Cos d’Estournel 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Estephe *, 2003

Critic Review

Cellar Favorite: 2003 Cos d’Estournel (Dec 2015)

The 2003 Cos d’Estournel is a total knock out. Super-ripe and opulent from the outset, the 2003 is a big, ample Cos that takes over all the senses and never lets up. The bouquet alone – with its alluring notes of tobacco, cedar, spice, dark roasted fruits, leather and smoke – is stunning in its beauty. All of those nuances follow through on the palate, where the 2003 is thick, dense and concentrated. The 2003 is just beginning to enter the very early part of its optimal drinking window. Despite its very ripe feel, the 2003 needs further time in bottle to fully come together. Interestingly, the 2005 is quite a bit more expressive and rewarding to drink now. The 2003 is a superb Cos that captures the essence of this freakishly hot, record-setting vintage. Although the 2003 is the product of a very warm vintage, the wine was remarkably fresh, even two days after having been opened. In 2003 the blend is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc.

Antonio Galloni - 96

Fairest of Them All: Cos d’Estournel 1928 – 2015 (Oct 2018)

The 2003 Cos d’Estournel revels in a vintage that shone in Saint-Estèphe. In some ways it is a prototype of the 2009 however, the 2003 feels more natural, more a product of the growing season than a premeditated crowd-pleaser like the 2009. It has that almost gregarious bouquet with plush raspberry ripple, vanilla pod, crème de cassis and pencil lead aromas. As I have noted previously, it has shed a lot of baby fat in recent years, less flamboyant than in its youth. What is so surprising is the delineation evident in this wine, something that it shares with the 2003 Montrose and a virtue denuded many other Left Bank 2003s, especially in the southern Médoc. Maybe at the moment the Montrose just has the edge but that should take nothing away from one of the best 2003s you will find. Tasted at the Cos d’Estournel vertical in London.

Neal Martin - 96

The Annual Red Bordeaux Report (May 2004)

Saturated medium ruby. Expressive aromas of dark fruits, minerals, licorice, tobacco leaf, dark chocolate and sexy oak. Lush, full and rich; packed with flavor. Wonderfully silky, deep, chocolatey wine, but also lively and not at all heavy. Finishes very long, with suave tannins covered by fruit. Not especially oaky today, nor is the wine's 13.5% alcohol obvious. (As with Montrose, this estate's second wine, Pagodes de Cos, should be unusually dense and satisfying in 2003, and should offer very good value.)

Stephen Tanzer - 92-95

A Century of Bordeaux: The Threes (Aug 2023)

The 2003 Cos d'Estournel was showing wonderfully when I last tasted it at the vertical in 2018, yet five years on, I wonder whether that point in time represented its apex? Here, it has a concentrated bouquet with mulberry, stewed plums, touches of licorice and leather, slowly moving into its secondary stage. The palate is medium-bodied and has a menthol-infused entry with medicinal, Mediterranean-infused notes I did not observe before. Bold and powerful, but at 20 years of age, for the first time, I wonder whether it is losing some of its freshness and terroir expression. Tasted at the château.

Neal Martin - 93