Cos d'Estournel - Saint-Estèphe 2023

Vinous

96

par Neal Martin le 01/02/2026

The 2023 Cos d'Estournel, which was bottled in July 2025, was tasted on two visits, showing much better the second in December. It has an intense nose with predominantly black fruit, violet and fresh mint emerging with time that gives it a Pauillac-like character. Very well defined as usual, quite sophisticated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, very well balanced with gentle but insistent grip. What I like here is the underlying sapidity that comes through toward the finish, while the sample tasted at the château demonstrated a little more creaminess to the texture. Great length, very composed, delicious and classy Cos d'Estournel.

Jamessuckling.com

99

par James Suckling le 27/01/2026

Wow. This is so classy and long, with balanced and intense tannins that give it a seamless and almost endless nature. It's dense, with a medium body and intensity that gives it so much verve. A superb wine for the vintage. It’s reminiscent of old, great Cos bottlings, but with more form and modernity. A renaissance of Cos. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 1% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. Best after 2029.

My Bettane + Desseauve

97-98

par Bettane & Desseauve le 15/05/2024

Corps absolument remarquable, fraîcheur et finesse rivalisant, comme souvent, avec les premiers crus classés : c’est un cos-d’estournel idéal et promis sans doute à une longue garde.

Yvesbeck.wine

98-99

par Yves Beck le 14/05/2024

Cos zeigt sich auf subtile Weise, indem er sich Schritt für Schritt offenbart. Die Frische der roten Beeren in Kombination mit Noten von schwarzer Johannisbeere, Graphit und Minze unterstreichen die Vielfalt, die im Bouquet vorhanden ist. Am Gaumen zeigt der Wein von Anfang an eine schöne Aromatik. Der köstliche Auftakt ebnet den Weg für einen kräftigen und kompakten Cos d'Estournel, der von breiten und bestens eingebundenen Tanninen angeführt wird. Die prägnante Säurestruktur wirkt im Hintergrund und verleiht Energie und führt zu einem saftigen und sogar salzigen Finale. Ein imposanter, gelassener, kraftvoller und anhaltender Wein.

Jeb DUNNUCK

95-97

par Jeb Dunnuck le 13/05/2024

The Grand Vin 2023 Château Cos D'Estournel checks in as 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and a splash of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, resting in 50% new French oak. This beauty brings everything up a notch, with awesome crème de cassis, graphite, violets, spicy oak, and chocolate-driven aromatics. Rich, full-bodied, and beautifully textured, it has the fresher yet ripe style of the vintage, beautiful tannins, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's a beautifully elegant yet powerful wine in the making from this team.

The Wine Independent

95-97

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 07/05/2024

The 2023 Cos d'Estournel is deep garnet-purple in color. Energetic notes of cassis, wild blueberries, and fresh juicy raspberries pop from the glass, giving way to underlying hints of rose oil, black pepper, and anise. The light to medium-bodied palate is taut with tightly wound, shiny black and red berry layers, framed by firm grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and minerally. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, with pH 3.75 and TPI 72.

The Drinks Business

96-98

par Colin Hay le 07/05/2024

Cos d’Estournel (St-Estèphe; 65% Cabernet Sauvignon; 33% Merlot; 1% Cabernet Franc; 1% Petit Verdot; pH 3.75; IPT 72; 12.9% alcohol; aging in oak barrels, 50% of which are new; the first time that they’ve green-harvested here for many vintages; a final yield of 45 hl/ha, as in 2016; in conversion to organic viticulture; tasted with Michel Reybier and Dominique Arangoits; no anti-botrytis treatments were used so skins are softer and the extraction of tannins was somewhat easier and more gentle). A wine of total grace, poise and elegance. Very harmonious, neither introvert nor extrovert, but one has the sense that one is in the presence of a greatness that is only partially revealed for now. Graphite. Damsons. Dark cassis, blackcurrant and bramble. A little shaving of the finest chocolate. So ample that it pushes out the cheeks and then a Kaleidoscopic revelation of layering from the top down. This has a wondrous structure and is fascinating in the mouth, with hyper-refined tannins. Very peppery but less exotic in its spicing that it used to be – with subtle hints of nutmeg, heather and wild herbs. A glorious Cos. So juicy and so long and slender on the slowly tapering finish which seems to lead us on a sinuous path to the very distant horizon. A singular wine in a singular vintage. It also feels very natural.

The Wine Cellar Insider

96-98

par Jeff Leve le 06/05/2024

It takes some coaxing to find the red, purple, and white floral bouquet, but it comes with swirling, along with Asian spice, smoke, tobacco, and licorice. But, it is the palate that offers thrills with its silky, fresh, opulent textures. There is a vivid quality to the fruit, coupled with a relaxed character, finishing with black, red, and blue fruits complicated by Indian spices. It reminds me of a modern version of the 1990, with selection. The wine was made from blending 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV, 3.75 pH. The harvest took place September 12 to September 29. This is the first vintage, since 2008 the estate green harvested. The Grand Vin was produced from 53% of the harvest. The wine is going to be approachable early in its life, yet it has the ability to age for decades. Drink from 2029-2060. 96-98 Pts.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

97

par Jane Anson le 06/05/2024

Step into Cos d'Estournel, with its richness, depths and layers of cocoa bean, liquorice, espresso, chocolate, exceptional chewiness on the tannins, making things fairly serious at this early stage, with a promise of slow-revealed pleasure over the decades ahead. First time doing green harvest in the vineyards since 2008, causing some worries over the late heat waves on already ripening grapes, but they have retained balanced alchols here, and there is plenty of juice to lift things up on the finish. Harvest September 12 to 29 (last year finished September 22). 50% new oak for ageing, 53% 1st wine. In organic conversion (that began in 2021, but have had to extend after addition of a few more plots to the vineyard).

Vinous

96-98

par Antonio Galloni le 30/04/2024

The 2023 Cos d’Estournel is fabulous. Dark, resonant and inviting, the 2023 has so much to offer. All the elements are beautifully woven together. Black cherry, plum, licorice, espresso, mocha and incense fill out the layers. Readers will find a Cos endowed with tremendous substance and intensity. I can't remember a young Cos with this much fruit concentration, yet there is nothing overdone here. I loved it.

Vinous

94-96

par Neal Martin le 29/04/2024

The 2023 Cos d'Estournel, picked from September 12 to 29 and matured in 50% new oak, blossoms in the glass. The aromatics deliver nearly immediate gratification: black cherries, wild strawberries, crushed violet petals and vanilla pod. It’s all quite sumptuous but very well focused. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled, slightly powdery tannins. It’s beautifully balanced with a very pure and seductive finish. This is a notably composed and assured Cos d'Estournel, almost a lesson in how less can be more. It’s only a couple of steps behind the previous vintage.

Falstaff

95

par Peter Moser le 29/04/2024

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate rim brightening. Fine savoury nuances, a hint of cassis and dark wild berries, hints of clove and carda- mom. Juicy, good complexity, red heart cherry at the core, integrated tannins, min- eral, lingers, shows some freshness, some nougat on the finish, already developed and accessible.

Alexandre Ma

96-98

par Alexandre Ma le 28/04/2024

Wine Advocate

95-96

par William Kelley le 26/04/2024

A contemporary classic in the making, the 2023 Cos d'Estournel has turned out beautifully, reflecting a lighter touch with extraction that has delivered more sensuality and harmony without the loss of any of the estate's signature power and authority. Wafting from the glass with deep aromas of cassis, wild berries, orange zest and exotic spices, framed by well-integrated new wood, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a concentrated core of fruit, beautifully suave tannins and a cool, seamless profile. It's a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that attained 12.9% alcohol and is being matured in 50% new oak.

Jamessuckling.com

98-99

par James Suckling le 25/04/2024

The finesse is pretty phenomenal here, with such complexity of fruit and vivid, bright flowers. Lavender and rose. Seductive. Ever-so long and precise. Lead pencil and graphite. Reminiscent of old, great Cos, such as 1955 or 1982, but with so much more form and modernity. A renaissance of Cos. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 1% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.

Vertdevin

96

par Jonathan Chicheportiche le 24/04/2024