A first-growth level wine. With aristocratic ease it conveys nimble energy and sneaky sensuality. Pencil lead, white tobacco, cassis, juicy blackberry and cherry gorgeously delineated with refined tannins providing impressive structure for long-term cellaring. The pH is the highest since 2003, but you get neither heat nor imbalance. Impressive dry extract and rather 'normal' alcohol at 13.5% evokes a positively classic feel, leading to a subtle yet super-long finish. For owner Michel Reybier, the vintage marks 20 years of 'passion at the helm'. Comes encased in a uniquely gold-coloured engraved bottle with the phrase 'C’était Cos sinon rien' - Cos or nothing else. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2065
Tasted by: Panos Kakaviatos (at Strasbourg, 24 Feb 2023)
Part of Regional profile: St-Estèphe plus 17 wines worth seeking out

Deep garnet in hue, the wine shoots from glass with tobacco leaf, currants, spice box, cigar wrapper, blackberry and cassis. Elegant, fresh and vibrant, the wine is silky, long and precise. There is a cool spicy note that rides along with all the layers of soft, polished fruits on the mid-palate and in the finish. This is a refined vintage for COS. You find lower alcohol and the wine feels more energetic on the palate and in the finish, even though the pH is high at 3.9. Let it sleep for at least a decade before popping a cork. Produced from a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot, 13.46 % ABV, the harvest took place September 10 to September 24. 97-99

(62% CS, 38% M; 39hl/ha; 13.5% ABV; 55% new)
Subtle black fruit, and a lovely, insistent gravel impression, already a nose that really tempts one to linger; rich, medium-full, beautifully, imperceptibly defined by its acidity and with superfine, velvety tannin; here is a mouthcoating, sweetly ripe Cabernet core, but a ripeness absolutely without excess, and remaining so fresh; subtle, flattering, prolonged, quietly aristocratic, the very essence of grand vin, and with terrific persistence. Great Cos, providing the sort of sensory satisfaction and appeal you get in a rich, detailed, sustained mezzoforte chord from a prime orchestra. A most complete and refined claret of first-growth quality. There is such polish in all the Cos wines—a great tribute to the team, led by Dominique Arangoits. 2030–60+.

This is a very refined, polished Cos with superb finesse and length. Medium-to full-bodied, very fine and persistent. Really long with beautiful tannins. Rich, but fresh and linear. Yet, the alcohol is around 13.5%. 62% cabernet and 38% merlot.This is a very refined, polished Cos with superb finesse and length. Medium-to full-bodied, very fine and persistent. Really long with beautiful tannins. Rich, but fresh and linear. Yet, the alcohol is around 13.5%. 62% cabernet and 38% merlot.

The 2020 Cos d'Estournel, which was bottled in July, has lost some of the exoticism that it showed out of barrel. Within five minutes of aeration it develops a complex bouquet: black fruit laced with graphite and subtle cedar aromas, a charcoal back-note and later pressed iris flowers. I foresee this gaining more nuance with bottle age. The palate is taut, lean and precise. Lightly spiced on the entry, with finely-chiseled tannins, again, not quite as precocious as it showed in barrel, allowing the terroir to come through more. There is something almost understated about this vintage vis-à-vis others, razor-sharp precision with just the right amount of salinity on the finish. This is a classy offering that will mature beautifully in bottle. A keeper.

The 2020 Cos d'Estournel is a wine of extreme elegance. Silky and light on its feet, the 2020 is incredibly nuanced. In fact it is without question the most finessed of all the top wines in Saint-Estèphe, showing more in common with some of its neighbors in the north of Pauillac than the more potent wines of Saint-Estèphe. Impossibly soft, silky tannins wrap around a core of dark red fruit, spice and orange zest. The 2020 is not a huge Cos, but rather a wine for readers who appreciate elegance over power. I can't wait to see how it ages. Magnificent.

Drink Date
2028 - 2060

Reviewed by - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 2020 Cos d'Estournel is composed of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot. The harvest took place September 10–24 with a yield of 39 hectoliters per hectare. The alcohol weighs in at 13.46% with a pH of 3.9 and an IPT (total phenolic index) of 80. It is being aged in French oak barrels, 55% new.

Deep purple-black in color, it pops with explosive scents of ripe red and black currants, black cherry preserves and black raspberries, followed by sparks of violets, wild sage, pencil lead and clove oil, with emerging hints of iron ore and damp soil. The medium-bodied palate has amazing elegance and grace contrasted by jaw-dropping energy, featuring a firm frame of finely grained tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with a whole firework display of mineral nuances. I love the way this Cos d'Estournel shimmies and shines—a unique vintage signature expressed so beautifully at this estate!

The Grand Vin 2020 Château Cos D'Estournel is based on 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot that was brought up in 55% new French oak. An inky-hued, concentrated, yet flawlessly balanced wine, it has gorgeous cassis and dark currant fruits, medium to full-bodied richness, ripe, building tannins, and just a wonderful sense of purity and elegance backed up by ample concentration. It stays tight, focused, and seamless, and is a brilliant example of the vintage. The 2020 hit 13.4% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.9 and an IPT of 80.

62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot. Cask sample.
Purple-black colour to the rim. Deep and dense (like an endless pool) but aromatically restrained. Some cassis with aeration. Big and bold with marked tension and supercharged but finely hewn tannins. Enough fruit to provide unctuosity. Fresh, dry and saline through to the finish. Powerful but sculpted. Very long ageing. (JL)