WTN: 9 bottles of Cos (8 red, 1 white)

6 of our Bdx group regulars and 2 guests met at Bobby Van’s for a Cos d’Estournel vertical Tues night Nice group, I enjoyed my crab cakes and ribeye( and B-sprouts, fries, hash browns, missed out on the spinach) as well as the company.

1995 Charles Heidsieck “Blanc de Millenaires” Champagne
Apple, peach and croissant, lively, good length, high dosage. B+/A-

2014 Cos d’Estournel Blanc
My first time tasting this. Pear, grapefruit and oak, flavor profile like an oaked Loire, but without the snap. Think a rounder Dagueneau. Perfectly pleasant, but poor QPR. But really fun to try. B-/B

The reds
1982 Ch. Cos d’Estournel
I think others liked a lot more than I did. Some leathery brett, dark fruits, more advanced than most 82 classed growths I’ve had recently. B

1985 Ch. Cos d’Estournel
This is about as close to elegant as you’re going to get with Cos. Red cherry, tobacco, a little lead pencil. Full and powerful but with balance. B+/A-

1986 Ch. Cos d’Estournel
Fresh cassis fruit, powerful, extracted without being heavy. Some coffee/mocha. A-/B+

1989 Ch. Cos d’Estournel
This is tannic, tight and surly. Not like other ‘89s I’ve had recently. Not fun. B- for drinking this night

1990 Ch. Cos d’Estournel
Ripe , smoky, pushing the edge but I liked. B+

1995 Ch. Cos d’Estournel
More open than expected but still young, this has a lot of potential. Black fruited, B/B+ for now but think this will be quite good

2000 Ch. Cos d’Estournel
Ripe but with tangy acids, cassis and black olive, I think this will be good, lots of potential. For now B/B+

2003 Ch. Cos d’Estournel
Jammy, a little volatile note, tannic. I think others liked more than me but that didn’t take much. I’ve had 2003 Medocs I like, this just wasn’t one. B-/C+

Group voting
1985 19
1986 17
1982 6
1990 3
1995 3


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[David M. Bueker]

Just shocking that a 1985 is the most fun wine.

[Robin Garr]

This great post makes me want to dig out the old Cos necktie that I bought at the winery years ago and wear it sometime!

Thanks for that post, Dale. I just checked my inventory of Cos and find that I have 3x96, 2x89, 2x85, 1x78 and 1x70. I note that 85, which has a great reputation, was the best performer in your tasting but hardly great at your rating of B+/A-. I have so far opened 4 of my stash of 6 but have been underwhelmed by all but 1. However, I suspect that some of my bottles may have suffered at the store where I bought them about 25 years ago.

Your 89 seems disappointing. Is it your guess that it was a below par bottle?

I had a 70 at a tasting some 20 years ago and it already struck me then as a bit thin and over the hill. I'm hoping it was bottle variation but should broach my bottle quite soon with something else in reserve.

[David M. Bueker]

Tim - any time an A- appears in Dale's notes (even if it's a B+/A-) it's an excellent ranking. Dale claims to be an easy grader, but he's really not.

It should also be noted that I am not historically the biggest Cos fan, and went into this with my prejudices. I recognize it as well-done and important, but it (like LLC) has never excited me as much as some other super-seconds. It's a stylistic thing where they seem a bit "four-square" and overly structured to me. I'm much more likely to buy Pichon-Lalande, Leo-Poy, Ducru, etc. Or in St Estephe Calon or Montrose. As a matter of fact, I own one lone bottle of Cos (1988), and as we were trying to hit the supposed highlights (guy with '96 ended up sick) I traded a bottle of Mazis to Ben who brought the 2000 as my contribution.

I too have rarely been bowled over by Cos for similar reasons and go along with your preference for crus like Pichon-Lalande, etc. That one bottle of 85 was an exception in an elegant vein and I have a vague memory of a superb Cos 53 in the mid-60s. Similar vintages, some experts say.

I wonder why I have ended up with so many bottles .

[Jenise]

I've had some great Cos's. Biggest surprise was a '97 cellar orphan discovered just a few months ago. Pretty lively and delicious for such a forgotten vintage.