Château Cos d'Estournel 2018

Cos d'Estournel is likewise a true child of its vintage, remarkably fiery, with very fine-grained tannins and a long, powerful finish of dried fruits.

This is a bird of a different feather, with a ripe, sleek and very polished feel as creamed loganberry, plum and boysenberry flavors spill forth, flanked for support by singed alder and incense notes, while black tea and savory threads curl around the finish. Long, showy and lovely. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2038. 16,600 cases made.

A little closed on the nose, and also on the attack. There is a wall of tannin here but backed up by voluptuously ripe fruits that major on damson and fig, overlaid with cinnamon and saffron spices. Lilting acidity through the finish keeps a sense of momentum. This is powerful with ambition, and it carries it off perfectly. 65% of production went into the grand vin. 1% Petit Verdot makes up the blend, and the wine was aged in 50% new oak (a little lower than the usual 60%).

The richness and beauty of this wine is impressive with blackcurrant, cherry, berry and fresh cloves. The fruit is so pure here. Full-bodied with tannins that are so integrated and refined that you don’t feel them, yet they are there! Very creamy and layered with great length and beauty. It turns to tar and licorice at the finish. Tight now, but the texture is special. Try after 2027.

The 2018 Cos d’Estournel showed a lot of promise when I tasted it from barrel. Now in bottle and given a 2–3-hour decant, it has a gorgeous and disarmingly pure bouquet, slightly high-toned with iodine scents infusing the lush blackberry and boysenberry aromas. The oak is seamlessly integrated. The palate is fresh and crisp on entry, delivering silky-smooth tannins, perfect acidity and a sense of harmony that is very persuasive. I cannot recall a Cos d’Estournel in recent years with such fine tannins. It gently fans out toward the finish while retaining superb precision, completing what is a beautifully crafted Cos d’Estournel with a long future ahead.

Just a stunning bottle of wine, everything is rocking here. Deep and dark in color, the nose pops with flowers, licorice, five-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.

Dark ruby, purple reflections, subtle brightening on the rim. An immensely multifaceted and seductive bouquet with notes of cassis and fresh fig, but also red berries, exotic spices and noble wood. Full-bodied, complex, pronounced fruit, dark cherry, perfect tannins, round and ripe, dark berries and fine nougat and mineral, red cherry on the finish. Great ageing potential and will keep for decades. (2020-2060).

Opaque purple with a black core. Complex bouquet of ripe blackberries, dark cherry, and exotic woods. On the second pass, raspberry drops and Burley tobacco. On the powerful palate, a butter-smooth texture, finely grained extract richness, a tightly woven tannic framework, and a muscular body. In the focused finish, the St.-Estèphe tightens its grip and sharpens its claws with black-berry contours, dried rosemary, and shows that typically, seemingly arrogant astringency — it echoes for minutes. Today it proved me wrong, and accordingly it earns the higher score!

Kunz barrel sample 19: (74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, 14.59% alc. by vol.) Fresh, powerful, elegant, mineral bouquet; blue and black berries, tobacco, licorice, Black Currant. Balanced, classic, aromatic palate with dense fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a finely muscular structure, diverse aromatics, and a long, firm, aromatic finish. Has room to improve.

Fresh, spicy, fruity bouquet, cassis, licorice, fresh herbs. Dense, finely structured, aromatic palate with fine sandy tannins, dark fruit, powerful aromatics, long, bitter finish. 18/20 2024 - 2048

Just over the border from Pauillac into St Estèphe, Michel Reybier’s Cos d’Estournel is, for me, the wine of the 2018 vintage in St Estèphe. Perhaps because it often showcases turmeric, cinnamon and saffron spices, finding them in 2018 feels in keeping with the property’s signature flavours rather than being overly marked by the vintage conditions. There is complexity and power here, with damson, fig, cassis and blackberry fruits alongside muscular tannins. Fresh acidity through the finish keeps the momentum, and this is powerful and ambitious, carrying it off perfectly. 65% of production went into the grand vin. 50% new oak (a little lower than the usual 60%).

The 2018 Cos d’Estournel has a deep garnet-purple color. It gives up notes of vanilla, dark chocolate, and licorice, over a core of blackcurrant cordial, stewed plums, and boysenberries. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is chock-full of black fruit preserves, with a rock-solid, grainy texture and a very long, spicy finish.

Successful, complex and harmonious, in the spirit of a great wine, just slightly less monumental.

It retains a lovely brightness despite the fruit’s great ripeness. Notes of eucalyptus and blackcurrant, with well-integrated oak. The tannins are noble and silky. The finish is flavorful.

Complex bouquet revealing itself gradually. At first, the élevage stands out, but it is quickly followed by notes of black berries, floral nuances, and a slight candied touch. Creamy, luscious character on the palate. The wine is dense, elegant, and perfectly balanced. Great precision and finesse in the tannins. A sapid, charming, and persistent Cos d’Estournel.

The nose is fruity, fresh, nicely elegant, racy, and offers juiciness. It reveals notes of juicy/fresh wild blackberry, ripe wild blackcurrant, and touches of black cherry and ripe/juicy red berries, joined by hints of cornflower, violet, fresh liquorice, as well as discreet touches of graphite, Cubeb pepper, and very fine hints of cocoa (in the background). The palate is fruity, mineral, and balanced, delivering juiciness, a mineral backbone, tension, precision, lovely freshness, fine definition, generosity, a slight airy feel, and a beautifully fine, very discreetly tight grain. A lovely silky texture, very delicate and lace-like! On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fleshy/juicy black berries, fleshy/juicy blackberry and, more slightly, ripe/juicy raspberry, combined with touches of fleshy/juicy cherry, racy minerality, liquorice, cocoa, sweet blond tobacco, toastiness, as well as very fine hints of coffee (in the background), very discreet hints of caramelisation, and an imperceptible varietal note (in the background). The tannins are elegant and structuring. Good length and good persistence. Fine sapidity on the finish.

Dark, intense, almost black color. Highly aromatic and complex nose. Shades of ripe fruit, hazelnut, and spices. Supple on the attack, very aromatic mid-palate, rich, broad, juicy, and powerful, with a southern and even massive character, yet the wine soars on the finish—very savory, very Saint-Estèphe in its grain, without hardening, always spicy and very deep. I’m delighted to see it back at this level.

95–97. Barrel Sample. Big, rich and smoky in nature, with powerful fruits and dense tannins, this is a wine that is straining at the limits but still within balance. Rich, smoky flavors shine along with the black plum fruit and bright acidity. It will age for many years.