Vivid ruby. Expressive, fragrant and fruit-driven on the nose, displaying scents of blackberry and black cherry compote, along with a hint of balsamic oak. Smooth and fleshy in texture, with sweet blackberry and vanilla flavors that reveal a hint of a green streak on the back end. Open-knit and drinking well now but will benefit from another three or four years of bottle age; this wine has the power to handle richer foods.

The fruit that's there is fresh - good plum and bing cherry, with a savory herb edge as well. But it's a bit shy on the midpalate and loses intensity on the finish.-J.M.

The Cos-Labory has tended to be the whipping boy of Saint Estèphe in recent years, but I am pleased to say this has a better bouquet with clean black fruit and an almost Burgundian-like sense of minerality. The palate is medium-bodied with a grippy entry. It has good weight and ends rather dry on the finish. In the end, the palate does not quite meet the promise of the nose...but it is a start. Tasted April 2012.

Drink 2019-2030 Black-hearted and inky. Unusual, rather floral nose with Asian spice. Fresh and supple and just a little malty on the palate but so much more lithe than most of the Pauillacs just tasted. Dry, powdery tannins but not drying. Actually relatively silky. (JH)