Tasting Notes
Robert Parker 98
The 2005 Cos d’Estournel is blended of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet colored, it is still a little closed and youthfully shy. With coaxing, the nose is just beginning to offer glimpses at vivacious kirsch, red roses, violets, licorice and mocha scents over a crème de cassis, blackberry pie and chocolate-covered cherry core with wafts of chargrill, mossy bark and truffles. Full-bodied, concentrated and wonderfully complex in the mouth, the palate is just beginning to reveal the true potential of this wine, with tightly wound layers of perfumed black fruits and earthy notions bound by a rock-solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and finishing with epic persistence. This still needs 5-6 years, but I love how this beauty is shaping up!!
Anticipated maturity: 2018-2045
JancisRobinson.com 17.5
Cassis on the nose, followed by a touch of liquorice and pencil lead, but there is still a lot more to come here – it’s emerging at a snail’s pace. The tannins are already drinkable, so you might coax more out of this with decanting. You’d never guess this was already a teenager. One for the long term.
Anticipated maturity: 2015-2040