2021 Cos d'Estournel, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Cask sample.

Dark and reticent with a touch of cassis as the wine opens. Linear and firm with a rich but fine tannic frame. Solid through the mid palate and on through the finish. Structured and with plenty of matière. Well within itself so room to develop.

Drink 2030 - 2050

The 2021 Cos d'Estournel is one of the denser, more muscular wines of the vintage, wafting from the glass with aromas of dark berries, cassis, charcoal, sweet cigar wrapper and subtle hints of smoked meats, framed by a touch of toasty new oak. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's rich and quite concentrated for the vintage, with a chassis of sweet, generously extracted tannin and a long, lusty finish.

The 2021 Cos d’Estournel marries power with finesse. It has all the intensity that is typical of the wines here, but also a real sense of precision. Dark-toned fruit, licorice, leather, spice, tobacco and incense all unfold in a rich, heady wine with bitter, astringent tannins. The 2021 is hard to taste today, as it is decidedly quiet and understated.

Drink 2031 - 2051

The 2021 Cos d'Estournel has retained a Cabernet Sauvignon-driven nose, with pencil shaving scents infusing the black fruit, and a touch of dark chocolate and loam coming through with aeration. It is well-defined and composed, though it doesn't have the complexity of some of the great recent vintages from the estate. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly chalky tannins on the entry. Showing modest depth, it’s quite sapid, with a touch of brininess to the fruit. This is not a flamboyant Cos d'Estournel, but it is very well composed and lingers temptingly on the finish. Give this five to seven years in bottle.

Drink 2029 - 2050

The Grand Vin 2021 Château Cos D'Estournel checks in as 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot that was brought up in 55% new French oak. It's a more restrained, elegant Cos that brings beautiful red and black currant fruit as well as classic damp earth, graphite, scorched earth, and hints of tobacco leaf. This medium-bodied, elegant, seamless 2021 has ripe, polished tannins, remarkable purity, and outstanding length. At just 12.74% alcohol, pH of 3.79, and an IPT of 77, it’s up with the top handful of wines in the vintage. I’d happily drink a bottle today, but it will ideally be given 3-4 years in the cellar and should evolve for 20 or so years in cold cellars.

Drink 2027 - 2048

A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2021 Cos d’Estournel has a deep purple-black color. It hits the ground running with expressive notes of black cherries, fresh blackcurrants, and mulberries, leading to hints of violets, crushed rocks, black olives, and forest floor. Light-bodied and tightly wound in the mouth, the palate features vibrant black berry and floral layers, with a fine-grained texture and bright acidity, finishing long and minerally.

Drink 2028 - 2060

Lovely stuff, elegant and sculpted, great quality, showcasing the successful side of a cool vintage. There is some austerity, as you would expect, with chewy tannins holding blueberry and black cherry fruits, well balanced with grilled cinnamon and sandalwood smoke. 55% new oak. Among the wines of the vintage.

Drink 2028 - 2041

Floral aromas with violets, lavender and currants. Lead pencil, too. Medium-bodied, with fine tannins that caress and please. Elegant and sophisticated. Linear line of tannins running through this. Needs two or three years to soften. Hold for now.

This stands out for its structure, subtle power, balance and finesse. Perfumed and softly sweet on the nose, ripe and concentrated, glorious and inviting. Creamy and chalky at the same time, lovely texture and density with bright and concentrated strawberry and red cherry fruit. Crisp, sweet, salty and sour, a lovely combination of flavours and textures with great drive and an undercurrent of minerality and salty wet stone finish – real St-Estèphe signature.

Drink 2027 - 2048