1998 Château Cos d'Estournel

Community Tasting Notes (172) Avg Score: 91.5 points

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  12/23/2023 - Trygve LM Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Drank 1998 for second time, two years since the first. Immediately after opening, lovely on rhe nose. Then decanted. I Immediately drank the last drops in the bottle and they tasted not too good. However, after 30 minutes in and a lot of cirkling in glass, it tasted very silky, firm, very healthy. Enjoyed wirh firm cheese and salty meet and actually a plate with well seasoned ham and vegetables. I would recommend to drink the 1998 now, if you have a bottle.

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  12/3/2023 - Rbhan12 Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Racy dark fruits with earthy aromas that are dried. Also some leather. Palate is a bit indeterminate right now, but it is very well integrated lots of dark fruits maybe some dried Cassis. The finish on the other hand gives you a blast of funky leather with dried earth. This is a lovely wine and very much a Bordeaux in style. Big structure from tannins. Will go a long time. 94.

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  9/23/2023 - Philip67 wrote: 93 Points

  Fully mature, more mature than expected. Fruit still there, red berries and dried rose petals, lots of leather. Medium weight, tannins and acidity both quite soft now but still proving enough grip. Long complex. Drink now, is at its peak.

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  9/10/2023 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) and Merlot (45%). 12,5% alcohol.
  
  Somewhat translucent and a bit evolved cherry-red color with a maroon hue. The overall appearance is somewhat more translucent than any other wine in our Cos vertical. The nose is also slightly different with a brooding, somewhat darker-toned and slightly sweeter aromas of juicy dark plums, some toasty oak spice, light autumnal notes of damp leaves and forest floor, a little bit of pipe tobacco, a cedary hint of cigar box, a touch of Asian spices and a whiff of old leather. The wine feels a bit more classically styled on the palate - and a bit more evolved than the other 1990's we tasted, too - with a full body and savory flavors of meaty umami and salty charcuterie character, some herbaceous notes of cooked bell pepper, light juicy notes of blackcurrants, Bing cherries and dark plums, a little bit of licorice, toasty hints of mocha oak and dark-toned oak spice and a touch of pipe tobacco. The medium-to-moderately high acidity feels a bit lower than it seems typical for the label, whereas the assertive and rather grippy tannins are a bit more prominent compared to the other vintages. The finish is long, juicy and quite grippy with a layered, somewhat evolved aftertaste of ripe blackcurrants and dark plummy fruit, some pipe tobacco, a little bit of licorice, light savory notes of meaty umami, oaky hints of cedar and toasty mocha character and a touch of smoky chipotle.
  
  After the older vintages of Cos d'Estournel (1990, 1995, 1996), this wine was the first to come across as stylistically somewhat different with its darker-toned, more plummy aromatics and a bit more prominent oak influence. I was thinking the winemaking was just more modern here, but only now, when I read that the Merlot component was atypically high for Cos in this vintage, it all made more sense: the flavor profile had more of that plummy Merlot plushness and the acidity came across as softer. Fortunately the rather stern tannins kept the wine wonderfully firm and structured, and even if the nose felt a bit more glossy than I expected, the wine was pretty much on point on the palate. All in all, a fine and lovely vintage of Cos, but lacks the magic of the best vintages. I also feel that the aging potential is somewhat limited compared to the other Cos vintages of the 1990's we tasted.

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  8/5/2023 - edjBoca Likes this wine: 92 Points

  This is absolutely a pop and pour. It has complex beautiful aromas. The palate is light to medium body in the first hour and then begins to fade. Flavors are less dark than the typical cos, but typical bordeaux. The finish is a little shorter. Enjoy that first hour with a group if you can!

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