Winemaker Notes
La Conseillante is a very aromatic wine with great finesse. Floral notes of peony, aromas of red berry fruit and spices mingle with violets, the inimitable hallmark floral characteristic of this wine. The palate offers a creamy, silky texture together with wonderful freshness and soft tannins. Possessing great ageing potential, this wine, after ten years, develops aromas of black truffles, characteristic of great Merlot from the Pomerol plateau.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A sensational effort in 2022, utterly fabulous and one of my favourites. Smells ripe and potent, an air of opulence and richness, so perfumed and open with soft herbal and spiced elements. This wows on the palate, creamy tannins, rich but silky, so well integrated with cool, wet stone and blue fruit nuances and juicy acidity giving freshness. It manages to give with one hand and take away with the other, a supreme balancing act of providing the sumptuous power and concentration of the vintage but so delicately packaged with layers of energy, brightness and precision. Great movement and direction. Pure Pomerol power and pleasure on offer here, exciting and elegant and really feels like it’s not trying too hard. 5-6% press wine.
Barrel Sample: 98-100 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 La Conseillante is just as exquisite in bottle as it was en primeur. Wafting from the glass with an exotic bouquet of mulberries, black raspberries and plums mingled with notions of black truffle, burning embers, violets, mint and licorice, it's full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with a fleshy, even unctuous core of fruit underpinned by a broad chassis of sweet, powdery and perfectly integrated tannin. This is the most lavish, sensual La Conseillante of the last decade, with the most texture and density, yet it remains unerringly precise and harmonious. It's a blend of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Château La Conseillante is pure brilliance and is up with the crème de la crème from this estate. Gorgeous blue fruits, sweet cassis, violets, spice, incense, truffle, and blood orange all define the aromatics, and it's a sensationally pure, full-bodied, voluptuous, and perfectly balanced Conseillante that has integrated tannins, a deep, layered mid-palate, and incredible length. A blend of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc, aged in 70% new French oak, the 2022 hit 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.65 Rating: 98+
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James Suckling
The freshness and aromatics are really beautiful. Flowers such as orange blossoms with hints of nutmeg and cinnamon. Medium-bodied, this has ultrafine tannins that run the length of the wine and caress every inch. Very elegant and vivid at the end. Such refinement and loveliness for the vintage. 87% merlot and 13% cabernet franc.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A source of exceptionally sensual and glamorous red wines, Pomerol is actually a rather small appellation in an unassuming countryside. It sits on a plateau immediately northeast of the city of Libourne on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Pomerol and St-Émilion are the stars of what is referred to as Right Bank Bordeaux: Merlot-dominant red blends completed by various amounts of Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. While Pomerol has no official classification system, its best wines are some of the world’s most sought after.
Historically Pomerol attached itself to the larger and more picturesque neighboring region of St-Émilion until the late 1800s when discerning French consumers began to recognize the quality and distinction of Pomerol on its own. Its popularity spread to northern Europe in the early 1900s.
After some notable vintages of the 1940s, the Pomerol producer, Petrus, began to achieve great international attention and brought widespread recognition to the appellation. Its subsequent distribution by the successful Libourne merchant, Jean-Pierre Mouiex, magnified Pomerol's fame after the Second World War.
Perfect for Merlot, the soils of Pomerol—clay on top of well-drained subsoil—help to create wines capable of displaying an unprecedented concentration of color and flavor.
The best Pomerol wines will be intensely hued, with qualities of fresh wild berries, dried fig or concentrated black plum preserves. Aromas may be of forest floor, sifted cocoa powder, anise, exotic spice or toasted sugar and will have a silky, smooth but intense texture.