Cos-d'Estournel - St.-Estèphe 2016 (750ml)

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96

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96-98

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98-100

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97-98

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92-95

Price: $399.99

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Producer	Cos-d'Estournel
Country	France
Region	Bordeaux
Subregion	St. Estephe
Varietal	Bordeaux Blend
Vintage	2016
Sku	41123
Size	750ml

Cos d'Estournel is slow to reveal itself. Little by little, it evokes stories of distant places, market stalls brimming with unfamiliar fruits, spices and wares, village festivities warmed by the joy of revelers and the setting sun, and sumptuous visions of ladies and their voluptuous curves. A myriad of scents, colors and tastes appeals to the senses. The Grand Vin of Cos d'Estournel is both demure and deliberately sensuous, a fascinating and elegant nectar.
Blend: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc

The 2016 Cos d'Estournel takes the 2016 baton and runs with it. A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc that was picked between 26 September and 15 October at 45 hectoliters per hectare, this fabulous Saint Estèphe will be matured in 60% new oak. The alcohol level this year is 13.07%, which proprietor Michel Reybier reminded me is almost 1.5% lower than in 2010. This is clearly a more classically styled Cos d'Estournel that is completely different than say, the 2009 Cos d'Estournel and the more flamboyant, exotic wines in recent years. It actually bears more stylistic similarities to its neighbor Montrose. It is extremely detailed with blackberry and a touch of boysenberry, the fruit almost "creeping up" on you by stealth and then underneath, an undertow of minerals, wet limestone and even flint. The palate has astonishing: exquisite balance, perhaps the most precise and detailed Cos d'Estournel that I have encountered in many years of tasting at this address. It segues into a Pauillac-like second-half with veins of graphite strafing the black fruit, but what marks this Cos d'Estournel is the palpable energy and tension allied with an effortless nature. The persistence, the reverberation in the mouth is quite magnificent, perhaps even longer on my second visit to the property compared to the first. It really is a brilliant Cos d'Estournel that oozes class and sophistication, moreover, a wine that is going to give serious amounts of drinking pleasure over a very long period of time. Boom—and Cos drops the mic. Tasted twice, almost three weeks apart, with consistent notes.

This perfumed wine is stylish and elegant. It is all about the magnificent and sophisticated fruit. At the same time, don't be fooled by the richness: the tannins are all there, a dense and concentrated core at the heart of this seriously ageworthy wine. It demands many years.

This has a core of slightly exotic loganberry, plum and boysenberry fruit laced with singed spice, savory, lilac and incense notes, while a buried chalk-edged minerality sits in reserve. Very sleek, with a wonderfully long finish that lets the fruit and other elements shimmer. Best from 2025 through 2040. 15,833 cases made.

The finish is something else here. This is a wine that’s so powerful and tannic yet at the same time so polished and superb on the finish. Full-bodied, beautifully crafted and precise. This is a wine that really grabs your attention. The agility and power are more than impressive. Wow is the word.

The beautiful 2016 Cos d'Estournel is one of the most polished, gracious young Cos d'Estournels I can remember tasting. Aromatic freshness and lift, along with a distinctly red fruit profile, are among the signatures. It will be interesting to see if this style of Cos - one in which concentration and textural richness are backed off - is the result of the vintage or an evolution in winemaking philosophy, or perhaps, as is most likely, a little bit of both.