2016 Cos d'Estournel, St-Estèphe

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Cos d'Estournel is quite closed to start, requiring a lot of coaxing to bring out profound notions of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, black cherry compote, and rose oil, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, crushed rocks, and dried lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is both opulent and energetic, revealing loads of perfumed black fruit layers and a plush, polished texture, finishing with epic length and depth. (LPB)

It’s no secret that the 2016 Cos d’Estournel is a monumental wine. I remember the buzz when our team returned from En Primeur, and they were absolutely right—it became the signature release from the estate and one of the standout wines of the vintage, earning multiple perfect ratings and delivering one spectacular showing after another. I recently opened a bottle and was completely floored, even with my already sky-high expectations. What I love about the 2016 is how it sits perfectly between the hedonistic tilt of the 2009 era and the super-refined style of more recent years. Both approaches have their merits, and only time (and a few open bottles) will tell the full story, but the way the 2016 draws from each while layering on the incredible character of the vintage is simply stunning. Cabernet takes center stage here, with floral, cassis, and cedar aromatics. Deep, perfectly ripe red fruits coat the palate, but—as with all wines of this caliber—it’s the seamless texture, remarkable balance between fruit and acidity, and the incredibly fine tannins that steal the show. It just goes on and on, and this is still a young wine with many more levels to reveal. An undeniable success, I cannot recommend the 2016 Cos d’Estournel highly enough.