Chateau Cos d´Estournel 2014

JAMES SUCKLING: "If you want to know what St.-Estèphe smells like, this is it. Aromas of spices, black truffles, forest floor, dried strawberries and tar. It’s full-bodied yet pinpointed on the palate with fabulous density and richness. It’s opulent but in a reserved and checked way. This needs at least five or six years to come around, but it’s already fantastic. What harmony and structure. Try in 2022 if you can keep your hands off it!"

WEINWISSER: "65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 % Merlot, 2 % Cabernet Franc. Mit 33,5 Hektoliter pro Hektar eine eher kleinere Ernte. Extrem dunkles Purpur mit lila und violetten Reflexen. Royales Bouquet, die fast nur schwarzbeerig ausstrahlende Fruchtkomponente ist sehr frisch, über dem vielschichtigen, faszinierenden Nasenspiel sind tanzende Veilchennoten zu erspüren, dann schwarze Edelhölzer, Lakritze und eine passende Portion Mokka dahinter. Im Gaumen seidige Tannine, ausgeglichene, reife Adstringenz, mittelgewichtiger Körper mit schon fast dramatischer Länge. Der allererste Cos, welchen ich als Fassprobe verkostete war der Jahrgang 1985. Damals war ich sichtlich berührt, jetzt wieder: Ein Wein, der dem 1985er in ganz vielen Dingen gleicht und dann doch wieder nicht!"

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This is an immensely dense wine that is going to be a classic. The dark tannis are still lined with wood aging but that will go because the fruit underneath is also just as dense and intense. Blackberry, black plum and damson plum give power and sweetness. This is a great wine with huge potential. Dring from 2028.

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Full bodied, concentrated and with a lush character to the tannins, the fruit is ripe, sweet and fresh. There is a sweetness and purity to the dark red berries that tastes and feels great. On the palate, the blackberries, earth, licorice and spice continue the experience. Drink a bottle young for its youthful vibrancy and save the rest for at least a decade, which is when this beauty will just start to shine its lights brightly."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The grand vin 2014 Cos D’Estournel is gorgeous, and I think a step up over the 2015. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, this deep, inky-colored 2014 boasts a gorgeous perfume of ripe currants and cassis fruits, loads of chocolaty oak, cedar and scorched earth, full-bodied richness, and building, firm, yet ripe tannin. It’s certainly one of the gems in the vintage, as well as one of the more structured, opulent and age-worthy. Give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following two to three decades."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2014 Cos d'Estournel has a deep garnet-purple color and is a little closed at this stage, offering slowly emerging scents of fresh blackcurrants, black plums and blackberries plus nuances of pencil shavings, dried lavender, bay leaves and fertile loam with a waft of iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, it has a generous mid-palate of muscular, youthful fruit with a firm frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and savory."

WINE SPECTATOR: " Intense, with a roiling core of luscious loganberry, blackberry and black currant fruit. Singed spice, apple wood and black tea accents emerge steadily on the finish. Has a rare combination of density and precision. Will cruise in the cellar. Best from 2020 through 2035. 14,000 cases made."