2017 Chateau Cos d'Estournel

Chateau Cos d’Estournel have made great strides in the recent past, and their new winemaking facility is one of the most impressive and purpose driven in the area. All movement of wine from the moment grapes arrive is done via gravity, a process involving a style of wine elevator to raise and lower tanks, and one that removes the use of pumps entirely.

While the wines from this Second Growth property have been patchy throughout their history, it’s no secret that they have been on fire over the last 15 years, producing rich, concentrated, and potentially very long lived wines warranting perfect scores for numerous wine critics.

Other Reviews....
The final blend of the 2017 Cos d'Estournel is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Very deep purple-black in color, it offers up intense scents of crushed blackcurrants, blackberries and black cherries with touches of incense, spice cake, star anise and plum preserves plus a perfumed hint of potpourri. The palate is medium-bodied with very firm yet wonderfully ripe, "sweet", fine-grained tannins at just 13% alcohol—something of a miracle in our modern times. The palate sports fantastic freshness and tons of energy emitted from the intensely perfumed black fruit layers, finishing on an epically long-lingering mineral note. Truly profound.
97-100 points
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Wine Advocate #236 (April 2018)

Love tasting this wine. You almost want to drink it for its harmony and balance. Full-bodied and so complete with cloves, spices, dark berries and hints of chocolate. Wonderful integration on the finish.
97-98 points
James Suckling

This impressive wine is serious, dense and richly endowed with great swathes of black plum. An excellent wine from this estate, ripe black fruits, layers of acidity and dark tannins are perfectly poised. This is a wine for long-term aging.
95-97 points
Wine Enthusiast

The 2017 Cos d’Estournel is matured in 60% new oak and comprises 13% alcohol, approximately the same as the 2016. It has a more expressive and welcoming bouquet than usual, maybe more indicative of how this wine will mature in bottle, less opaque than the 2016. A common theme throughout the range from Cos d’Estournel is a Pauillac-inspired backbone/tannic structure coupled with an attractive scent wafting over from the estuary...think mudflats, oyster shells and the tang of sea spray. It gains a little intensity with aeration but never fully lets go. The palate is very well balanced with filigree tannin, rendering this one of the most approachable barrel samples from the estate in recent years. The coolness of the latter part of the season defines this Saint-Estèphe more than the precocity of June: streamlined, cool and linear with a velvety finish that feels sleek, to the point of being understated, though that belies its length and focus. This is simply a very classy wine in the making and typical of the more recent sophisticated style pursued by the property in recent years.
94-96 points
Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2017 Cos d'Estournel is a sleek, polished wine built on finesse more than power. Sweet, perfumed aromatics and silky tannins add to that impression. In 2017 the Grand Vin shows a distinctly red-fruit and floral character that matches its mid-weight personality nicely. The blend is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. New oak is around 60%.
92-95 points
Antonio Galloni - Vinous

A wine that might surpass the 2014 and 2015, the 2017 Cos d'Estournel checks in as a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, harvested between the 12th and 30th of September, and brought up in 60% new French oak. While it’s not a huge wine, it has incredible purity and precision as well as terrific notes of crème de cassis, graphite, damp earth, and crushed rock. Possessing ultra-fine tannin, beautiful balance, and again, awesome purity of fruit, it’s going to benefit from short-term cellaring and cruise for two decades in the cellar.
94-96 points
Jeb Dunnuck