Château Cos d'Estournel 2001

A beautiful effort, the 2001 Cos d’Estournel (65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot) exhibits a poised, noble bouquet of black currants, cedar, spice box, and licorice. A hint of truffles emerges as it sits in the glass. Medium-bodied with sweet fruit (mostly black) and nicely integrated wood, it builds incrementally in the mouth, ending with a 50-second finish. Drink this stylish, restrained yet substantial claret over the next 15+ years.

Suave, with a cool, minty hint weaving around the core of mulled red currant, blackberry and plum fruit. Lovely spice, black tea and singed juniper notes are perfectly inlaid throughout, showing a tug of charcoal at the very end. -- Blind '01/'03/'05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2025. 17,705 cases made.

Gorgeous, a clear step up from the 2000 vintage as it approaches its second decade. This is not quite ready to drink, although a few hours in a decanter could open it up sufficiently. It's full of intense, tight and spirited black fruits, replete with this château’s signature richness of structure, which seems to ooze naturally through the tannins. There's a real sense of energy and zest, with liquorice, slate, spice, cassis and black cherry. The second half of August was hotter in 2001 than 2000 in St-Estèphe, and the grapes were left to reach a long, slow maturity. Harvesting did not begin until 1 October when the nights were getting cooler –this will have helped the wine keep its remarkable freshness. Matured in 80% new oak.

Velvety textured with soft, silky tannins and chocolate, meaty and berry character. Full and round. Slightly forgotten and delicious. Drink now.

Bright ruby-red. Vibrant, complex aromas of cassis, graphite, eucalyptus and tobacco. Fat and sweet but shapely, with impressive density and underlying structure. Flavors of plum, mint, roasted nuts and sweet oak. Fairly full for young Cos, but quite suave. Finishes with firm but smooth tannins and excellent grip. Better than the 2000.

Fully ready to go with no decanting. Medium to full-bodied, with a classic nose of black fruit and red currants, spice, herbs, tobacco, and forest greenery. The wine starts well on the palate but fades too quickly, with a touch of dryness on the finish. Still, it is a nice wine with Cos character and worth checking out. Drink from 2025–2035.

The 2001 Château Cos D'Estournel is fully mature, with a complex, sweet nose of darker currants, leafy tobacco, damp earth, and truffle that shows more floral and spicy nuances with time in the glass. These all carry to a medium-bodied, elegant Saint-Estèphe with fine tannins and terrific balance. This classy, elegant wine is best enjoyed over the coming decade.

Medium-dark ruby-purple. Intense, heady bouquet: wild cherries, coffee, cloves, a slight green-tinged Cabernet touch; actually quite slender yet rather profound. Aromatic palate, medium body, black peppercorns, plum skins, slightly roughened by the concentration; may still gain a point and then go down in wine history as a rather classic, long-lived Cos.

02: Barrel sample (17/20): Gorgeous, fragrant cherry bouquet with a hint of refreshing lemon balm, candied fruits, fruit tea, cassis, almond and marzipan notes. On the palate it feels slim yet muscular, but with relatively little flesh; a floral finish with firm, slightly too foregrounded tannins, conciliatory mocha on the finish. Overall lots of breed and power, but a bit short on fat. Once again a rather disappointing Cos that surely won’t be a bargain for its wine friends price-wise. Similar to the ’94, which showed comparable parallels at the en primeur tasting. 04: Noticeably lighter color than 2002 and 2003; brightening ruby with a relatively broad watery rim. Fragrant, peppery bouquet, red currants, backed by coffee notes and cedar wood, beautiful notes reminiscent of exotic spices (especially cloves), yet it remains rather slim at the outset. Fine, elegant palate, the tannins feel polished and already make the wine delicate and refined; a slightly underripe skin note lingers on the finish, medium length. (17/20). 06: Medium-dark ruby-purple. Intense, heady bouquet, wild cherries, coffee, cloves, a slightly green Cabernet touch; actually quite slim but fairly deep. Aromatic palate, medium build, black peppercorns, plum skins, a bit roughened by its concentration; it may gain another point and will then go down as a rather classic, long-lived Cos. 08: Drunk at lunch at Cos. Already shows as a seductive charmer with a soft texture and plummy sweetness. In the meantime, Jean-Guillaume also somehow admits that this Cos does come from a great vintage, but isn’t quite as successful. 09: Dark garnet with a violet sheen. Spicy bouquet, ground black pepper, dark fine woods, multi-layered. Firm palate, slightly mealy body, balanced astringency, comes across a bit rough, thus lacking some harmony for its expected class. At the Wine & Dine in Bad Ragaz: boring and somehow already in early maturity. 10: Needs a good half hour of air and then becomes quite fine and pleasant. Fairly grand, fine St-Estèphe—but not a great Cos. (17/20). 20: Dark color still with a violet sheen. The bouquet is on the one hand floral, on the other showing dark-roasted mocha notes, black olives, turpentine, pumpernickel bread and Californian prunes. On the palate it shows dark aromatics, long finish. I had underrated it in recent years and am upgrading it now. Right at its pleasure peak. Immensely enjoyable! (18/20). 20: Medium wine-red with purple highlights, markedly brightening rim. Open bouquet, showing a certain sweetness of red cherry compote and a hint of Amarena. On the second pass, a lactic tendency with a touch of café au lait. The nose is denser and more intense than the 2000 vintage. On the palate, quite substantial. The fleshy-grainy extract shows a gentle bitterness from the extraction. An appealing 2001 that is now at the right drinking maturity. Tastes better than a few years ago. (18/20). 21: It was the darkest wine of this quintet. Deep purple with the last lilac highlights in the center. The bouquet shows, on one hand, almost primary fruit notes of cherries and plums, and on the other floral traces from Cabernet batches that were not fully ripe. It comes across as complex with slight lactic tendencies in the form of blackberry yogurt. On the second pass; very spicy, clove buds, rosemary and freshly roasted Arabica mocha. On the palate, quite deep, still present tannins, which could also stem from a possibly quite generous extraction. This assumption is underlined by a still present, noble bitterness toward the finish. The nose rating is practically 19/20. The palate then relativizes the score to a fair average of 18/20.

Silky, delicately off-dry bouquet, blackberries, herbs, fine woods, light tobacco. Finely fruity, elegant palate with fragrant, sweet aromatics, a finely muscular structure, and a delicate finish. 17/20 drink - 2024

Opaque color, fairly youthful, a very spicy nose with stewed fruit; generous, rich palate but lacking a bit of energy. More breadth than depth.

The 2001 will surpass the 2000 in its expression. A very attractive nose of refined spices (pepper, curry), tobacco and black cherries. On the palate, the wine shows great freshness, with abundant yet supple tannins and real pedigree. Still very reserved, it deserves a long decanting.

Dark, intense color with slight evolution. Fruity nose with a hint of tar. Round, juicy, tender palate, with a return of that slightly tarry aroma. Very ripe and oaky profile. This woody note lacks finesse. Medium length.