Cos d'Estournel - Saint-Estèphe 2014

Decanter.com

95

par Georgina Hindle le 06/11/2024

Szechuan peppercorns on the nose, something quite spiced, maybe woody, with fragrant blackcurrants too. Sleek and streamlined, tangy and vibrant but with some tension that shuts down some of the fruity enjoyment. I like the texture and the weight, but the flavours are clearly concentrated with ripe black fruits and graphite on the finish. Give this a good air if drinking soon or leave to age longer.

Vinous

93

par Neal Martin le 02/04/2024

The 2014 Cos d'Estournel has a wonderful bouquet. Compared directly with Montrose, there is a notch more exuberance and precision, with layers of rich but delineated plummy black fruit laced with rose petals and dark chocolate. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. There's a lovely depth of fruit and a sense of symmetry plus sapidity that compels you back for more. Silky texture, this is a Cos d'Estournel that will give a lot of pleasure in the coming years. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10-Year-On tasting.

Wine Advocate

94

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 30/11/2018

A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2014 Cos d'Estournel has a deep garnet-purple color and is a little closed at this stage, offering slowly emerging scents of fresh blackcurrants, black plums and blackberries plus nuances of pencil shavings, dried lavender, bay leaves and fertile loam with a waft of iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, it has a generous mid-palate of muscular, youthful fruit with a firm frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and savory.

Vinous

96

par Neal Martin le 28/03/2018

The 2014 Cos d’Estournel has another intense bouquet with blackberry, graphite, tobacco and mint aromas, almost Pauillac in style. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin that exert plenty of grip. This is surfeit with sappy black fruit, graceful and tensile with a beautiful, svelte finish that fans out gloriously. There is real panache to this wine, persistent and satisfying, the aftertaste of graphite and tobacco extraordinarily long. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Jeb DUNNUCK

95

par Jeb Dunnuck le 30/11/2017

The grand vin 2014 Cos D’Estournel is gorgeous, and I think a step up over the 2015. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, this deep, inky-colored 2014 boasts a gorgeous perfume of ripe currants and cassis fruits, loads of chocolaty oak, cedar and scorched earth, full-bodied richness, and building, firm, yet ripe tannin. It’s certainly one of the gems in the vintage, as well as one of the more structured, opulent and age-worthy. Give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following two to three decades.

Wine Enthusiast

97

par Roger Voss le 01/04/2017

This is an immensely dense wine that is going to be a classic. The dark tannins are still lined with wood aging but that will go because the fruit underneath is also just as dense and intense. Blackberry, black plum and damson plum give power and sweetness. This is a great wine with huge potential. Drink from 2028.

Wine Advocate

94

par Neal Martin le 31/03/2017

The 2014 Cos d'Estournel is destined to turn into a very lovely Saint Estèphe. This bottle was actually tasted over a period of a few hours. The word "cool" is one that reappeared in my vernacular now that the wine is in bottle. The estate is known for producing a more luxuriant and extravagant bouquet compared to its Saint Estèphe peers, yet this vintage is streamlined (to re-appropriate my original descriptor). It's unashamedly focused and delineated. It delivers intense blackberry and bilberry scents, again with a touch of iris. The palate is beautifully balanced with not a single hair out of place. The acidity is well judged and I noticed that after two or three hours, there was a faint vein of graphite that lends it a Pauillac-like personality, no surprise given that it lies just across the border. It will require several years in bottle for the tannins to mellow, but the result will be a very attractive, quite correct, fresh and precise Cos d'Estournel that will bestow two or three decades of drinking enjoyment. Tasted February 2017.

Jamessuckling.com

98

par James Suckling le 16/02/2017

If you want to know what St.-Estèphe smells like, this is it. Aromas of spices, black truffles, forest floor, dried strawberries and tar. It’s full-bodied yet pinpointed on the palate with fabulous density and richness. It’s opulent but in a reserved and checked way. This needs at least five or six years to come around, but it’s already fantastic. What harmony and structure. Try in 2022 if you can keep your hands off it!

Vinous

95

par Antonio Galloni le 06/02/2017

The 2014 Cos d'Estournel is rich, powerful and seductive, with notable unctuousness but a medium-bodied frame. Plum, blackberry jam, bittersweet chocolate and lavender notes flesh out in an effortless, sumptuous wine that will provide superb drinking for the next few decades. The 2014 needs time to shed some baby fat, but it is quite impressive, even in the early going. The blend is 65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 % Merlot and 2 % Cabernet Franc.95+

Wine Spectator

94

par James Molesworth le 04/01/2017

Intense, with a roiling core of luscious loganberry, blackberry and black currant fruit. Singed spice, apple wood and black tea accents emerge steadily on the finish. Has a rare combination of density and precision. Will cruise in the cellar. Best from 2020 through 2035. From France.—J.M.

Wine Spectator

93-96

par James Molesworth le 31/12/2015

Very primal, with a sappy core of kirsch, bitter cherry and plum fruit that has a racy feel, showing hints of violet and chalk through the finish. Still coiled up a bit, but there's excellent energy here. Rock-solid.?Non-blind Cos-d'Estournel vertical (December 2015). Score range: 93-96

Le Point

18

par Jacques Dupont le 21/05/2015

Fruits noirs, floral, bouche élégante, fraîche, tanins vifs et mentholés mais sans dureté, droit, tendu, fin, un Cos tannique mais frais.

Vinous

92-95

par Antonio Galloni le 11/05/2015

The 2014 Cos d'Estournel brings together gorgeous textural richness and ripeness, yet retains considerable aromatic freshness. Mocha, red plum, raspberry jam and rose petals are all beautifully nuanced. I very much like the sense of translucent energy here. Sweet floral and spice notes add to the wine's racy, voluptuous personality. Today, my impression is that the 2014 Cos will reward consumers with a long window of pure drinking pleasure. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc.

The Wine Cellar Insider

95-96

par Jeff Leve le 05/05/2015

Intense in color with a showy nose and the already present tones of tobacco leaves, anise, earth and vine-ripened berries, this wine is luxurious on the palate, plump and concentrated with roasted espresso bean, cocoa, warm berries, spice and freshness to the ripe fruits in the finish. Produced from a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon,33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the wine reached 14.2% alcohol with a pH of 3.77. The wine is aging in 80% new, French oak barrels. After a rocky start with the difficult 2013 vintage, Aymeric de Gironde has clearly stepped up his game! 95-96 Pts

Wine Advocate

93-95

par Neal Martin le 30/04/2015

The Château Cos d'Estournel 2014 is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc picked between 25 September and 10 October at 33.7 hectoliters per hectare. The pH came in at 3.77 and an IPT of 87, quite high compared to some other properties in the northern Médoc. It has "cool" nose, by that I mean it is not a flamboyant set of aromatics like the 2009 or 2010, but rather "streamlined" and focused, very delineated with black fruit intermingling with incense and iris. It is very controlled. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, but "full" tannins in the mouth that lend this Cos d'Estournel impressive volume. There is an unerring purity here, a gradual crescendo of intensity towards a peppery finish that lingers long. This is an impressive Grand Vin - classic Cos d'Estournel. Tasted three times with consistent notes.

Bettane & Desseauve

18

par Bettane & Desseauve le 30/04/2015

Retour au pur style médocain, beaucoup de corps, de fraîcheur et assise tannique promettant un long vieillissement.

Asian Palate

95

par Jeannie Cho Lee MW le 20/04/2015

Lifted, aromatic nose of violets with gorgeous flavors of dark spices and fresh blackberry. The palate has rounded tannins and an explosion of flavors. This wine has amazing energy and lift with floral notes, dark spices and minerality. There is a freshness in this vintage but the acid levels were not high in 2014 at Cos. Long finish. A wine that will age beautifully.

Decanter.com

18,5

par Steven Spurrier le 17/04/2015

Dense black fruits nose – exotic, described as 'bewitching'. Wonderful texture and depth, great richness with fine firmness to back it up. The best 'modern' Cos for years. Drink: 2020-2040 (95)

Jancis Robinson

18

par Jancis Robinson le 16/04/2015

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. 80% new oak. Dense colour. Really very luscious indeed. A streak of St-Estèphe iron filings but surrounded by the more opulent fruit. Fine and refined. More fun than Lafite! Masses of tannins and density. Shorter than some vintages, such as 2005!   14.2%Drink 2024-2045

Jamessuckling.com

96-97

par James Suckling le 10/04/2015

I love the style of this Cos with so much Indian spices constituting the aromas and flavors here. Full body, fine tannins and an ultra-long finish. Excellent structure and length yet this maintains finesse.

timatkin.com

97

par Tim Atkin MW le 07/04/2015

ThebestCossince2010,thisisdenseandconcentrated,butstillremarkablywellbalanced,withsweetnessbalancedbygrassyfreshnessandgoodagingpotential.

René Gabriel

19

par René Gabriel le 01/04/2015

65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 % Merlot, 2 % Cabernet Franc. Mit 33,5 Hektoliter pro Hektare eine eher kleinere Ernte. Extrem dunkles Purpur mit lila und violetten Reflexen. Royales Bouquet, die fast nur schwarzbeerig ausstrahlenden Fruchtkomponente sind sehr frisch, über dem vielschichtigen, faszinierenden Nasenspiel sind tanzende Veilchennoten zu erspüren, dann schwarze Edelhölzer, Lakritze und eine passende Portion Mokka dahinter. Im Gaumen seidige Tannine, ausgeglichene, reife Adstringenz, mittelgewichtiger Körper mit schon fast dramatischer Länge. Der allererste Cos, welchen ich als Fassprobe verkostete war der Jahrgang 1985. Und ich war damals sichtlich berührt. Und das war jetzt wieder der Fall. Mit einem Wein der dem 1985er in ganz vielen Dingen gleicht. Und dann doch wieder nicht! 19/20 2020 – 2040

Wine Enthusiast

97

par Roger Voss le 01/04/2015

96–98. Barrel Sample. A very firm, dark structure sustains the ripe, bold flavors of black plums and rich berries. The wine has a structured, concentrated background that shows a new, more subtle direction in contrast with the winery's previously showy style.  — R.V.  (4/1/2015)