic bite towards the finish and a lovely end note that is quite intriguing and interesting. Drink up.
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1/28/2014 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 89 Points
Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs (TWO CHEFS, MIAMI, FL): The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. It smells like blackberry, black currant (cassis) and lead pencil. The body is light/medium. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes short. Alvaros wine. Past its prime.
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1/5/2013 - Burgundy Al wrote: 89 Points
Another Saturday at Knightsbridge - mostly blind (Northbrook, IL): Earthy with some good, remaining ripe black fruit. Still good tannins, not much acidity. Moderate spice. finesse and length.
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12/31/2012 - mplsbruin Likes this wine: 90 Points
12/31/2012
Massive Cos D’Estournel Blind Tasting
73, 76, 78, 89, 96, 2000, 2002, 2003
Notes: "good color, medium fruit, some tannin, very nice"
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4/27/1993 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 90 Points
Christie's Pre-Sale Tasting (Amsterdam): A lovely and lively wine.
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6/3/1992 - cos65 wrote:
brick red mature claret
****
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1/1/1990 - bacchus wrote: 90 Points
great bottle. i love cos more than most other tasters.
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11/14/1987 - Zweder wrote: 90 Points
educational afternoon with some good friends; Bordeaux. (@ PdV): Dark ruby. The bouquet is expressive and youthful with cassis and pleasant oak. The acidity and tannin are perfectly ok. Full bodied and firm. Spreads through the whole mouth in a very pleasant way. Already delicious. This wine is in its young adult stage now and will probably improve the next 2 years and has enough power to stay on this level for several years more.
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