Bought a sixer on release, and tonight I tried the first of them. I decanted about an hour before dinner, but the first glass, which admittedly was probably a little cool, made me think that the wine was still asleep. After about an hour more in the glass, the wine opened up and displayed the cedar, spice box, lead and earth that I appreciate in a Cos. There is a vegetal element in the profile that I could see being off-putting to some, but I don’t mind it. The wine is balanced, with medium length and grippy, youthful tannins. Perhaps there is a little void in the mid-palate that could fill in over time. On the other hand, for a vintage that was not acclaimed, I didn’t expect bombshells. I enjoyed this bottle, and look forward to checking in with it again in a year or two.
I love 2001. The wines are WELL under what the market value generally is for top wines (aside from Lafite and Latour). Several great wines were made, especially on the right bank.
Best part, many of these wines have showed well over their lives. There certainly are some dogs (LMHB is just not worth the money), but things like LLC and Cheval can be had for fractions and will make some killer birth year wines, even buying this late in the game.