I have been fortunate to taste the 2005 Cos d'Estournel three times in recent weeks and it has never been anything less than stunningly beautiful, as it is once again on this night. The interplay of dark, ripe fruit and the more mineral, savory-inflected nuances typical of Saint-Estèphe yield a compelling, wonderfully complete Bordeaux that simply has it all. An exotic mélange of graphite, gravel, smoke, cured meats and dark-fleshed fruits flow through to the explosive finish. Riveting today, the 2005 Cos will continue to thrill those fortunate enough to own it for several decades. Given its price vis-à-vis many of the high-flying wines of the year, the 2005 Cos remains a terrific relative value in its class.

There have of course been great vintages since 2005, but the top examples from this year could be the greatest wines of the past two decades. The 2005 grapes were near perfect during the growing season, with flowering completed in three days, followed by similarly smooth and quick colour change and a harvest that finished on 9 October – a touch earlier than many of the neighbouring estates. The percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend is among the highest ever at this château. It tastes much younger than the 2004 vintage right now, as you would expect, but it's the rich and complex layers that really express the quality. It has the sense of cramming a handful of fruit into your mouth straight from the hedgerow, with cassis and crushed blackberry flavours. The tannins are soft but doing their job, with wonderful layers of liquorice and slate. Brambly, cheerful and effortless, there's an almost wild side to this wine, both free-flowing and more than living up to its reputation. Good luck trying to predict when this wine will reach its end.
Tasted by Jane Anson (at Château Cos d'Estournel. Bordeaux, 02 Jul 2018)
Part of Comparing Cos d'Estournel wines: 2000 to 2016

Vibrant, with stately ruby red depths, touches of smoked oak, grilled cocoa bean and liqourice. This is powerful, with depths to the slate-strewn tannins. Tobacco, saffron, sage, crushed stones, baked earth, there is an opulent ripeness to the fruit, just on the precipice of tertiary. A lovely wine, big shouldered still with a few years before reaching its plateau. A few years ago I wrote of the Cos 2005, 'Good luck trying to predict when this wine will reach its end', and I still absolutely stand by that comment. 100% new oak. Drink now - 2050. Jane Anson June 2022 - Inside Bordeaux

Still tight despite a gorgeous wave of rich melted licorice, fig bread, warm plum compote and steeped blackberry flavors. Lovely alder, black tea and balsam wood details give this added range and a sense of detail through the finish before a wall of graphite-edged grip shows up. We're still in wait mode here.—Blind '01/'03/'05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). JM

Good ruby-red. Knockout nose combines currant, plum, minerals, licorice and graphite. Wonderfully sweet, rich and deep, but with near-perfect balancing acidity to frame the wine's lush fruit. This superb 2005 has it all. Finishes with noble, sweet tannins and palate-saturating persistence. On my most recent visit, Prats told me he considered 2005 to be superior to the 2003, and that the '05 may be "our best wine ever." May 2008

The Château Cos d’Estournel 2005 has a more opulent and riper bouquet compared to the Montrose ’05 with blackberry, Morello cherries, dried orange peel and then with further aeration, sage and leather notes combining beautifully together. This is quintessential Cos d’Estournel, one that has meliorated in the last couple of years.. The palate is full-bodied with very fine tannin, a little easier-going than Montrose but that detracts nothing from the freshness and energy in this Saint Estèphe. You could argue it has a mote more precision than Montrose but there are just two sides of a very shiny coin. Feb 2015

Firm, full-bodied, powerful, concentrated, youthful, and tannic, it is going to take at least another 5 years in the cellar before this becomes entirely civilized, dropping more of its strict nature so you can enjoy all the ripe currants, blackberries, spice, and earthy nuances. From there, you should be able to enjoy this with ease for at least 25 more years. Tasted May 2022

Dark, youthful red; intense, cassis-ripe cabernet nose; rich, concentrated, vital and firmly tannic long term wine; intense, sweetly ripe fruit, close grained, complex, vividly attractive, vital, juicy and very seductive in its firmly tannic style; lovely fruit and aroma length on the finish. Splendid, grand scale, long term Cos. 2025- 50+