Cos D`Estournel 2000

The 2000 Cos d’Estournel, last tasted at the epic vertical, has much the same nose as it did three years ago. Bold and demonstrative, it delivers scents of blackberry, prune, fig, dark chocolate and perhaps a more East Asian tincture; I don’t know why, but there is something that reminds me of South Korean cuisine. Burnt honey? The palate is medium-bodied, and this bottle feels quite feral, offering exotic black fruit that hints at the Mediterranean, and some dry tannins toward the ever so slightly bretty finish. I actually found the previous bottle a little fresher and I wonder if we are beginning to see some variation in evolution. - Neil Martin - The 2000 Cos d’Estournel, which never quite grabbed me from barrel, is maturing nicely in bottle. As it approaches two decades, it continues to offer an intense, almost ambitious bouquet with blackberry, hints of dark chocolate, tobacco and scorched earth. Both vigor and delineation is present here. The palate is medium-bodied rather than full-bodied these days, very well balanced if not possessing the poise and precision of the 2001. It fans out with confidence towards the finish that is lithe, yet provides sufficient grip and persistence to suggest it will give another two decades of drinking pleasure. Tasted at the Cos d’Estournel vertical in London.