Tasting Notes and Scores
Quality 929 | Brand 996 | Economics 919 |
Quality: Predicted life of 14 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group for the 2008 vintage, which averages 10 years
Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 48 of the world's top wine lists, including De Librije
Economics: More traded at auction than its peers, its top 5 vintages having seen 3,203 75cl equivalent bottles traded in the past year
Production: Higher production than its peer group average of 137,727 bottles
- www.wine-lister.com June 2017
Wine Lister
The medium to deep garnet colored 2008 Cos d'Estournel is blended of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Pow! The nose explodes with notes of baked cherries, preserved plums, fried herbs, beef drippings and warm cassis with wafts of wood smoke, salami and tobacco leaf. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant and earthy/savory in character, sporting beautifully ripe, grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing on a lingering mineral note.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Nov 2018
Wine Advocate
The 2008 Cos d’Estournel had one of the most backward, reticent bouquets that I encountered during my tasting. This is so sultry and broody, begrudgingly offering some lovely brambly red fruit mixed with pencil box. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, plenty of black fruit laced with allspice, black pepper and sage, leading to a dense and concentrated finish that should see this age for 20 or 30 years. It does not really serve as a forerunner to the blockbuster 2009 because this is cut from a completely different cloth. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual 10-Year On tasting.)
– vinous.com, Feb 2018
Neal Martin
A very decadent wine on the nose with so much meat, spice and ripe fruit character. Sea shell as well. Full body, tight and structured with silky tannins and a lots of intense fruit. Vibrant wine. Better in 2020 but already fascinating to drink.
James Suckling
This has a slight hint of the vintage's crisp, angular feel, but there are impressive layers of fruit here, with a bright mineral edge cutting through the damson plum and red currant notes. This has put on a little bit of weight in the bottle, too. Showing well.—Non-blind Cos-d'Estournel vertical (December 2015). JM
Wine Spectator
2008 was a fairly late and fresh vintage, with a low yield of 28hl/ha, which helped to ripen the Cabernet Sauvignon. The new cellars meant they could carefully isolate plots and carry out more precise extractions at low temperatures (maximum 16°C) to protect the fruit. This wine was austere and tight when young, full of rigidity that needed time to soften, but it now feels precise and carefully-wrought. This is just beginning to open up, showcasing clear spice notes. It’s a little hesitant, but there's plenty of Cos d’Estournel signature polish.
Tasted by Jane Anson (at Château Cos d'Estournel. Bordeaux, 02 Jul 2018)
Part of How Bordeaux 2008 wines taste now: 70 top names rated
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