Ratings Ratings 99 97-98 ...
99 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com
Based on 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot, the deep purple-hued 2020 Château Cos D'Estournel has, dare I say, an almost Lafite-like sense of elegance and class, offering gorgeous cassis and darker currants fruits as well as tobacco, lead pencil, acacia flowers, and graphite. Hitting 13.46 alcohol, with a pH of 3.9 and an IPT of 80, this flawless, full-bodied, incredible elegant Saint-Estèphe has silky tannins, perfect balance, and a great, great finish. It will need a decade of cellaring to hit its prime drink window. Of the trilogy of 2018, 2019, and 2020, it's clearly my favorite (that’s splitting hairs), with a similarity to the 2016, and will most likely merit another point at maturity.
97-98 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com
This is a very refined, polished Cos with superb finesse and length. Medium-to full-bodied, very fine and persistent. Really long with beautiful tannins. Rich, but fresh and linear. Yet, the alcohol is around 13.5%. 62% cabernet and 38% merlot.
96-98 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Cos d'Estournel is composed of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot. The harvest took place September 10–24 with a yield of 39 hectoliters per hectare. The alcohol weighs in at 13.46% with a pH of 3.9 and an IPT (total phenolic index) of 80. It is being aged in French oak barrels, 55% new. Deep purple-black in color, it pops with explosive scents of ripe red and black currants, black cherry preserves and black raspberries, followed by sparks of violets, wild sage, pencil lead and clove oil, with emerging hints of iron ore and damp soil. The medium-bodied palate has amazing elegance and grace contrasted by jaw-dropping energy, featuring a firm frame of finely grained tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with a whole firework display of mineral nuances. I love the way this Cos d'Estournel shimmies and shines—a unique vintage signature expressed so beautifully at this estate!
98 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent
The 2020 Cos d’Estournel has a deep garnet-purple color. It is very closed at this youthful stage but with much shaking it opens out to vivacious notes of crushed blackcurrants, juicy blackberries, kirsch, and cinnamon stick, plus suggestions of star anise, lilacs, and crushed rocks. The medium-bodied palate shimmers with energetic black fruit and mineral layers, supported by fine-grained, beautifully ripe tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and fragrant. A very elegant expression of Cos, and absolutely beguiling!
97 Antonio Galloni - Vinous
The 2020 Cos d'Estournel is a wine of extreme elegance. Silky and light on its feet, the 2020 is incredibly nuanced. In fact it is without question the most finessed of all the top wines in Saint-Estèphe, showing more in common with some of its neighbors in the north of Pauillac than the more potent wines of Saint-Estèphe. Impossibly soft, silky tannins wrap around a core of dark red fruit, spice and orange zest. The 2020 is not a huge Cos, but rather a wine for readers who appreciate elegance over power. I can't wait to see how it ages. Magnificent.
97 Wine Enthusiast
Powerful, ripe fruits show exceptional quality and a velvety character that's allied to a ripe structure. With the freshness so typical of the vintage, the wine seems open and fruity but surprises with its density
97 Decanter
You need to take a little time to let the concentrated flavours seep out, this is a long hauler. The tannins build slowly but surely through the palate, sombre and serious right now, particularly for an estate that is known for its exuberance. The opulence is there if you give it time, and as the tannins elongate and relax, richer notes of bilberry fruits, toasted cedar, salted chocolate, turmeric and black pepper spice arrives. Harvest September 10 to 24. A 3.9pH is the highest since 2003, but any threat of low acidity is balanced by high tannins, and relatively low alcohol.
Specifications Specifications
| Item # | 131357 |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Sub-Region | Ste Estephe |
| Color | Red |
| ABV | 13.5% |
| Size | 750mL |
| Closure | Cork |
| Varietal(s) | Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot |
| Taste | currant, blackberry, cherry, bell pepper, olive, asparagus, spice, ginger, oak, vanilla, black cherry, plum, smoke, toast and tar |
| Nose | currant, blackberry, cherry, cedar, cigar box, violet, rose, truffle, earth, coffee and leather |

