CHÂTEAU COS D'ESTOURNEL

61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. 50% new oak. 14.04% alc. 33 hl/ha. 3.79 pH. 90 IPT. 33 hl/ha Harvest took place between 7 – 23 September I tasted the Cos portfolio of wines with owner Michel Reybier and winemaker Dominique Arangoïts. As this was right at the beginning of my week of tasting, they were kind enough to elaborate on the critical points of the vintage from their point of view and position on the Left Bank. They reported that May was unseasonably warm and that three heatwaves followed in June (14th – 18th ), July (9th – 18th) and August (2nd – 13th). However, thanks to their setting close to the Gironde and the Atlantic, the nights were mercifully cool (15/16C) at Cos, and sea breezes helped to refresh the vines, keeping them going throughout the dry and warm summer. Harvest started on the 7th of September, making it the earliest since 1989, and this vintage was, according to Dominique, even hotter than both 1947 and 1949. With this in mind, it would also suggest that the finest 2022s will last a long time. So with the scene set, it was incredible to taste this wine and discover just how bright and clean it feels despite the density of the extraordinary fruit and the scale of the majestic tannins. While this is a closed and firm wine, there is exquisite control here, and a stunning perfume and prodigious finish bookend a magnificent mid-palate. The famous Cos minerality brings gravitas and flair to the whole, making this black-fruit-soaked wine seem momentarily weightless and aerial. The future is blindingly bright for 2022 Cos, and I imagine some will dip into this wine early because the fruit flavours are so unutterably hedonistic. Rating: 19+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2023)