Cos d’Estournel 2ème Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 2011

More austere and earthbound than the great Cos vintages, the 2011 nonetheless carries the estate's authority in its bones. Dusty and earthy on the nose, with leather and dry black fruit at the fore, the palate shows serious concentration of dark fruit, a big stripe of tannin that is firm and dry, and a mineral earthiness that speaks directly to the terroir. There is a classy, structured quality here that rewards patience, and those who have cellared the 2011 are already beginning to see the rewards of that forbearance.