1982 Cos d'Estournel
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Tasting notes
It has been several years since I last tasted the 1982 Cos d'Estournel. This has an elegant bouquet with refined red fruit, cedar and brown spices, with hints of aniseed and peppermint surfacing with aeration. It is not profoundly complex but it is difficult to resist its charms. The palate has a conspicuously ripe and generous entry, rounded and a little meaty in style, with cracked black pepper. With fine grip, this Saint-Estèphe coheres with style on the finish. It is not quite as good as the bottle opened at the château, though it proves that there is plenty of life in this '82. Tasted single blind at the 1982 dinner at Cornus in London.
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The 1982 Cos d'Estournel dominates Saint-Estèphe in this vintage (for my money, its leading competitor is Haut-Marbuzet, by the way). Remarkably youthful and saturated in appearance, it exhibits inviting aromas of sweet berry fruit, plums, licorice and pencil shavings, followed by a full-bodied, fleshy, lusty, almost unctuous palate of notable concentration and depth. Its fleshy core of fruit is still framed by sweet, powdery tannins.
The 1982 Cos d’Estournel is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. I have always fallen for the aromatics of this 1982: roasted chestnut and a touch of aniseed that combines effortlessly with the melted red berry fruit, touches of tar developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, perhaps not quite as extravagant as it showed a few years ago, but there is genuine depth and grip here. There is that lovely savory, lightly spiced finish and a very persistent aftertaste that is thoroughly enjoyable after 36 years. This is a wonderful 1982 that will give pleasure for many more years. Tasted at the Cos d’Estournel vertical at the property.
About the producer
Louis Gaspard d’Estournel inherited Cos and Pomys in 1791, founding Cos d’Estournel in 1811, investing significantly in the property and expanding the estate from 14 to 45 hectares. The estate rapidly rose to prominence and the wines were exported around the world.