Mark Flesher

9.4

Not bad from cork pop, but definitely better after 90 min of air. Nose is youthful oak and slightly ripe blackberry, sandalwood. Palate all ripe blackberry and attenuated pepper spice with a hint of sandalwood. Some iodine when moving to the mid-palate. Initially I was getting a a fairly strange Oreo cookie kind of note. The finish is a little direct and still a bit on the youthful side but this is gaining. The best years of this are ahead of it for sure. Going to be a force in 2023 and plan to hold my 3L of this for much much longer. — 5 years ago

Matt Duncan

9.3

Mag! Fruit surprised me for Eola Amity. A kind of denseness that is rare in Oregon. Ripeness has a remarkable precision. This bottle at 20 years could stand up to just about anything. — 7 years ago

Rob Moose

9.1

This is a big wine, but not when paired correctly with food. Last night it sang with a lamb stew. Tonight in revisiting it solo I find it delicious and appropriately structured/tannic for its age. On the palate, it feels kind of like Bandol. Interested to see where it is on day 3! — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Is there any meal better than steak (Ribeye) and well aged Claret? This is another 1991 Bordeaux experiment of mine. 1991 was a vintage with horrible frosts and a less than favorable growing season, right? A vintage critically panned. This is my 3rd recent 91 from a good producer. And again, it didn’t disappoint. Like 97 and 07, it’s better with the right bottle age than young. Magic evolution happened in the bottle way down the road. This 91 is in great form with a fair amount of life ahead of it. On the nose; a little ripe fruit funk, wonderful dark & lighter red cassis, ripe blackberries, dark cherries, poached strawberries, plums, hues of blueberries, black raspberries, dry cranberries, vanilla, light cinnamon, rich, black turned earth, cedar, soft leather, dry stones, dry top soil, notes of dry herbs and fresh & dry red flowers. The body/palate is medium, round, ripe & still fresh. The tannins nearly completely resolved. Ripe, floral fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, poached strawberries, plums, hues of blueberries, black raspberries, dry cranberries & half cooked rhubarb. Vanilla, light cinnamon, touch of clove & nutmeg, rich, black turned earth, cedar, soft leather, dry stones, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, notes of dry herbs, a little band-aid and fresh & dry red flowers. The acidity drips over the palate and the long, well balanced, still structured, nice tension, good length finish lasts over a minute. Again, love & appreciate the 12.5% alcohol. What a beauty with and without the steak. Next time you’re in your fine wine retail shop and see a quality producers 91 that’s been well stored, buy it and have it with a Ribeye. Photos of; their exotic Estate, Chateau interior, newer barrel room and their vines as viewed from the front of the Chateau that are across the road. Producer notes and history...Cos d’Estournel has a long distinguished history in the St. Estephe. Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, gave his name to the estate after founding in 1811. It did not take long before Cos d’Estournel became famous with wine lovers and royalty all over the world. In those early days, Cos d’Estournel did not sell through Negociants. The owner preferred selling his wine directly to his customers. In fact, Cos d’Estournel was exported to numerous countries across the globe, with a large portion of the production being sold to India. It was that connection to India that inspired much of the unique, east Indian design we see at Cos d’Estournel today. Cos d’Estournel was one of the first Bordeaux Chateaux’s to bottle, label and sell their own wine. This practice continued until the death of Louis Gaspard d’Estournel in 1852. If you’re at the property, the statue on the bench in the front courtyard is of the founder, Louis Gaspard d’Estournel. The Estate was then purchased by an owner that sold their wines on the Place de Bordeaux using the negociant system. If the Chateau was not selling their wines through the negociant system, it would never have been included in the 1855 Classification. Imagine that! So, it turned out to be a fortuitous decision. Cos d’Estournel was sold to the Charmolue family owners of the neighboring Estate of Chateau Montrose. They continued to own the estate until 1917, when it was bought by Fernand Ginestet. This purchase was the beginning of the next major step in the development of Cos d’Estournel. Decades later, the grandchildren of Fernand Ginestet, Jean-Marie Prats, Yves Prats and Bruno Prats took over ownership and management of Cos d’Estournel. In 1995, Bruno Prats sold the property to the Merlaut family, owners of the Taillan Group. The next era in the development of Cos d’Estournel took place in 2000, when Cos d’Estournel was bought by the industrious and wealthy Michel Reybier, who earned his fortune in the food industry. Michel Reybier hired the son of Bruno Prats, Jean-Guillaume Prats to manage Cos d’Estournel. Things further improved with the efforts of Jean-Guillaume Prats who helped design the most modern wine making at that time. A complete renovation of Cos d’Estournel took place in not only the wine making facilities and cellars, but in parts of the Chateau as well. While the wine making facilities are completely modern with their 100% gravity design, the outward appearance retained the original design and feeling that has always been a part of Cos d’Estournel. On October 15, 2012, Jean Guillaume Prats announced he was leaving Cos d’Estournel to join LVMH (Pichon Baron). Jean Guillaume Prats was replaced by Aymeric de Gironde. Following the departure of Aymeric de Gironde in 2017, the owner, Michel Reybier took over managing the Estate. What makes the remodel special is that the cellars of Cos d’Estournel are entirely operated by gravity. There are no pumps of any kind to force the wine. The purpose is to allow a gentleness to the wine and improve its purity and allow for the expression of their terroir. It set a new benchmark for cellars not only in the Left Bank, but in all of Bordeaux. Perhaps, the most inventive part of the cellars is the four 100 hectoliter lift tanks or wine elevators that replace the pumps used in the traditional pumping over and the racking off processes, which introduce air and often destabilize the marc. From the moment the grapes arrive, everything travels by the flow of gravity. Jean Guillaume Prats called this process a “pumpless pump over.” The 91 hectare vineyard of Cos d’Estournel is planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The vineyard is located extremely close to the border between Pauillac and Saint Estephe at the southern tip of the Saint Estephe. The Estate has very old Merlot vines as well, which date back more than 100 years. Part of the terroir is situated on the hill of Cos, which is at a high elevation for the Medoc at 20 meters. They also make a second wine called Pagodes de Cos. This is a great wine to buy in very good vintages. Especially, if your budget prohibits you from purchasing their first wine. — 8 years ago

Byron Hewett

8.9

Kind of disappointed. Hollow mid palate. Cassis, cedar, pencil lead. Persistent finish. — 6 years ago

Sage

9.5

Bubbly, slightly funky, still smooth and easy to drink. Bright? But still kind of deep fruit? — 7 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.2

Glorious fruit, robust tannins, fresh acidity. Spicy, bright, intense, smoky, mineral. Everything Moulin-à-Vent should be. Youthful exuberance comes off as a bit raw, but give it time and it will be sublime. It’s hard not to get excited about cru Beaujolais at with kind of price-quality factor. — 7 years ago

Rahim Ladak

9.1

Summerlicious sippin’ Rose! Well balanced with slight acidity - notes of citrus and grapefruit. Definitely my kind of rose! — 7 years ago

Velma Cooper

9.0

Velma had this 8 years ago

Rob Moose

9.1

80+ year vines on a very small parcel from the son of J-P Thevenet. This was kind of our encore wine at Untitled, so I don't have as many specific notes as I would like, but I would certainly pick this wine out again on a list or in a store. Nice to try a 2010 also! — 9 years ago

with Gabriel

Bethany Caliaro

9.5

Light bubbles with melon & strawberry notes, kind of like a mild sour jolly rancher, lovely grapefruit color — 9 years ago

Mark Barber

10

My kind of wine , depth, fruit and quite a finish ... — 10 years ago

Carter White

9.1

Nice. Funky, meaty, smoky aromas... kind of like a mushroom bacon cheeseburger. It tastes completely differently, red fruits with soft, smooth tannins and a twang of acidity. Good balance; fairly light body. — 6 years ago

Alex Spoto

10

Singin’ rn!! Thanks to the guru GB! & the old vine! “The music of a privileged terroir.” — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.3

Definitely a different kind of wine. Immediately after opening, lots of black cherry with clove. This softened up quite a bit, but was still showing a lot of black cherry notes to the front and middle. A little bit of tobacco on the finish. Foresty. A very interesting divergence from the norm compared to the other bottles on the table this afternoon. A baby. Still has a lot of youth. Will develop for 10 to 15 years. — 7 years ago

with Dan and Shay

Eli Barton

9.5

I’m not a fan of merlot, and I don’t know much about Bordeaux, but I do have to say this was really enlightening. I only got a slight hint of age on the finish for the first 30 minutes we tasted it. It had a huge savory-meaty aroma that jumped out of the glass, and the dark fruit, black licorice, some herbal flavors had great persistence... still had plenty of acidity. after about an hour it started to taste a little tired compared to the beginning, definitely showed a bit more age but it was still subtle. I’ll remember it for a while. Maybe it was much bigger when it was younger, but I thought it was well balanced. And maybe it wasn’t the best example, but it kind of opened my eyes to merlot and pomerol. — 8 years ago

with Jennifer

Victor Hwang

9.2

Palate was kind of shot but I remember this was big beautiful but too young. — 8 years ago

Elisabetta Tosi

Wine Blogger Vinopigro

9.1

Great sample of this kind. Serious style, well balanced in alcohol, acidity, structure. Perfect with grilled meats — 9 years ago

Michael Malecki

9.0

I kind of need a few of these around at most times — 9 years ago

Austin Beeman

9.7

Tasted with finest provenance - direct at the winery. A beautiful and perfect mature version of Monte Bello that has transformed into the kind of secondary aromas and flavors you most likely find in fine Bordeaux. The color is an attractive medium-light red with a hint of amber at the edges. The nose is all red apple skins and the bright earthy aromas of the forrest floor in Fall. Palate is herbal with tea and rose petals, herbs, and tobacco. Fruit isn't gone, but overwhelmed by the complexity of the other elements. Finish in long (about 60 seconds) and echoes the complexity of the palate.One of the finest "Old California" wines I've yet tasted. A revelation that shows Monte Bello to be a European wine trapped in a California label. $400 Winery Retail. www.austinbeeman.com — 10 years ago