A snow affected trip to Bordeaux during the early part of this week gave Hew and Chad a chance to taste a single 2009. A two hour trip from Bordeaux town along icy roads strewn with abandoned cars led them to the Medoc's northernmost village of St Estephe, and an estate at the very top of its game. Jean-Guillaume Prats had also braved the icy roads and was there to present Cos d'Estournel 2009.
"Monumental" was the word Hew put forward when asked to describe it in a single word.
When asked for more he said, "Well, to look at it, you might think you were looking at a young vintage port such is the depth and intensity of its colour and its sheer viscosity. It has an alcohol level of 14.2%, not in itself that usual for Cos given the high merlot content. It has a quite extraordinary tannin level of over 100 (versus ordinary levels of roughly 60), yet a texture that is ripe and silky. It has a massive concentration, glorious acidity and quite beautiful fruit. We are talking comparisons with 29 and 47. A month spent in new oak was unnoticable, and what we tasted was the final assemblage with press wine"
One wonders what would have been surmised had they had the chance to taste more than just Cos. Certainly it would seem 2009 might have highs on a par with 2005, perhaps even higher. Whether or not it has the consistency, endowed as it is with such extreme raw materials, remains to be seen.
