Cos d'Estournel 2002

One of the candidates for wine of the vintage, this beauty has a dense purple color to the rim and a classic, noble nose of graphite intermixed with black currant, spice box, licorice, and red and black fruits. Medium to full-bodied with exceptional precision and definition, this beautifully textured wine stands out as one of the most successful wines of this irregular vintage. A brilliant effort, it should be at its best between 2008 and 2020.

Tasted blind at Farr's 2002 Bordeaux tasting. Just a fantastic wine…clean, fresh, bright and bushy tailed on the nose with blackberry, raspberry, cedar-wood and a real palpable sense of terroir. The palate is full-bodied, ripe and plush on the entry, focused and poised with good backbone, a wine intent on out-living its alumni. Corpulent and weight towards the finish. A wonderful Cos courtesy of Jean-Guillaume. Tasted October 2009.

Drink 2010-17 A bit spiky. Very chewy. Not one of the wines with the greatest finesse, but my second tasting convinced me there was quality here.

A brilliant effort for the vintage, the 2002 Cos d’Estournel is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot made from low yields of 32 hectoliters per hectare. It represents an outstanding expression of Bordeaux elegance married with surprising power, yet never going over the top. Complex aromatics include scents of smoke, licorice, red as well as black currants, vanilla, spice box, and Asian spices. The wine is medium-bodied, with great purity and elegance, a superb mouthfeel and texture, and a long, rich finish. It is not a huge blockbuster, but clearly administrator Jean-Guillaume Prats fully exploited his vineyard’s potential and did not try and overdo it, as some of his colleagues did. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2022