141. Cos d’Estournel, Saint Estèphe, 1969

£26.66; ??%

So, my first bottle of Cos. And the first drink of a wine bought through an eBay auction. I was a little worried that this would be past its prime. It was, but not too far. The 1969 vintage wasn’t great in Medoc / St Estephe, so this didn’t have much chance! Nevertheless, brick-red edge to a good mid-red colour, and notable fruit beneath toasty vanilla made pretty good drinking. A soft and nicely flavoured start was evident. Where it was “past it”, was a… well… “hollow” mid-palate, leaving and acid finish, that lost the fine quality expected of Cos d’Estournel.