Cos d'Estournel 1996 [magnum]

Jeannie Cho Lee

Tom Cannavan

Big, toasty, coffee-bean French oak nose. Quite earthy and animal beneath, with hints of blood and cedary complexity. Must be a classy claret. Earthy, deep and bittersweet on the palate with plummy depth and length. Very good Bordeaux.

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

The aromatics capture the wines mature essence with its earthy wet forest floor, tobacco leaf, cigar box and bright red fruits. There is lift in the fruit, coupled with a leafy, red berry assortment in the finish. This is probably close to fully mature, where it should remain for at least 15 or more years before entering its slow decline.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Tasted at the château, the 1996 Cos d'Estournel was aged in 65% new oak (unlike the 1995 which was 100%) and is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot. It has a straight down the line, intense and focused, graphite and melted tar bouquet. It is almost Pauillac in style, no surprise given its proximity. The palate is medium-bodied with fresh acidity, finer tannin than the 1986 Cos d'Estournel tasted alongside, but sharing those same leitmotifs of black pepper and sea salt. I like the nonchalance of this Cos d'Estournel. At 20 years it is not an ostentatious wine, not determined to go out and impress, but its nuance, stylishness and classicism grow on you. Its virtues seem to register only after you swallow the wine and find yourself tempted back for more. Excellent!