TN: 03 Cos Labory [St Estephe]

[AKR]

03 Cos Labory [St Estephe] Over three days, but not decanted since it was put in a half bottle immediately after opening. Purchased EP. Full bodied, thick heavy legs. 13.5% abv. Licorice and figs on the nose. Dark garnet. Some sediment. Is there a smidge of lightening at the edges? Best on day 1 I think. Very easy to drink without food. Lots of flavor for an estate that sometimes is on the lean side. A radicchio salad brings out a touch of bitterness in the wine, so avoid that pairing! After cleansing the palate, that goes away. I quite like this, but I've been more fond of the 2003 St Estephe's than most others, including those who are paid to critique wines. I'll give the last bottle a few more years; I'm not worried about it fading. B+ Tannins are almost totally resolved.

I've got a 96 Cos Labory I'm looking forward to trying next year. My feeling was that those would need more time to shed their grip.

I searched on this forum but don't see many notes on this estate. It's not a big producer. But funnily enough an older note from when some of the Sacramento crowd got together some years ago, and an 82 Cos Labory stuck its snout into the mix! I'd forgotten that night. Some great stuff at Bill's that evening.

[AlexR]

Cos Labory is usually under the radar.
Part of the reason is that production is relatively small: less than a quarter of Montose, for instance.
I find the style is old-fashioned, and I've had a number of austere wines from them.
But the wine can also be very good.
It's a fun wine to bring out for wine lovers since it is (relatively) little known.

I think CL has the terroir to do better than they do, but it's true I am unfamiliar with recent vintages.

Alex R.

[AKR]

I think the only off vintage one I've had was 97, which was weak. Generally only willing to buy it in ripe years, which I suppose coincides with when US merchants will carry it too.

[stefan]

I have not bought Cos Labory since the 1995 vintage. I much prefer the '95 Calon Segur to it. Canon Segur is, these days, quite a bit more expensive, but I don't remember that the price differential was so large 15 or so years ago.

[AKR]

I have not bought Cos Labory since the 1995 vintage. I much prefer the '95 Calon Segur to it. Canon Segur is, these days, quite a bit more expensive, but I don't remember that the price differential was so large 15 or so years ago.

I'm guessing 15-20 years ago Cos Labory was at the $30 price point, while Calon Segur was closer to $35-$40. I think they bumped up the pricing when they got their nice scores on the 1995. Now of course big differential.

[AKR]

With lamb chops, couscous, and lentils I popped another 2003 Cos Labory [St Estephe] without any decanting. I've bought this EP and this bottle was quite disappointing, showing the weird notes that Blanquito has identifies in some 2003 Medocs. There is almost a milky, caramel, dulce de leche type of note to the nose. But there's fruit underneath it, so not corked. I think the only wine I can recall with this kind of strange flavor/bouquet was another 2003 - a St Pierre. The last 2003 Cos Labory I had - clearly a number of years ago and notes above - didn't exhibit this trait and generally I'm fairly good at remembering wines. The SO had two glasses of this, stating it was fine to her, even though both kids (without prompting) identified the same flavors I did from sniffing. It's improving a touch with a couple hours of air, now showing mint/oregano and a 30 second fruity finish, but this is a weird wine. Maybe heat afflicted some bottles, or this is VA, or something. But it is not TCA. C+ grade.

I'm a fan of the 2003 St Estephe's, so this was a huge disappointment given that I'd purchased EP and made a meal to pair with it.

PS: upon further review now I'm wondering if storage was an issue. this has been in my house rather than the storage unit, ever since we moved, and while normally not an issue since stuff in the house gets consumed, this ended up being on a rack for years longer than normal