TN: 95 Cos d;estournel: Exactly what I wanted

We opened this wine with lamb tonight. I bought the bottle from a bb member who was a retailor back in 2003 or so. No creepage on the cork at all. The wine was nice after opening, and after a little while- about an hour- softened up a little and became a little more aromatic. Nice fruit and graphite. Not a lot of spice that you see in the 93 or 96 on the nose, but still really enjoyable. Tannic on the mouth, medium bodied, yet not too tannic and a nice food pairing. Exactly what I want in a nice St Estephe, paid under $60 for it, and exactly what I like about Cos before they jumped the shark. It is perfection- not as a score in that sense, but perfection in that it is exactly what I expected and wanted. 92 points

“Exactly what I wanted”- brilliantly said. This is one vintage that was pretty much underappreciated worldwide- Bordeaux, Burgundy and Napa Cab to be more specific. Bordeaux and Cab are starting to come around now- Burgundies in good time. Overall lovely midweight wines of grace and harmony that are, like you said, “exactly what I wanted”.

92 points is a nice score for such a wine. I am no fan of the 100 point system, but I am hard pressed to think of any “95+ point” wine that has a chance of being “exactly what I wanted”.

Tom, I was worried people wouldn’t understand what I was talking about when I wrote my note. You get it.

I expect we’ll see a lot more notes like this on the 1995s as they keep opening up over the next few years. Possibly the last real claret vintage.

Any thoughts on '02s Keith (as far as more classical claret vintages go)? Really liking a number from the left bank right now - restrained fruit, decent structure and really good depth.

I had the 95 Cos a few months ago. It was a beautifully balanced wine that really impressed some Bordeaux rookies.

Thanks for the note Bob. I have one sitting somewhere and was thinking about it after eying some bottles of the 2001. Its getting very close to the BBQ season and the first cue of the year is Prime NY strip with a great BDX. This could be on top of the list now

Go for it, john. This is a very nice wine, and yet is perfect for a casual meal like a BBQ yet one where you want a good wine as well. It will straddle that line nicely.