95 pts - Wine Advocate
The medium to deep garnet colored 2008 Cos d'Estournel is blended of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Pow! The nose explodes with notes of baked cherries, preserved plums, fried herbs, beef drippings and warm cassis with wafts of wood smoke, salami and tobacco leaf. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant and earthy/savory in character, sporting beautifully ripe, grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing on a lingering mineral note.- Lisa Perrotti-Brown (11/2018)
91 pts - Wine Spectator
This has a slight hint of the vintage's crisp, angular feel, but there are impressive layers of fruit here, with a bright mineral edge cutting through the damson plum and red currant notes. This has put on a little bit of weight in the bottle, too. Showing well.—Non-blind Cos-d'Estournel vertical (December 2015). Drink now through 2021. 20,000 cases made. — JM (03/2016)
92 pts - Vinous
Good deep ruby-red. Complex aromas and flavors of currant, raspberry, smoke, musky dried herbs, sexy oak tones and minerals. Rich, broad and lush; big, rich and sweet but with an edge of acidity giving lift and grip to the middle palate. At once sexy and serious wine, finishing with broad, horizontal tannins and excellent length.- Stephen Tanzer (7/211)