Cos d'Estournel 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Estephe 2011

This is really excellent for the vintage with currants, dark berries and minerals on the nose and palate. Full body, firm tannins and a long finish. It’s a bit linear but racy and superb. One of the best of the vintage. Better in 2020.

Composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2011 Cos d'Estournel gives up compelling notes of roasted nuts, black cherry compote, blueberry pie and red and black currants with touches of yeast extract and smoked meats. Medium to full-bodied, very firm, grainy textured and with a great core of youthful black fruits, the palate reveals loads of savory layers on the very long finish. This is very youthful and slowly maturing—a very impressive showing for this vintage!

Overall 2011 was an early and dry vintage, but Cos d’Estournel harvested on 5 September because they were affected by localised hail. Perhaps this explains why this doesn't quite reach the heights that I have found elsewhere, just lacking some balance compared to other 2011 wines that I have tasted recently. The spice and black fruit notes are clear and highly attractive, and it's powerful and has character, but it needs a flick of freshness to emphasise the purity of fruit and lift the finish. Nevertheless, this does have a sense of energy and a gourmet touch through the mid-palate once it opens in the glass. 37% of production was used for the grand vin, due to the hail.

(65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and 5% petit verdot; 3.6 g/l total acidity; 3.55 pH; 92 IPT; 13.5% alcohol): Bright deep ruby. Closed nose hints at ripe black plum, cassis, coffee and violet. Fresh, clean and straightforward on entry, then a little tighter in the middle; needs time in the glass, and a little more sweet creamy flesh would have been nice too. Still, a very successful wine for the vintage. Only 30% of the total production went into the grand vin.

Because of a smaller than normal crop as well as the elimination of vineyard parcels devastated by the hail storm of September 1, production for Cos d’Estournel in 2011 is the smallest since 1991. Production for the 2011 Cos d’Estournel 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc that achieved 13.5% natural alcohol) is about 30% of their normal volume. An outstanding effort, this deep ruby/purple-colored wine exhibits notes of lead pencil shavings, black currants, boysenberries, cedar and earth. Made in a traditional style with more acidity and noticeable tannin than in recent years, this medium-bodied, pure 2011 should drink nicely for 15+ years.

The 2011 Cos d'Estournel shows quite a bit of extraction on the nose with brambly red fruit, blackcurrant, iris flower and cedar, gaining cohesion with time in the glass. The palate is ripe and chewy, good depth but broad-shouldered, again, maybe a little heavy on the extraction, whilst the finish feels a little monotone. Difficult to see where this will go. Frankly, I would drink this sooner rather than later. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.