Cos d'Estournel 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Estephe 2012

Always excellent for the vintage. What a nose with currants, blackberries, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stones and wet earth too. Full-bodied and refined yet muscular and trim. Fabulously polished tannins. Try drinking in 2020.

Plenty of exotic spices, saffran, clove, black pepper, turmeric, cassis, with sandalwood, gunsmoke and cedar smoke. Both character and bite, with plenty of impact. 50% of overall production, this is a successful Cos d'Estournel with plenty to recommend, capturing the gourmet sweetness of the vintage. 70% new oak.

The 2012 Cos d'Estournel is beautifully delineated and layered in the glass. A wine of nuance and precision, the 2012 possesses a remarkable combination of richness and detail. A blast of dark red cherry jam, rose petals, mint and cinnamon informs the deep, pliant finish. I imagine the 2012 will offer several decades of very fine drinking. This is a terrific 2012 with a good deal of upside potential.

The 2012 from Cos d'Estournel is a streamlined, elegant version of this cuvée that offers first rate notes of crème de cassis, graphite, smoked herbs and saddle leather, with hints of oak pushed into the background. Supple, medium to full-bodied and charming, yet with enough tannin to warrant short term cellaring, give bottles 5-6 years in the cellaring and enjoy over the following two decades.

Deep-coloured, richly flavoured claret with an immediate and abundant ‘attack’, which then rather fades away. Will undoubtedly keep well but will always lack the class of a more successful year.

The 2012 Cos d'Estournel is medium to deep garnet-purple colored. It features notes of mocha, cedar chest, and licorice over a core of warm cassis and blackberry preserves with a hint of wild sage. The medium-bodied palate has a chewy backbone of oak-inspired tannins with delicate fruit and an herbal, lifted finish.

The 2012 Cos d'Estournel has a perfumed bouquet with blackberry, cedar, undergrowth and black pepper aromas all well-defined and focused, with more vigour than many of its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, good acidity, maybe a tad strict and dry on the finish, yet I admire its intensity and terroir expression. There was some bottle variation here, one bottle dominated by wood, the other more typical Cos d'Estournel with plenty of fruit. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.

It has a saturated purple color, a classic style, abundant tannin, slight austerity, superb concentration, huge fruit, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and a structured, muscular, well-delineated finish. This impressive, full-bodied Cos will need time to round into shape. Give it 4-5 years of cellaring and drink it over the following two decades.

Proprietor Michel Reybier has produced an outstanding 2012 Cos d’Estournel from a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and the rest tiny quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. With a pH of 3.75 and alcohol level of 13.8% this is a ripe wine with the same tannin levels IPH) as the 2009. The second wine, the 2012 Les Pagodes de Cos, represents 50% of the production.