2008 Cos d'Estournel Bordeaux Blend
Reviews of 2008 Cos d'Estournel Bordeaux Blend
94-96 points, Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
April 2009
The 2008 Cos d’Estournel possesses an atypically high (85%) amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, with 13% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The first vintage vinified in the new facility, an unusually high percentage of the crop (78%) was included in the grand vin. The bad news is that yields were a minuscule 25 hectoliters per hectare. This wine achieved 13.8% natural alcohol, and the number of days between the flowering and harvest was 160, compared to the normal 100-110 (one of the keys to understanding the exceptionally high quality that characterizes the 2008 Bordeaux). There were no serious heat waves during the growing season, which meant that the maturation process was slow, long, and ideal. Combine that with the very low yields, and the superb weather from mid-September to late-October, and the often splendid results are much easier to comprehend. The inky/purple-hued 2008 Cos is still very young, and probably will improve even further as the wine came out of malolactic fermentation very late. It reveals exceptionally precise, fresh aromas of black fruits, crushed rocks, licorice, flowers, and subtle smoke. Dense and high in tannin, the extraordinary richness of polyphenols has given the wine power, substance, and depth, but the sweetness of the tannin and the seemingly low acidity, even though the wine tastes remarkably fresh and the pH is only 3.57 (compared to pH’s close to 4 when the fruit is this ripe), has given the wine a precision and elegance that is remarkable. And don’t forget, this is probably the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon ever used in a Cos d’Estournel blend. This wine should gain weight, richness, and a few Parker points by the time it is bottled. It is even denser and richer than the 1996, with an index of polyphenols at 80, which is not unusual for many of the top wines of the vintage, but is extremely high, and more along the lines of what one would find in the top wines of 2005. It should evolve for 30-35 years
About 2008 Cos d'Estournel Bordeaux Blend
About the Winery Cos d'Estournel
"Château Cos d'Estournel, acknowledged to be the most outstanding cru of St Estephe, is certainly the most spectacular edifice to grace the commune's vineyards. Surprisingly not a residence but a chais, its oriental facade is adorned with three pagoda turrets, all cast in a soft golden sandstone. Overlooking the border between Pauillac and St Estephe, and the vineyards of Lafite-Rothschild, from the crest of its gravellous slope, this rather fantastic piece of architecture is a fitting monument to its wines...a very strong aristocratic and exotic personality, uplifted by very contemporary wines which can hold up to 40% merlot (very rare in Médoc) and enjoy a tailored ageing in new oak barrels. The result is highly audacious, extremely generous, ripe, long and spicefull.." www.cosestournel.com
About the Wine
"A vintage marked by a great lack of water in summer and by harvesting carried out in ideal conditions.
A very intense colour, hardly developed. A complex bouquet which reveals little; spices, liquorice, cedar wood. The structure of delicate tannins is enormous, the flesh is full and rich. Very long in the mouth. A virile wine, a wine with a future which can develop in the cellar over many long years, but which may, even so, be drunk as from today.
68% Cabernet Sauvignon
30% Merlot
2% Cabernet Franc
90% New oak barrels"
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