The 2016 En Primeur machine leaps into life with the early release of the great St Estephe Cos d’Estournel at GBP 1400. This is a bold start to the campaign – the 2016 iteration of Cos is a confident, powerful, dense wine typical of St Estephe and yet with the freshness and elegance of this extraordinary vintage; it is certainly a step up from their 2015. However it is the price that is most satisfying, with the release coming at the same level ex-chateau as the 2015.
Whilst we have not yet seen the views of Neal Martin (his report is due at the end of this week) the early commentators have been exceedingly positive: first out of the blocks was James Suckling, who described it as a wine of “agility and power” that “really grabs your attention” (97-98pts). The more restrained palate of Jancis Robinson was in this case in agreement, anointing it “Long. Restrained. Elegant.” (18/20pts)
Pagodes de Cos 2016 is one of the stable of very good second wines which have benefited from the ultra-selection of the very best grapes for the various Grands Vins. It sports a similar, well-structured profile but is a little brighter and focused more on red fruit than black – making it certain to be a fine earlier-drinking version of the 2016 Cos. It looks a very good buy at GBP 385.
The very fine but limited production white Cos d'Estournel Blanc 2016 is also released and available at GBP 985.