At last a vintage for the new management at Château Cos d’Estournel to sink their teeth into. If 2014 seriously favours the left bank, then it is in St Estèphe that some of the very best wines have been produced. Cos is right up there with these. It is an extremely polished and wonderfully proportioned grand vin in 2014. It is very impressive stuff and shows genuine freshness. Les Pagodes de Cos is also an extremely layered offering, displaying lots of delicious black cherry fruit. Cos blanc, made from vineyards up the coast close to the Médoc, seriously impressed in 2013, but 2014 trumps even this. It easily ranks alongside many of the great Pessac-Léognan whites this year.

The following wines were tasted on Monday, March 30, 2015 at Château Cos d’Estournel. Aymeric de Gironde, managing director who took over from Jean-Guillaume Prats in 2012, and Dominique Arangoits, the technical director, are clearly delighted with the wines. Rightly so. These are the best from the property since 2010.

Les Pagodes des Cos, St Estèphe, 2014

Deeply coloured; saturated look; purple at the meniscus; healthy looking; fruit; precise and creamy; blackcurrant; clean and fresh; some black cherry and summer fruit compote tones; layered palate with texture and a seam of blackcurrant fruit; nice acidity here; complete on the end with nice length. Good effort. [55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 13.9% alc, 3.4TA, 3.78 pH, ITP 73, 50% new oak]. Drink 2019-2028. 90-92+

Chateau Cos d’Estournel, Grand Cru Classé, St Estèphe, 2014

Deep and concentrated colour; tight to the rim; legs; pure; creamy tones; sweetness and ripeness; fat almost but nicely layered aromatics; core of blackcurrant, cassis fruit; similarly layered palate with an excellent core of fruit and material; oak appears completely soaked up by the fruit; nicely balanced; freshness too; lots of matter and material; little warmth on the finish and plenty of ripe tannin too. Impressive stuff. [65% Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot 33%, Cabernet Franc, 2%, 14.2% alc, TA3.5, pH3.77 IPT 87 80% new oak]. Drink 2020-2035. 94-96+

Chateau Cos d’Estournel Blanc, Bordeaux Blanc, 2014

Washed pale straw; hint of green; grapefruit; some oyster shell; very vibrant aromatics; tight palate with wax and grapefruit zest; excellent concentration; full body; but zesty and refreshing finish. Nice zip but good length. Best Cos Blanc yet? [66% Sauvignon Blanc, 44% Semillon, 14% alc., 3.2TA, pH3.1 barrel fermented, 15% new oak.]. Drink 2016-2022. 93-95+