Step into Cos d`Estournel, with its richness, depths and layers of cocoa bean, liquorice, espresso, chocolate, exceptional chewiness on the tannins, making things fairly serious at this early stage, with a promise of slow-revealed pleasure over the decades ahead. First time doing green harvest in the vineyards since 2008, causing some worries over the late heat waves on already ripening grapes, but they have retained balanced alchols here, and there is plenty of juice to lift things up on the finish. Harvest September 12 to 29 (last year finished September 22). 50% new oak for ageing, 53% 1st wine. In organic conversion (that began in 2021, but have had to extend after addition of a few more plots to the vineyard). 97 points

The 2023 Cos d’Estournel is fabulous. Dark, resonant and inviting, the 2023 has so much to offer. All the elements are beautifully woven together. Black cherry, plum, licorice, espresso, mocha and incense fill out the layers. Readers will find a Cos endowed with tremendous substance and intensity. I can`t remember a young Cos with this much fruit concentration, yet there is nothing overdone here. I loved it. 96-98 points

A contemporary classic in the making, the 2023 Cos d`Estournel has turned out beautifully, reflecting a lighter touch with extraction that has delivered more sensuality and harmony without the loss of any of the estate`s signature power and authority. Wafting from the glass with deep aromas of cassis, wild berries, orange zest and exotic spices, framed by well-integrated new wood, it`s medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a concentrated core of fruit, beautifully suave tannins and a cool, seamless profile. It`s a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that attained 12.9% alcohol and is being matured in 50% new oak. 95-96 points

The 2023 Cos d`Estournel, picked from September 12 to 29 and matured in 50% new oak, blossoms in the glass. The aromatics deliver nearly immediate gratification: black cherries, wild strawberries, crushed violet petals and vanilla pod. It’s all quite sumptuous but very well focused. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled, slightly powdery tannins. It’s beautifully balanced with a very pure and seductive finish. This is a notably composed and assured Cos d`Estournel, almost a lesson in how less can be more. It’s only a couple of steps behind the previous vintage. 94-96 points