This vintage, which can be overly straight and austere, benefits from the house style of Cos, where they are happy to add a twist of gourmet glamour, and I am seriously impressed with this wine. It showcases the successful sides of a cool vintage in spades, with bitter black chocolate, cool blue fruits, lemongrass and turmeric and black pepper spices. 55% new oak. 3.79ph. 53% of overall production is for the 1st wine, the rest in Pagodes. Easily one of the wines of the vintage.
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, May 2022

The 2021 Cos d'Estournel is a wine of real breadth and volume. It is also quite a departure from recent vintages in that strong Cabernet aromatics are very much front and center. Cedar, tobacco, dried herbs, menthol and licorice lend notable complexity to the bouquet. I expect the 2021 will need time to be at its best. Cos is usually much more alluring in its youth than the reticent but hugely promising 2021.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous, May 2022

The 2021 Cos d'Estournel is very promising, offering up rich aromas of dark berries, plums, exotic spices, loamy soil and rose petals, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and seamless palate that's impressively vibrant and concentrated, with powdery tannins, bright acids and a long, penetrating finish. Only 53% of the production made it into the grand vin, and the blend is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Technical director Dominique Arangoïts reports that Cos was spared by frost and coulure at flowering, harvesting between September 23 and October 4, and fermenting a touch hotter than has been the case in recent years, at around 28-29 degrees Celsius.
William Kelley, April 2022

The 2021 Cos d'Estournel has an attractive nose, more complex than the Pagodes (as you would expect), graphite and subtle cigar box scents permeating the black fruit and the Cabernet Sauvignon more expressive at this stage vis-à-vis the Merlot. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. One of the most velvety Cos d'Estournel wines I have encountered at this stage, though linear and strict on the saline finish. This is old-school in some ways, and a bit grumpy in its youth – a wine that will oblige cellar aging. A Saint-Estèphe for the patient among you. (12.74% alcohol) Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2022

The 2021 Cos d'Estournel is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it struts out of the glass with classic scents of blackcurrant pastilles, ripe juicy plums, and cedar chest, followed by hints of crushed rocks, pencil shavings, and cinnamon stick. Light to medium-bodied, the palate is tightly wound with firm, grainy tannins and integrated freshness supporting the intense, mineral-laced fruit, finishing long and savory.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, May 2022

Quite mature nose, showing some complexity of spice and fresh herbs. Well structured on the palate with significant but nicely polished tannins which help carry a fresh, rounded palate with red cherry and just-ripe plum characters, supported by a salty, earthy note.
April 2022

As always, I tasted the Cos family of wines with owner Michel Reybier and winemaker Dominique Arangoïts. This was only my third rendezvous of the campaign, and so it gave me a fabulous benchmark to compare to all other wines. Of course, tasting at Cos is a huge pleasure not last because the wines always seem honest and open regarding the vintage conditions. This is, therefore, one of a handful of Châteaux that I regard as barometers for the region and also the vintage. It was here that any notion of 2021 as a ‘disaster’, as a couple of hacks labelled it, went out of the window. With a sub 13% alcohol footprint supporting this magnificent wine, there was always going to be a freshness and directness about Cos. It is a charming and honed wine with intense, dark, smooth fruit touched by cool earth and bright acidity. It was impossible to suppress a beaming smile with a unique balance of freshness and low alcohol countering the lip-smacking exuberant fruit. As it turned out, the very best wines of 2021 are precisely terroir-specific, and this is one of the most accurate, rewarding and satisfying wines in 2021. It will be fascinating to see how it evolves, given its unique balance of sensational fruit, colour, detail, and life-affirming freshness.
May 2022

Dark and reticent with a touch of cassis as the wine opens. Linear and firm with a rich but fine tannic frame. Solid through the mid palate and on through the finish. Structured and with plenty of matière. Well within itself so room to develop. (JL) 12.7%
Drink 2030 – 2050
Jancisrobinson.com, May 2022