Cos d’Estournel Saint Estephe 2018

Finely structured and vibrant, Cos d’Estournel 2018 is both powerful and balanced, with very soft tannins. It offers a multitude of nuances, including remarkably elegant spices and an extremely long and lingering finish. It is an outstanding vintage with immense cellaring potential that will surley count among the most legendary vintages of the estate. Blend 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot

Critical Acclaim

98 James Suckling

The richness and beauty of this wine is impressive with blackcurrant, cherry, berry and fresh cloves. The fruit is so pure here. Full-bodied with tannins that are so integrated and refined that you dont feel them, yet they are there! Very creamy and layered with great length and beauty. It turns to tar and licorice at the finish. Tight now, but the texture is special. Try after 2027.

98 Jeb Dunnuck

An incredible wine from this estate that’s as good as anything in the vintage, the 2018 Chteau Cos D’Estournel checks in as 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot that was brought up in 50% new French oak. While some 2018s are going to offer pleasure right out of the gate, this isn’t one of them, but rather it’s a backward, tannic powerhouse of a wine that has flawless balance as well as a level of purity that’s off the charts. Thrilling crme de cassis fruit, notes of lead pencil, damp earth, cedarwood, violets, and acacia flowers, full-bodied richness, masses of ultra-fine tannins, and a great, great finish all make for a legendary Saint-Estphe that will need a good decade of bottle age yet evolve for 50 years or more. If you are tempted to try a bottle in its youth, it needs lots of air.

98 Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The 2018 Cos d’Estournel is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, aged in 50% new oak barriques. The alcohol weighs in at just over 14.5%. Sporting a deep purple-black color, it needs a lot of swirling to begin to unlock a powerful nose of crme de cassis, stewed plums, wild blueberries and chocolate-covered cherries, followed by nuances of Sichuan pepper, star anise, tree and clove oil, plus a waft of charcoal. The full-bodied palate is densely packed with taut, muscular black fruits and earthy layers, framed by super firm, ripe, grainy tannin’s and seamless freshness, finishing very long and wonderfully earthy. A very impressive behemoth, this is going to need a good seven to 10 years to truly show its stuff and should drink for a good 40 years and beyond.

96 Wine Enthusiast

Rich and dense, this wine is happily poised between ripe fruits and a deceptively powerful structure. Smoky flavors from wood aging combine with solid black fruits that strain but never overstep an impressive balance. This wine will age, promising much for the future. Drink from 2026.

96 Wine Spectator

This is a bird of a different feather, with a ripe, sleek, and very polished feel as creamed loganberry, plum and boysenberry flavors spill forth, flanked for support by singed alder and incense notes, while black tea and savory threads curl around the finish. Long, showy and lovely. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2038.