Chateau Cos d'Estournel 1986

VINUM 6/1987 - The en primeur notes on the ’86 Bordeaux are not by me? Back then, as a wine journalist, I hadn’t even been born yet, and perhaps I wouldn’t have given all of them top marks. This Cos – I’ve tasted it several times over the past 20 years – was long the most closed, most angular of them all. It hasn’t shed that character to this day. The tannins in the sample submitted by the estate match Latour’s in intensity, even if they are a touch less broad, yet somewhat racier and more elongated. The nose is that of a Saint-Estèphe of the time, slightly animal at first, then balsamic, with notes of tobacco and cassis. I would happily let the wine mature another ten years. Even if it’s far from today’s precision and makes up with power and character for what it lacks in elegance: a great wine.

Tasted 7 times since bottling with consistent notes The 1986 is a highly extracted wine, with a black/ruby color and plenty of toasty, smoky notes in its bouquet that suggest ripe plums and licorice. Evolving at a glacial pace, it exhibits massive, huge, ripe, extremely concentrated flavors with impressive depth and richness. It possesses more power, weight, and tannin than the more opulent and currently more charming 1985. Anticipated maturity: 1996-2010.

No tasting note available

Vibrant deep colour, this has masses of spice box and minerals on the nose. Of course, the 86 was famous for its power and tannic structure and this is still muscular and foursquare, but the tannins are beginning to yield and soften. Very fresh acidity and classic sweet cassis fruit with notes of minerals, underbrush and tobacco. Very pure and long. Impressively, the wine had been decanted two hours previously and was still evolving in the glass more than an hour later. Tasted at Decanter Fine Wine Encounter 2015

The 1986 Cos d’Estournel mirrors the performance from my 30-year-on tasting conducted a few months ago. The bouquet is alluring, with mint and juniper berries that immediately seize the senses, followed by licorice and graphite. The palate is understated on entry, then builds in the mouth with wonderful spice and black-pepper-infused black fruit that forms the backbone of this Cos d’Estournel. Sure, the finish feels masculine and structured, perhaps expressing the growing season more than Saint-Estèphe. Even so, it is very well crafted and should continue to drink beautifully for another decade. Tasted at the Cos d’Estournel vertical at the property.

Like many Bordeaux wines from 1986, this is a tough, hard style of wine that some people love, while others will find it difficult to enjoy. And of course there are also tasters who recognize this isn’t their style of wine, but it has a wealth of fruit. Count me in as a charter member of group number 3. Does it have enough fruit to outlast the tannins before maturity? It will take at least 10–20 more years to find out. The wine offers massive concentration from ripe fruit. But the wine lacks elegance and charm. It’s a beast. For me, while I get the depth of flavor, at the end of the day, it wasn’t a lot of fun to drink.

Deep purple, still ruby, but with a maturing rim. Mushroomy bouquet, soy sauce, Maggi notes, cold ash. Mature yet cool-tinged palate, tannic extract, sandy notes, slightly rough; rather a powerful wine to pair with a meal. Earlier, with a bit more fruit, it was better. Although tannins are still present, better to drink now.

Cos 1986 was one of the largest harvests ever at this Château. Nearly 40,000 cases (half a million bottles) were ready for sale after bottling. A normal harvest in more recent vintages shows about 25,000 cases! Despite the production volume, a great vintage for the Château, even if it doesn’t exude a lot of charm. Tasted a good twenty times; consistent notes with an impressive reductive phase between 1989 and 1997. 98: It was poured blind for us at a beautiful wine evening at the Pulvers’ in Hondrich. One thing was clear to me: Bordeaux! My table neighbors sought the oral truth more in Tuscany. Then I became unsure. Some very good Vino da Tavola à la Fontalloro could also fit. Wrong! It was the ’86 Cos: a distinctive, still very tannin‑laden St. Estèphe. Only when I look at my old notes, I have repeatedly (as with the ’85 Cos) attested Tuscan Vino da Tavola airs to it. So everyone was actually right. Decant for two hours. 03: At the Cos evening at Hotel Astoria, Lucerne, it showed magnificently and improved in the glass, which means: decanting recommended! 18/20. 2006: Experienced with a big question mark. Powerful at the bottom, oxidized at the top, with Maggi notes and porcini powder. Are there better bottles? Probably. This one: 15/20 (past it). A slightly better bottle from my cellar at the Wine Börse Gala: deep purple, still ruby, but with a maturing rim. Mushroomy bouquet, soy sauce, Maggi notes, cold ashes. Ripe yet cool palate, tannic extract, sandy notes, feels abrasive, more suited as a robust food wine. It seemed to please more earlier with a bit more fruit. Although there are still tannins, perhaps better to drink up now. 08: A magnum in Holland no longer quite delivered. The tannins are slowly turning brittle and the wine is losing aromas in favor of humus notes. 08: A regular bottle from my cellar, decanted two hours. If all bottles were like this, we’d be back at 18/20. But that’s rarely the case now. 09: The tannins remain and the wine continues to develop and loses flesh. (17/20). 15: Half bottle. Of the three 1986s tasted, it had the palest color, and accordingly mature. The nose opened immediately, even showing a glimmer of oxidation in the form of dark mushroom powder and lovage. On the palate, quite fine for a 1986, which means it lacked concentration or sufficient tannins to stabilize over the years. Unfortunately, the same effect has already reached the regular bottles. P.S. That was the biggest Cos harvest! 16/20 for this half bottle. 16: Medium color, many dark reflections. Stone dust on first nose, then a fine oxidative sheen, exotic wood notes; not only is the primary aromatics gone, but a certain oxidative veil is also emerging. On the palate, still showing remnants of tannin, but the texture is brittle and slowly but surely fraying. This bottle: 15/20. 19: A very good bottle from Paolo Cattaneo’s cellar with a certain renaissance factor. At first 17/20. After longer air contact: 16/20. 19: The color shows a maturing red. Inside it still seems quite dense. The nose shows clear maturity, if not already nuances of oxidation. Second pass: cedarwood, light tobacco, Malaga raisins and cold tea. A conciliatory sweetness runs underneath. On the palate, it’s sustained by the acidity and feels somewhat ascetic due to the sinewy muscles. The very high yield (it was one of the largest harvests in Cos’s history) exacts its age toll. I would now only uncork it with sauced dishes. But it was a very good bottle. I’ve had it much more tired in the glass. (17/20).

Spicy, deep, dense bouquet with blackberries, licorice, flint, currants, smoke. Powerful, aromatic, dense palate with a finely bourgeois structure, fine-grained tannins, intense dark aromatics, long, delicately dry finish. 18/20 to drink

Dark color, good intensity, showing evolution. Nose of medium intensity, meaty at first, then more complex with swirling. Palate is soft, velvety, pleasant, but a little fluid. Pleasure comes from its seamless integration.