Cos d'Estournel 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Estephe 2005

The purity of fruit in this is fascinating, along with plums, currants, and other dark fruits. Then, there is another layer of spices and chocolate. There is so much cassis. Full and very layered with chewy polished tannins and a long, long finish. It's just starting to open. Changes all the time.

Gorgeous blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, chocolate, gravelly earth, and spicy notes all define the 2005 Château Cos D'Estournel, a deep, full-bodied, powerful expression of this terroir that does everything right. Massively concentrated, rich, and unctuous, it nevertheless stays flawlessly balanced and has ripe, polished tannins. Needing plenty of air to show at its best, it's just now getting to the early stages of its prime drinking window and has another 30 years or more of longevity. A word of warning, I have found some variability in this wine, with some bottles being more evolved and tired than expected. Provenance is key.

Drink 2024 - 2054

The 2005 Cos d’Estournel is another great success from this property, which Michel Reybier owns. A superstar of St.-Estèphe in this vintage, this wine has a dense ruby/purple colour, beautiful, sweet cassis and blackcurrant fruit, some floral notes, spice and a touch of oak in a full-bodied, layered, impressive multi-dimensional style. The tannins are surprisingly sweet and well-integrated, as are the acidity, alcohol and wood. This is a beauty and certainly the top wine of St.-Estèphe. Drink it over the next 25+ years.

Drink 2015 - 2040

Good ruby-red. The knockout nose combines currant, plum, minerals, liquorice, and graphite. It is wonderfully sweet, rich, and deep, but with near-perfect balancing acidity to frame the wine's lush fruit. This superb 2005 has it all. It finishes with noble, sweet tannins and palate-saturating persistence. On my most recent visit, Prats told me he considered 2005 to be superior to the 2003 and that the '05 may be "our best wine ever."

This inky, dark wine is seductive and immediately approachable. Its nose is of sweet black fruit touched with honey and a bit of earth. The texture is silky and dense but not lacking in substance or structure. As is often the case, the blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot with a bit of Cabernet Franc was one of the leading lights in the appellation in 2005. Drinking now, and it should continue to improve for decades.

Drink 2021 - 2040