I praised the 2019 Cos Labory as one of the best in recent years based on its barrel showing, and in bottle, it hasn’t let me down. It’s well defined and fresh, if not amazingly complex, and delivers some lovely black fruit mixed with graphite and mint aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, lightly spiced and quite cohesive, showing greater density on the finish compared to recent vintages. Bravo.

The 2019 Cos Labory is a brooding, powerful wine. Today, the elements aren't fully put together, but the 2019 certainly has a lot going on. Scorched earth, licorice, leather, spice and brawny tannins give the wine its distinctly intense, virile feel. The 2019 needs time to come together.

The 2019 Cos Labory reveals inviting aromas of plums, blackcurrants and loamy soil, followed by a medium-bodied, supple and elegantly fleshy palate that's framed by fine, powdery tannins and succulent acids. Open and charming for a young Saint-Estèphe, it will drink well with minimal bottle age.

Tasted blind. Slightly grey crimson. Modest, but well-integrated, nose. Proper claret. Just a little blue-cheesy in flavour but good, confident, classic structure. Slightly drying finish. (JR)