2022 Chateau Cos d'Estournel - 2eme Cru St. Estephe

Decanter.com – 97 pts – GH: *Fresh and vibrant blackcurrant aromas with milk chocolate, vanilla and floral scents - so aromatic and expressive. Juicy and alive, bright and vibrant on the palate with soft herbal scents surrounding the fruit. The flavours - blackcurrant, black cherry, damson and orange rind - settle vertically but the firm and textured tannins give the focus, structure and tension. It has liquorice and flint edges all the way giving a savoury touch and clear minerality as well as dark chocolate and clove spice. Refined and serious but also there’s such a delicious juicy undercurrent giving life and energy. Confident winemaking on show, this is a real success in delivering a complete and powerful wine with depth but no heaviness. Totally delicious and moreish. A wine you're going to finish! Potential upscore in bottle. Two-third grand vin production. 2.94 total acidity. 3.79pH. 90 IPT. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend.* - 04/2023

Falstaff Magazin – 98 pts – PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, tintig, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Intensive schwarze Beerenfrucht, Brombeeren, Lakritze, dunkle Herzkirschen, kandierte Orangenzesten etwas Gewürznelken, einladendes Bukett. Kraftvoll, engmaschig und mineralisch, feines Nugat unterlegt, stramme, reife Tannine im Hintergrund, kandierte Veilchen, große Länge, sicheres Potenzial, hat Jahrzehnte vor sich.* - 01/2023

Vinum Magazin – 19,5/20 pts: *Grossartiger, mit Meisterhand gekelterter Cos, beispielhaft ausgewogen, dank exzellentem Tannin von edlem Schliff, grosser Mineralität, enorme Spannkraft, Eleganz trotz der Stoffigkeit und Fülle; auch 20 Punkte wert.* - 04/2023

WeinWisser – 19+/20pts – GL, TW: *61 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 37 % Merlot, 1 % Cabernet Franc, 1 % Petit Verdot, 33 hl/ha. Sehr komplexes und tiefgründiges Bouquet, Wildkirsche, Lakritze und parfümierter Pfeifentabak, dahinter tiefschürfende Terroirwürze, schwarzer Johannisbeernektar und dunkles Edelholz. Am geradlinigen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, körnigem Extrakt, zupackenden St. Estèphe-Krallen und muskulösem Körper. Im konzentrierten Finale verschlankt sich der Gigant und endet mit kleinen schwarzen Beeren, Wacholder und feinmehliger Adstringenz.* – 04/2023

JancisRobinson.com – 18/20pts – JL: *61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. 66% of the production. Cask sample. Deep purple-black hue. Firm, structured with huge reserve. Layers of dark fruit and a massive tannic frame. Almost like it’s been hewn from stone. Tannins polished, though, providing enormous length. Not for the faint-hearted. Will need patience.* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (95-97) pts – AG: *The 2022 Cos d’Estournel is stunning. Rich and statuesque in bearing, the 2022 captures all the best this vintage had to offer. A wine of precision and power, the 2022 balances the intensity of the year but without veering into the realm of the exotic, as was the case in vintages such as 2005 and 2009. It marries ripeness and classical rigor in a style that is quite appealing. I imagine the 2022 will need a good 15-20 years to be at its finest. Harvest took place between September 7 and 23, exceptionally early.* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (95-97) pts – NM: *The 2022 Cos d'Estournel was picked from 7 to 23 September at 33hL/ha and is aged in 50% new oak (one cannot imagine that being countenanced 15-20 years ago). It has an overtly floral nose with wilted violets infusing the precocious yet controlled black fruit. There's fine delineation, impressive focus and energy. The palate is smooth and silky on the entry with pliant, sculpted tannins. The acidity is well judged (3.79pH) with white pepper and a graphite element toward the persistent finish. Quintessential Cos d'Estournel, this wine will mature for many years, although the jury's out on whether it will surpass triumphs like the 2016 or 2019/20.* - 03/2023

Thewinecellarinsider.com – (98-100) pts – JL: *Opaque in color, the wine pops from the glass with black fruits, cloves, cinnamon, blackberries, blueberries, purple flowers, almonds, and smoke. The wine coats, bathes, and covers your palate with seemingly endless layers of opulent, black fruits. The cashmere tannins create the impression of velvet as the wine lingers for 60 seconds or more with its waves of black, blue. and red fruits, dark cocoa, licorice, and Asian spice. There is a seamlessness to the finish, as well as lift, and purity. This is a very hedonistic, yet elegant wine. 2022 clearly competes with the best of vintages of Cos ever produced. The wine was made from blending 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. 14.04% ABV, 3.79 pH. The yields were 33 hectoliters per hectare. The harvest took place September 7 to September 23. The Grand Vin was produced from 66% of the harvest. The wine is going to approachable early in its life, yet it has the ability to age for decades. Drink from 2028-2060.* - 05/2023