Cos d'Estournel Saint Estèphe 2016

100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate): "The 2016 Cos d'Estournel is blended of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc aged in 65% new and 35% two-year-old French oak for 15 months. Bottled in July 2018, it is deep garnet-purple colored and starts off a little closed and reticent, opening out slowly and seductively to reveal beautiful lilacs, rose hip tea, crushed stones and camphor nuances over a core of crème de cassis, kirsch, wild blueberries and mocha plus wafts of incense and wood smoke. The palate is simply electric, charged with an energy and depth of flavors that seem to defy the elegance and ethereal nature of its medium-bodied weight, featuring super ripe, densely pixelated tannins that firmly frame the myriad of fruit and floral sparks, finishing with epic length. Just. Magic. Drink: 2024-2068. (Nov 2018)"

100 points Neal Martin (Vinous): "The 2016 Cos d’Estournel was a bona fide showstopper out of barrel, the best that I had encountered in over 20 years of visiting the estate during en primeur, so my expectations were piled high when I returned to find out how it performs in bottle. Deep, almost opaque in color, it sports a very intense but broody bouquet with fathomless deep black fruit tinged with blueberry and violet. The aromas almost seem to envelop the senses. The palate is medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannin that I have never witnessed in any other vintage of Cos d’Estournel. There is a beguiling symmetry to this Saint-Estèphe, as well as unerring mineralité. The persistent, tobacco-tinged finish can be felt 60 second after the wine has departed. This is a monumental, benchmark Cos d’Estournel that will give not years but decades of pleasure, though I suspect it will close down for a period in its youth, hence my drinking window. 13.07% alcohol. (Drink between 2030-2070. (Jan 2019)"

100 points James Suckling: "This is muscular yet so well defined and toned. Full-bodied with deep and dense fruit on the palate, yet powerful and rich at the same time. So much sandalwood and blackberry character. Chewy and rich at the finish. This is a warm and generous wine, but the alcohol is just over 13 degrees. Not that high. Love the finish. Extravagant. Magical. Try from 2025. (1/29/19)"

99 points Jeb Dunnuck: "The grand vin 2016 Cos d'Estournel checks in as 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc that saw 70% new French oak. One of the more seamless, pure, elegant versions of this cuvée out there, it boasts a saturated purple color as well as a monster nose of pure crème de cassis, gravelly, rocky minerality, tobacco leaf, crushed violets, and lead pencil shavings. One of those “iron fists in a velvet glove” wines, with full-bodied richness and beautiful structure that’s covered by thrilling levels of fruit and texture, it stays tight, compact, and incredibly focused on the palate. It’s already brilliant given its purity of fruit and balance, but it deserves a decade of bottle age and will keep for 4-5 decades. Drink: 2024-2064. (2/28/19)"

98 points Jane Anson (Decanter): "One of the best Cos in recent years, a huge success although not showing as much of itself as the 2010 at this point, as you would expect with a concentrated Sauvignon-dominant classified St-Estèphe. First time for me opening this vintage since the in-bottle tastings a few years ago, and those gorgeous layers of cassis, blackberry and bilberry fruits are on full display with a little coaxing out of the glass, met step-by-step with a smoked caramel, bitter black chocolate and liquorice root twist. A brilliant wine with precision and confidence. Expect decades of enjoyment ahead of it, but not one to think about for another five or six years. 75% new oak. Drink: 2026-2050. (Feb 2021)"

98 points Chris Kissack (Winedoctor): "The blend for the grand vin is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, and the élevage was in 60% new oak. It took 45% of the crop, and was bottled in July 2018. Whereas the second wine Pagodes de Cos is open and expressive, this seems much more brooding, perhaps rightly so, with dark and grained summer fruits, all wrapped in notes of praline, coffee bean, cocoa and toasted oak. The palate is very reserved, very controlled, rich and dark, with seams of currant, blackcurrants, olives, peonies and more underpinned by some supremely ripe tannins. Overall a very correct style, fresh and composed, with stunning substance. It is loaded with tannin and future potential, but it remains ripe, seamless and effortless, not muscular but sinewy. The finish is so pure and long, and is gripped by tannins. This seems more impressive than I recall from the primeurs. (Dec 2018)"

97 points Peter Moser (Falstaff): "Deep dark ruby, opaque core, subtle brightening on the rim. Intense noble wood savouriness, blackberry conserve, a hint of ripe cherry and plum, some nougat and candied orange zest. Juicy, attractive cherry fruit, delicate sweetness, well-integrated tannins, mineral and fresh structure, shows good length with a lemony touch on the finish. (5/24/17)"

97 points (18.5/20) La Revue du Vin de France: "2016 was a great success, allowing the vintage to return to a finer style. The palate is full-bodied, fleshy, with abundant tannins, but remains refined. (2020)"