Farr Vintners Logo

Cos d'Estournel 2005

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Estèphe
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Cos d'Estournel

Label

Tasting Notes

The 2005 Cos d’Estournel is another great success from this property, which is owned by Michel Reybier. A superstar of St.-Estèphe in this vintage, this wine has a dense ruby/purple color, beautiful, sweet cassis and blackcurrant fruit, some floral notes, spice and a touch of oak in a full-bodied, layered, impressive multi-dimensional style. The tannins are surprisingly sweet and well-integrated, as is the acidity, alcohol and wood. This is a beauty and certainly the top wine of St.-Estèphe. Drink it over the next 25+ years. Drink 2015-2045.

97
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (219), June 2015

The Château Cos d'Estournel 2005 has a more opulent and riper bouquet compared to the Montrose '05 with blackberry, Morello cherries, dried orange peel and then with further aeration, sage and leather notes combining beautifully together. This is quintessential Cos d'Estournel, one that has meliorated in the last couple of years.. The palate is full-bodied with very fine tannin, a little easier-going than Montrose but that detracts nothing from the freshness and energy in this Saint Estèphe. You could argue it has a mote more precision than Montrose but there are just two sides of a very shiny coin. Drink 2020 - 2055

96
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, February 2015

The purity of fruit in this is fascinating with plums, currants and other dark fruits. Then there is another layer of spices and chocolate. So much cassis. Full and very layered with chewy polished tannins and a long, long finish. Just starting to open. Changes all the time. Still needs a year or two but gorgeous to drink already.

99
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, October 2015

The 2005 Cos d'Estournel is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-brick in color, it delivers blackcurrant pastilles, baked plums, and blackberry pie scents with smoked meats, cigar box, new leather, and dusty soil hints in the background. Full-bodied, concentrated, and muscular, it has firm, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral-laced. Drinking well now, it should cellar through 2045 and beyond. In 2000, Michel Reybier - former food mogul and subsequent owner of the La Reserve group of luxury hotels, spas and restaurants - purchased this property. Jean-Guillaume Prats, Bruno’s son, was asked by Reybier to stay on for a period as the managing director of the estate and it has to be said that he treated the property with the same passion and shared vision for greatness as ever. In 2004, Dominique Arangoits came on board as winemaker and remains today as the humble, down-to-earth orchestrator and rock of this estate.

96
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, July 2022

Vibrant, with stately ruby red depths, touches of smoked oak, grilled cocoa bean and liqourice. This is powerful, with depths to the slate-strewn tannins. Tobacco, saffron, sage, crushed stones, baked earth, there is an opulent ripeness to the fruit, just on the precipice of tertiary. A lovely wine, big shouldered still with a few years before reaching its plateau. A few years ago I wrote of the Cos 2005, 'Good luck trying to predict when this wine will reach its end', and I still absolutely stand by that comment. 100% new oak.

97
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, September 2022

Tasted blind. Very supple and sweet but without the ingredient X (and freshness) of the Calon-Ségur served immediately before it. Just a bit awkward on the end. But with lovely supple ripe fruit.
Drink 2017-2038

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, March 2017

Good ruby-red. Knockout nose combines currant, plum, minerals, licorice and graphite. Wonderfully sweet, rich and deep, but with near-perfect balancing acidity to frame the wine's lush fruit. This superb 2005 has it all. Finishes with noble, sweet tannins and palate-saturating persistence. On my most recent visit, Prats told me he considered 2005 to be superior to the 2003, and that the '05 may be "our best wine ever."

96
Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, June 2008

Firm and confident with realms of ripe fruit cloaked in classy toasted oak. A burst of ripe fruit on entry. Exciting. Drink from 2016. Awarded 4 stars.

Decanter.com, Decanter.com, July 2008

Came ninth out of 184 wines

18.17
-, Southwold Bordeaux Tasting, January 2009
Read more tasting notes...

While I am not convinced the 2005 Cos d’Estournel will eclipse the compelling 2003 Cos, it is unquestionably another superb classic from proprietor Michel Reybier and his brilliant winemaker, Jean-Guillaume Prats. Made from an unusually high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (78%) and the balance mostly Merlot with a tiny dollop of Cabernet Franc, this superb effort requires plenty of time in the bottle. It boasts an inky/purple color as well as a glorious perfume of licorice, Asian spices, creme de cassis, blackberries, and toasty oak. This full-bodied St.-Estephe is exceptionally powerful, pure, and dense with a layered mid-palate that builds like a skyscraper. While there are massive tannins, they are remarkably velvety and well-integrated in this big, backstrapping effort that should enjoy an unusually long life. Forget it for 8-10 years, and drink it between 2017-2040

98
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (176), April 2008

A classic in the making, the 2005 Cos has become even more backward and structured, making it one of the most inaccessible examples of this wine made in the last twenty years. There is an unusually high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (78%) blended with 19% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. The wine boasts a dense purple color along with a gorgeous bouquet of creme de cassis intermixed with licorice, pain grille, spice, and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, powerful, rich, and dense, with a sweet middle as well as huge tannins in the finish, it will be approachable in 8-10 years. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2035+.

94/96
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (170), April 2007

The 2005 Cos d’Estournel is made from an unusual blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc. The Merlot was picked during the last nine days of September, and the Cabernets were finished by the 9th of October. The 2005's 13.85% alcohol is the highest this estate has ever achieved. The implementation of such Burgundian winemaking techniques as malolactic in barrel and aging on its lees are resulting in wines of extraordinary texture as well as elegance. The 2003 may be more opulent, and for my taste a more compelling wine, but the 2005 is at the same level. Made from yields of 40 hectoliters per hectare, it exhibits an inky/purple color as well as a gorgeous nose of sweet red and black fruits, camphor, cedar, and pain grille. Extraordinarily well-defined, nuanced, and powerful, with high tannin as well as magnificent texture and richness, this classic offering will be uncommonly long-lived. It will not be close to drinkability for another 5-7 years, and should last for 30 or more. A fabulous wine!

95/97
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (164), April 2006

Black in color, with aromas of orange peel, new leather, currant, berry and christmas pudding. Full-bodied, with layers of velvety tannins and a long finish of fruit and spices. 2003 plus 2000 equals 2005. Best after 2015.

98
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, March 2008
98
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, February 2008

Wonderful purity on the nose, with currants, berries and minerals. Spicy. Virginal Cabernet Sauvignon. Full-bodied, with very, very racy tannins that develop wonderfully on the palate. Expands on the palate. Cashmerelike texture. Goes on and on. Is it better than the 2003?

95/100
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, March 2006

Very dark blackish crimson. Great vivacity and tension. Really long and packed full of both minerals and fruit. This is a real star! It positively throbs. One of the great successes of the vintage. 13.5%
Drink 2020-2050

18.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2015

Very dark crimson. Intense and brooding - La Mission-like minerals and concentration on the nose and then very dense and plush and flattering. A little hot on the end. Ends a little suddenly - modern style

18.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2009

Wonderfully intense, healthy purplish crimson. Restrained nose- rather cool impression despite the record alcohols that rose to 15 per cent for some Merlots. The finished wine is just below 14 per cent. Quite chewy and inky. There is obviously a lot of ripeness buried in here but that's what it is for the moment- buried. A sure bet but it's a monster for the moment. Very dry and Medoc and chewy. They have gone for max this year, and that means you will have to wait for max time for it to be ready. Less of a wine, more of a statement of intent. Jean-Guillaume Prats was perhaps aware that the first sample did not show perfectly so produced a second which was slightly more expressive. Drink 2020-35

18
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2006
17.75
Decanter.com, Decanter.com, July 2008
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.