CHÂTEAU COS D'ESTOURNEL

The 2016 Cos d'Estournel is polished, silky and gracious, just as it was from barrel. In this vintage, the Grand Vin is especially refined. The dark red cherry, plum, new leather, licorice, cedar, mocha and spice notes are all beautifully delineated. To be sure, the 2016 represents a decidedly laid-back style within the context of recent vintages. I can't wait to see how it ages. Drinking range: 2026 - 2056 Rating: 95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

The 2016 Cos d'Estournel takes the 2016 baton and runs with it. A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc that was picked between 26 September and 15 October at 45 hectoliters per hectare, this fabulous Saint Estèphe will be matured in 60% new oak. The alcohol level this year is 13.07%, which proprietor Michel Reybier reminded me is almost 1.5% lower than in 2010. This is clearly a more classically styled Cos d'Estournel that is completely different than say, the 2009 Cos d'Estournel and the more flamboyant, exotic wines in recent years. It actually bears more stylistic similarities to its neighbor Montrose. It is extremely detailed with blackberry and a touch of boysenberry, the fruit almost "creeping up" on you by stealth and then underneath, an undertow of minerals, wet limestone and even flint. The palate has astonishing: exquisite balance, perhaps the most precise and detailed Cos d'Estournel that I have encountered in many years of tasting at this address. It segues into a Pauillac-like second-half with veins of graphite strafing the black fruit, but what marks this Cos d'Estournel is the palpable energy and tension allied with an effortless nature. The persistence, the reverberation in the mouth is quite magnificent, perhaps even longer on my second visit to the property compared to the first. It really is a brilliant Cos d'Estournel that oozes class and sophistication, moreover, a wine that is going to give serious amounts of drinking pleasure over a very long period of time. Boom—and Cos drops the mic. Tasted twice, almost three weeks apart, with consistent notes. Drinking range: 2026 - 2065 Rating: 98-100 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc. 26 September to 15 October. IPT 69. pH 3.66. Very similar analysis to 2015. 45 hl/ha yield, which they feel is best for vine balance now. Energy and raciness on the nose. Gentle and lifted. And then lots of tannins underneath. Fresh almost sandy tannins. Good energy and tea-leaf sensation. Excellent freshness. Long. Restrained. Elegant. Drinking range: 2025 - 2042 Rating: 18 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)

The finish is something else here. This is a wine that’s so powerful and tannic yet at the same time so polished and superb on the finish. Full-bodied, beautifully crafted and precise. This is a wine that really grabs your attention. The agility and power are more than impressive. Wow is the word. Rating: 97-98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)

This is one of the best Cos d'Estournels that I can remember trying at this early stage, it really does have every hair standing up on end. Powerful and deep, with a clear intensity but such delicacy; this is fresh, beautiful and succulent. It moves effortlessly through the palate without ever letting you forget that it's there. Deep black cherries, touches of dark chocolate and graphite are driven forward by a pulse of energy. From a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc aged in 60% new oak. Drinking range: 2027 - 2050 Rating: 97 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2017)

The beautiful 2016 Cos d'Estournel is one of the most polished, gracious young Cos d'Estournels I can remember tasting. Aromatic freshness and lift, along with a distinctly red fruit profile, are among the signatures. It will be interesting to see if this style of Cos - one in which concentration and textural richness are backed off - is the result of the vintage or an evolution in winemaking philosophy, or perhaps, as is most likely, a little bit of both. Rating: 92-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

“There’s a freshness in the wine and I’m not exactly sure where it came from,” admits Dominique Arangoits. And very tasty it is too. Graphite and orange zest aromas segue into a fine, elegant, leafy palate with stylish oak and filigree tannins. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 96 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)

In my last sighted review of the 2016 Cos d’Estournel, I wrote: "I suspect it will close down for a period in its youth." Perhaps it is already beginning to shut down, because though this wine was deeply impressive, it fell just a notch short of ethereal previous bottles, despite its "pixelated black fruit" on the nose and "sublime balance" on the palate. I tasted the wine twice thereafter, though this time with a 4-6 hour decant, and this revealed the Cos d'Estournel that has amazed since I first tasted it out of barrel. Drinking range: 2030 - 2070 Rating: 100 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 1899)