From the cellar, notes from day 2. The wine has an opaque purple/black core, ruby rim, and no bricking. The bouquet shows dark fruit, a slight dusty quality, a bit of alcohol, vanilla, menthol. The wine is well-balanced, with low to moderate acidity and modest, domesticated tannin. The fruit is dark and pure, ripe and youthful without being intemperate. This bottle was clean to a fault: no brett, no barnyard, no animale, intimations of minerality, spice and tobacco. Overall, a well-scrubbed wine with more new world character than old. Clean delicious fruit, but not a lot of complexity. I will check it again in a year or two to see if the soft structure can support further development.
That 2001 Cos is some really good wine, thx for the note. I hope to try one again someday.
I agree, a really nice wine from a vintage that is somewhat underrated (in my opinion). I have four bottles left from a sixer bought on release, and I have been meaning to open one for a while.
Nice. What a great string of vintages for Bordeaux in the naughts.
2001 Cos is a lovely wine. Had one last year and few bottles in the cellar.
How about a vertical at the Korova Milk Bar sometime?
Wish I had more 2002, and knew more about 2006-2008. Is there any such thing as a bad Grand Cru Classe any more?
I have one remaining…I remember loving this a few years back
Thanks for the useful note. I would be quite happy without the brett or barnyard, and in fact would vastly prefer a squeaky clean modern wine to one with those two characteristics, but I am going to bet another decade will bring out the more old world characteristics missing from this bottle. In fact I am betting just that; my few bottles will stay buried for at least that long
Thanks for the note. This is probably my wine of the year this year. Thinking back, it sure stood out. I’ve got a couple of more resting for down the road.
I’ve had this a number of times and really, really enjoy the wine. I think it will really benefit from a few more years so I’m letting what I could keep my hands off rest for a bit. Like Neil said, maybe a decade or maybe just 5 years+/-. One of my favorite 01s.
JD
Really the only Cos since 2000 that is of interest to me. The rest are either too big and modern, or not particularly good vintages. 2001 is a really lovely wine, I’ve had bottles that are peak, and a couple that are still on the young side.
I like the 2004 plenty
Different strokes, I guess. most 2004s I’ve had were just too lean for my tastes. Same with 2002, which I found even more rustic.
I definitely have the impression that there is bottle variation in this wine. Is that the case with other vintages as well?
When did you try it, and how ready to drink was it? I’m a fan of the vintage.
Just guessing . . . maybe 2 years ago? I decided to wait a while for the rest for at least another 5 years (I only have a few bottles, and I do like mine on the older side).
Alan - I’ve found the 2002 to be a lovely wine. Too modern for you? It seems recognizably “Cos” to me. Haven’t had any younger than 2003.
No, 2002 is definitely not modern. For me, 2002 in general was too austere and rustic, though I haven’t had one in several years (of any producer). The modern Cos are 2003, 2005 (poster child), i assume 2009 and 2010, neither of which I’ve had the chance to try. I don’t buy Bordeaux any more, and have sold off much of my holdings, so I’m not a good reference. Except that I love the 2001 Cos.
Perhaps interestingly, Molesworth at Ws published a 15 year vertical of tasting notes today on Cos. Non-blind. He gave 2005, 2009 and 2010 towering scores. He liked 2004 (93) quite a bit (another vintage I have). All wines from 2000-2014 received outstanding scores and I generally don’t think he’s the candy man.
Sometimes just the thing for the wineries that make bigger wines is an “off” vintage like 2004 to naturally dial them back down a bit.
I also found it interesting that he attached scores to the 2013 and 2014 (93) wines considering his reports on those vintages are otherwise unpublished. I bought 2014 on futures.