Aromas of ripe fruit, tobacco, cigar box and herbs. The palate shows concentration, with dark fruit complemented by plush, expansive tannins. Medium- to full-bodied yet poised and elegant. Drinkable now, but still needs time. Drink or hold. 10 Years On retrospective.
#11 Top 100. Bottled in June of 2018, the 2016 Château La Conseillante is a beautifully seamless yet powerful version of this cuvée that has the hallmark fragrance and elegance of the estate front and center. Complex blackberries, cassis, flowers, incense, forest floor, and floral notes all soar from this full-bodied, pure, and polished Pomerol that has an undeniable class as well as wonderful purity of fruit, perfect integration of its tannins and acidity, and a blockbuster finish. It's an incredibly complete wine that flirts with perfection and will keep for 30-40 years. The blend is 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, aged in 70% new French oak, with the balance in once-used barrels. There are less than 4,000 cases made, but this is a wine you want in your cellar.
The 2016 La Conseillante is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc aged in 70% new and 30% one-year-old French oak for 17 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, it slips provocatively out of the glass with a lifted perfume of roses, candied violets and lavender over a core of warm red and black plums, chocolate box, unsmoked cigars and baked cherries with wafts of wild thyme and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, the palate exudes polish and sophistication with bags of fragrance, freshness and energy, sporting exquisitely fine-grained tannins and finishing very long and minerally. Around 3,808 cases produced.
I love the depth and character to the fruits on this wine. Still extremely young, in a closed phase with plenty of tannic grip, but there are layers upon layers of blueberry, cassis, raspberry, mint, saffron, slate and liquorice. Clear acidity also, ensuring this succulent, juicy character to the fruits. A brilliant example of an excellent vintage in Pomerol. 70% new oak. A yield of 39.5hl/ha.
TWI
97pts
The Wine Independent
La Conseillante is a fine and firmly structured wine, well built and well composed, with good fruit and a long and powerful, though rounded taste. There are notes of cherries, marzipan and crunchy sweet berries and hints of mocha, dark chocolate and intense and pure fruit. The aftertaste is fresh, long and clean and this is a classic example of La Conseillante. It is almost ready.
The 2016 La Conseillante is a little more reticent on the nose: touches of iron piping infuse the black fruit, though this is well defined and, with aeration, conveys a sense of minéralité. The palate is medium-bodied, with pliant tannins. Very focused, it builds gently in the mouth towards a grippy finish, yet there is still finesse here. Whilst it is just about drinking now, it has the freshness and substance to repay cellaring. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting.
Features a terrific core of dense and winey cassis, blackberry and plum reduction notes that will need time to unfurl, during which time the flickers of alder, tobacco and black tea lurking throughout should emerge further. Shows a solid graphite element through the finish. Best from 2022 through 2038. 3,333 cases made.
Beautifully perfumed and rich, this wine comes from the eastern edge of the great plateau of Pomerol. It shows the density and concentration of impressive Merlot. Offering powerful fruits as much as tannins, the wine also has a mineral edge plus fresh acidity to give it a lift. Drink from 2024. (Cellar Selection)