2010 Cos d'Estournel, St Estèphe, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
100% new oak. Ideal with a four-hour carafe
At this point, it stands head and shoulders above the 2009. Here, you get the creaminess and power of a great vintage, with tannins that head towards monster territory, and yet there is real delicacy and hidden complexity. Gorgeous quality, brilliant stuff, exotic incense, cinnamon.
Drink 2025 - 2048
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (September 2024)
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 flavours of red and dark berries, exotic herbs and liquorice. It 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. He emphasised that the numbers only tell part of the 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, Vinous.com (May 2011)
Deep garnet in colour, 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!
Drink 2024 - 2060
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2020)
The 2010 is a more structured, restrained, less flamboyant version of the 2009. A final blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that hits 14.5% natural alcohol, this wine (which represents only 55% of the estate's production) is full-bodied, classic, and built along the lines of the 2000 (although that wine was made before Reybier acquired the estate and upgraded quality significantly).
This wine exhibits beautifully pure notes of creme de cassis, blueberry liqueur, pen ink, graphite and hints of toast and vanillin. It is full and rich, and although aged in 80% new oak, the wood is a subtle background component. This beauty will take longer to round into shape than the dramatic and compelling 2009. Forget it for 5-8 years, and drink it over the following three-plus decades.
Drink 2018 - 2048
Robert M. Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate (February 2013)
Very healthy, deep crimson. Luscious fruit. Very beguiling. It spreads right across the palate. Extremely seductive. It's just slightly inky on the finish at the moment, but there are masses of ripe fruit and tannin here.
Drink 2020 - 2038
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (February 2014)
The 2010 Cos-d'Estournel offers a terrific panoply of dark tea, cocoa, savoury herb and red currant confiture aromas. Remarkably dense, with loads of strapping dark fruit and tar in reserve. There's massive structure, yet this is rounded and so, so long. A huge wine in the making. This is not just any wine, it's a contender, ready to compete with the elite of the vintage. A truly superb effort. Contains 1 percent Petit Verdot, for first time since 2005.
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator (March 2011)
As always, this wine is clear and beautiful, with pure dark berry, stones, and spices—some clove, too. It has a full body, firm and silky tannins, and a long finish. It's a pure and precise wine with so much class.
Try in 2020
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (November 2015)
Darkly fragranced, with chocolate, blackcurrants, violets, ripe fruit, and soft woody touches. Tense and compact, with tannins with a lovely texture. Nice weight and balance. Silky and streamlined, polished and poised. Long, clean finish with a salty liquorice and tobacco mineral touch. Great structure, weight, and definition.
Drink 2027 - 2048
Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com (April 2024)
This is reassuringly familiar for anyone who found the 2009 Cos rather over-blown, more like the 2005 in style. The investments at the château’s cellars seem to be paying off. The nose has lovely mint and tangerine notes, backed up by black fruits, hints of chocolate and Asian spices, and rich, concentrated tannins. It’s the greatest young Cos I’ve ever tasted.
Tim Atkin MW, TimAtkin.com (May 2011)
The 2010 Château Cos D'Estournel is based on 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, which was pulled from just 55% of the total production and aged in 80% new French oak.
Hitting 14.5% natural alcohol, this still dense purple-hued beauty offers extraordinary notes of blackcurrants, unsmoked tobacco, graphite, freshly sharpened pencils, and chocolate. Full-bodied, massively concentrated, and flawlessly balanced on the palate, it has building tannins, a skyscraper-like mouthfeel that opens up with time in the glass, and a great, great finish. Made in a much more focused, precise, and structured style than the flamboyant 2009, it needs another 7-8 years of bottle age and will be a 50, 60, if not 75+ year wine.
Drink 2030 - 2085
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (May 2023)
About this WINE
Cos d'Estournel
Château Cos d`Estournel is named after its 19th century owner, Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel, and it was he who built the bizarre oriental edifice that is a landmark for any tourist in the Médoc. Today Cos d'Estournel is without doubt the leading estate in St-Estéphe. It is located in the south of the appellation on the border with Pauillac and its vineyards are superbly sited on a south-facing gravel ridge with a high clay content, just north of Lafite.
Cos d'Estournel is typically a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc - do not be fooled by the relatively high Merlot content, as these are full-bodied, dark, brooding tannic wines when young which develop a complexity and intensity that can rival many top growths from Pauillac.
In 1998 the Prats family sold Cos d'Estournel to The Tailan Group. Cos d'Estournel is classified as a 2ème Cru Classé.
Saint-Estèphe
Saint-Estèphe is the northernmost of the most important communes of the Médoc and borders Pauillac on its southernmost border, with only a gully and stream separates it from Ch. Lafite. To the north lies the Bas-Médoc.
Saint-Estèphe is defined by the depth of its gravel, which is ubiquitous but of varying depths and occasionally very shallow, when clay predominates. This keeps the soil cooler and wetter than its counterparts so that the wines can appear fresh in lighter vintages, but superbly successful in hot, dry years.
The best châteaux in the south of the commune have the deepest soil and the thickest gravel. Cos d'Estournel has an exceptional terroir with its vineyards being located on a south-facing ridge of gravel with excellent drainage.
Saint-Estèphe is the least gravelly of main Médoc communes and in the north of the commune the vineyards are heavier and more clay-based leading to a rustic style of wine being produced.
The wines can appear austere in youth with a discernable ferric note at some châteaux, but the best typically display good depth of colour, pronounced acidity an tannins in youth and are exceptionally long-lived. At their best, they are the equal of almost any Bordeaux. The well-regarded St Estèphe co-operative controls the production of about half the appellation.
Recommended Châteaux
Cos (Ch. Cos d'Estournel), Ch. Montrose, Ch. Calon-Ségur, Ch. Lafon-Rochet, Ch. Les Ormes de Pez, Ch. Beau-Site, Ch. Cos Labory, Ch. Phélan-Ségur
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Blend: 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot.
Iconic. Inspirational. Electric. A sensory overload but not in an over-extracted, phony way – just in such a dense, pure and decadent sense. It’s massive but with a rapier-like precision of cool and eucalyptus-fresh Cabernet that takes your breath away. It has a very defined and ridiculously long finish. A finer, more Bordeaux-like perfection than 2009, it is quite humbling, actually. Another ‘New First’ for the mere mortals like us.
Berry Bros. & Rudd
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