2010 Cos d'Estournel

Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Cos d'Estournel unfurls slowly, measuredly, releasing delicate notes of dried mulberries, stewed plums and blackcurrant pastilles before giving way to notions of potpourri, black cherry compote and chocolate box plus touches of dried sage, tobacco and new leather. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid foundation of very firm, grainy tannins and very lively acidity supporting the remarkable intensity of tightly wound fruit layers, finishing very long and fragrant. Give it another 4-5 years in bottle and this will be stunning!
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Nov 2018

The 2010 Cos d’Estournel has long been my preference over the 2009. That vintage kowtowed to the crowd and yes, to critics. The 2010 is less compromising but more intellectual. It has a scintillating, pixelated bouquet with intense black fruit, asphalt and mint aromas – vivid and bright, much more focused and certainly less flamboyant than the 2009. The palate is medium-bodied with a huge chassis; a Saint-Estèphe clearly built for the long-term with enormous grip and enthralling tension. As before, there is a liberal sprinkling of white pepper towards the finish and is exceptionally long. The 2010 is the finest Cos d’Estournel until the more finessed 2016 comes along. It is a deeply impressive wine but it will appeal more to those that prefer classic Bordeaux to one boasting tons of fruit, as pleasurable as that might be. Tasted at the Cos d’Estournel vertical in London.

A great contrast to the '09, this feels even denser, with dark plum, black currant and fig sauce flavors that pump along. The spine is all graphite and chalk, giving this a riveting feel through the finish. The cut is terrific, no easy feat considering how dense the fruit is. A stunning wine.--Non-blind Cos-d'Estournel vertical (December 2015). JM

Full, bright ruby. Superripe but vibrant nose offers liqueur-like cassis, graphite, mocha and exotic oak scents; smells thick! Then plush, dense, large-scaled and seamless, offering extraordinary breadth and a 3-D texture to its dark fruit, graphite and mineral flavors. This very modern style of Cos finishes with outstanding, building, palate-saturating persistence and utterly sweet tannins.

There’s clarity and beauty to this wine as always with pure dark berry, stones and spices. Some clove too. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a long finish. Pure and precise wine with so much class.

(a blend of 78% cabernet sauvignon, 19% merlot, cabernet franc 2% and 1% petit verdot; 3.51 pH; IPT 91; alcohol 14.5% alcohol; a 55% selection for the grand vin Saturated bright ruby. Captivating, intense aromas of dark berries, red cherry, mint and tobacco. Dense, sweet and fruity in the mouth if still a bit youthfully tight, with great purity to the flavors of red and dark berries, exotic herbs and licorice. Finishes smooth and extremely long, with wonderfully silky tannins. This very big wine will need plenty of time, but I have no doubt this will be remembered as a great Cos. Jean-Guillaume Prats pointed out that though the analytical numbers (IPT, alcohol, acidity) are very similar to those of the '09 Cos, the two wines could not be more different. When it comes to wine, he emphasized, the numbers do not tell the whole story. I should point out that the 2010 Cos contains only 19% merlot, down from the 33% of 2009—and merlot that had overripened at that. Ian D'Agata

Quality 968 | Brand 996 | Economics 851 |
Quality: Predicted life of 22 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group for the 2010 vintage, which averages 12 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