Château Cos d'Estournel 2020
IN BOND
Delivery 2023
Appellation - St Estèphe
Owner - Bernard Arnault and Albert Frère
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
Second wine – Les Pagodes de Cos
Annual production – 400,000 bottles
TASTING NOTES
"The 2020 Cos d’Estournel is a very different proposition to the Les Pagodes, more so than in other years. Much more intense on the nose of intense black fruit, it is beautifully defined, with enticing scents of blackberry, Dorset plum and topnotes of blueberry and briar. After 30 minutes in the glass, it develops more Saint-Estèphe-like traits: freshly tilled soil, cigar box and touches of warm gravel. There is an openness to these inviting aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins (so different from the "iron girders" of yore). There is freshness and a sense of light in this Cos d’Estournel, though the backbone remains in situ on the cedar and mint finish (a nod to neighboring Pauillac, perhaps), then a lingering marine/seaweed note on the aftertaste. This is a finely crafted, very succinct Cos d’Estournel that may well be hiding something up its sleeve for after bottling, and I suspect it will gain more spine during its barrel aging. 2025 - 2060"
Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2021
95/97
