Chateau Cos d'Estournel - St. Estephe 2010

The vineyard of Cos spreads around the château on 173 acres and is split into 30 parcels of land. Sixty percent of the vines are Cabernet Sauvignon and are planted on the thin layers of gravely soil situated on the top and on the southern slopes of the hill. The remaining 40% of the vineyard is planted with Merlot on the eastern slopes where the Saint-Estephe limestone bed shows on the surface. The vineyards are shaped into well-drained slopes by erosion; these exceptionally deep layers of gravel force the old vines to thrust their roots deep into the arid soil.

Tasted twice just to check, several days apart, the first under cloudy skies, the second under blue. A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot cropped at 36hl/ha, delivering 14.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.5 (it was 3.68 for 2009), this has a very refined, focused bouquet with pure blackberry, blueberry, Dorset plum scented nose with wonderful tension and mineralite. I really like the precision on this 2010, far more than the exotic 2009. The palate is full-bodied with quite assertive dry tannins on the entry rendering this a slightly more masculine Cos d'Estournel that is quintessential Saint Estephe but nods southwards towards Pauillac. Touches of graphite and cedar interlace the pure blackberry and briary fruit with great tension towards the finish. Very fine sense of symmetry here with great length in the mouth. Back to the Cos d'Estournel I love. Drink 2018- Tasted March 2011.

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.

An extremely well-sculpted, modern wine, with an enormous core of plum sauce, blackberry coulis and cassis fruit to match the ambitious roasted apple wood-, black tea- and tobacco-infused toast. Dense and chewy now, displaying the tannic spine of the vintage, this remains integrated, racy and incredibly long, offering a piercing chalky backbone that rivets everything together. Best from 2018 through 2038.

This is a complex and rich wine dominated by superripe fruit. It is a wine of extremes, of fruit, of dark tannins allied to some bitterness from the black chocolate extract. Ripe plums and sweet black fruits are given a lift at the end with bright acidity.