Château Cos d’Estournel 2010

Proefnotities/Punten: 
The 2010 is a more structured, restrained, less flamboyant version of the 2009. A final blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that hit 14.5% natural alcohol, this wine (which represents only 55% of the estate’s production) is full-bodied, classic and built along the lines of the 2000 (although that wine was made before Reybier acquired the estate and upgraded quality significantly). This wine exhibits beautifully pure notes of creme de cassis, blueberry liqueur, pen ink, graphite and hints of toast and vanillin. The wine is full and rich, and although aged in 80% new oak, the wood is a subtle background component. This beauty will take longer to round into shape than the dramatic and compelling 2009. Forget it for 5-8 years, and drink it over the following three-plus decades. 

These are two terrific wines from Cos d’Estournel. Proprietor Michel Reybier will have to continue his great success over the next decade without his top lieutenant, Jean-Guillaume Prats, who has taken another job, but the estate seems to be in superlative condition, and at the very top of its game.
Robert Parker 97+ pt. 

Druivenrassen: 
Cabernet Sauvignon
Merlot