Wafting breathtaking nose, sweet plum, sweet tobacco leaf, cassis, amazing!!! Palate so mellow and smooth with flavors of dark plums, some toastiness, dark, sweet fruit, nice concentration and power, very vibrant and fulfilling.
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20-vintage La Conseillante vertical (Fribourg): Part of a 20 vintage vertical (key takeaways in the tasting story). Sweet oaky notes along with accents of sweet spice, dry wood, sweet red cherry fruit - all in a medium intensity setting. Rather intense palate with plenty of acidity and soft but tangible tannin. Have rated this higher a couple of years ago, but this seems to be a rather accessible 2010 that would likely benefit from a proper decant.
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20 Vintages of La Conseillante (1947-2020): All wines tasted blind. I have had many beautiful Conseillantes in the past, but in this tasting the wines did not shine as expected. A few thoughts: A) Conseillante is a seductive, sensual wine, not unlike more Bordeaux-esque Napa Valley wines. In fact, it reminded me a lot of Opus One, with the blue and black forest berry aromas found in almost every vintage. B) The fruit is ripe, but never too ripe. But only in the cooler years (and 2020) is the fruit perfectly pure and fresh. C) Even in the newer vintages, the (luxurious) oak notes are still present and will need some time to be fully absorbed. D) My biggest problem (and the group had the same one) was that almost all of the newer vintages showed alcohol notes that weren't noticeable en primeur or in the Arrivage tastings (and the wines were served at a perfect temperature or rather a little too cold). E) There were some beautiful wines, complex and seductive, but La Conseillante is not a wine for classic Bordeaux or Left Bank lovers. Conseillante is the hot one-night stand, not the elegant and intellectually appealing wine I want to drink every day. F) The best wine was the 2020 (96pts, the only score above 95pts), confirming my impression that it is a better, less ripe Bordeaux vintage than 2019.
TN: I very much like the 2010 freshness which was showcased beautifully with this bottle: ripe but fresh blue and black fruit and lots of other layers with coffee, herbs, crushed rocks, and some toasted oak around it. High intensity and expression from the first sniff through the palate into the quite long finish (most Conseillante didn’t have such a long finishes tonight). In typical 2010 fashion, this is also high tannins and high acidity. Everything is turned up but that creates a balance that is great. I would have rated this 95pts, consistent with previous bottles but there were some hints of alcohol heat on the nose (something I haven’t had on previous bottles).
Decanting: The bottle was opened a few hours before consumption but not decanted. This bottle would have needed 2-3 hours in a decanter.
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Chateau La Conseillante 1947-2020 tasted blind: My WOTN together with the 2016. Cool dark fruit with good ripeness. Rich palate, enough freshness, a touch of alcoholic heat but then a fresh finish on the blue fruit spectrum. Still a few years away from peak.
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Fairly tight at pop and first sips. Poured into decanter and left for an hour or so. Definite improvement. Nose reminded me of 2014 VCC, smoky and deep but also greener. Core of blueberry and some black fruit. Medium in body. Chalky tannins. A little tart on the finish which felt abrupt.
Overall I enjoyed it quite a bit but was expecting more here. Felt straightforward and while very elegant just didnt find anything too impressive. Will hold my other bottle.
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Wow. Just...wow. Deep dark black fruit, earth, cigar box, dried herbs, soft tannins, endless finish. This is an excellent example of a stunning right banker. Had with beef fillet, shiitake mushrooms, and potato. Framed the meal beautifully. 2 bottles left. Wish I had more. See you in another couple years, bottle #2. Life and wine are good!
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Decanted 2 hours beforehand. Bit more elegant than the 12 gazin. Fresher, cooler fruit profile on the nose and palate. Redder, tangy fruit. Precise, fine tannins. Consensus WOTN.
Nick A's Pomerol Part 2 (67 Pall Mall, London): Nose starts a little muted, with some air some mulled plums and black cardamom emerges. Some espresso and cassis too with time. Palate also tight to start, shows a little ankle with some time; real potential here. My 3rd favourite wine of the night.
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Nick's Pomerol Dinner (67 Pall Mall, London): A touch closed at first, slowly opening to reveal blueberry fruit, plum, lovely purity - noble. Some floral perfume. Medium bodied, elegant, very fine tannins, less fat but by no means lean, fresh/vibrant acids, lovely line, a touch constricted still on the finish but very fine. From 2028ish?
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Nick's Pomerol Part II (67 Pall Mall, London): A real treat to try this Chateau for the first time and in a top vintage. Crimson with a little evolution in appearance, and with blue and black fruits on the nose. Medium to full bodied with silky yet comforting tannins and arrow like precision with serious concentration and scale fanning out on the finish. Whilst early window, this was not too soon to drink now, and really had so much class and pedigree without needing to make a big statement. Lovely. Group WOTN and upon reflection it should probably have been mine too, although I put it 2nd. From Zalto Bordeaux.
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Pomerol, part 2 (67 Pall Mall): Hoo, this was superb. Perfectly ripe nose, with red fruit, spice, Zanzibar chest and a touch of game - sexy, with a sense of completeness. I could still sense the new wood, which seemed of excellent quality and really well integrated with the fruit. Substantial and almost brooding on the palate, with rich blue fruit and espresso. Fine powdery tannins that provided structure and emphasised the wine's nobility, and will ensure a long life, and good length to the finish. My #2, group WOTN.
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Sensational. Everything you want Bordeaux to be. Very dark and black fruited. Blackberries and cassis. Intense and piercing but with a firm classic inky structure alluding to elegance. Wonderfully complex drinking experience, chocolate, violets, truffles, cigar, meats. Not a single guest could resist rushing for another pour.
Wines at Jordan's wedding: Liked this a lot. Surprisingly old-school and a little more evolved than I expected for the maker and vintage. Very elegant and had a traditional rustic earthiness to it. Slightly plummy that made me think right bank but still a very well-balanced wine with good concentration.
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Just about to enter its prime-time drinking window, the wine balances its sensuality with its vibrant core of ripe, sweet, plums, chocolate with truffles with a floral edge. The combination of finesse and silky on the palate hits all the right notes. Drink 2022-2040.
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Château La Conseillante dinner & Kabinett tasting (Groot-Ammers, Netherlands): Ex-Château. Very energetic, fresh and well balanced, deep and harmonious, just starting to develop its complexity, firm but very fine tannins, very long finish. Not very communicative right now, give it ten years at least. Score based on potential now. 95
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6 Vintages Le Pin vs Petrus vs Lafleur vs Other Pomerol: All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
TN: At first a fairly muted nose. With time mostly herbal and mineral driven with ripe dark red fruit underneath. On the palate, this is so fresh and almost weightless. Ripe dark red fruit, herbs and minerality in many layers. I thought that due to the freshness and many herbal aromas it might be the Lafleur with more Cabernet Franc than the La Conseillante. Very fine tannins, high freshness, creamy and fresh, good tension. A fruit and mineral-driven finish which resonantes for quite some time. At first it started with 92/93 pts. With time and more complexity, it got better and reached the 94/95 pts category. Consistent with previous bottles (rated 94 and 95 pts).
Decanting: At least 2, 3 hours, potentially even more would be best, in my opinion. Better wait another decade or two.
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Dinner at Imperial Treasure TPC. Dark inky purple colour. Plushly layered, beautifully textured. Rich, succulent plush fruit. Distinctive notes of soy and balsamic vinegar. Successfully achieved the balance among structure, generosity and elegance. A memorable wine from a good producer in a great vintage.
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Petrus vs. Le Pin vs. Lafleur 2004-2011, blind (Fribourg): Muted nose, dark fruit, extracted, this clearly needs more time. On the palate good balance, black forest cake, a bit tight still. This will be grand but dont touch this for another 5 years. A good showing for this pirate. 96+
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Pétrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin (Fribourg): 6 vintage face-off (2006-2011) Pétrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin vs alternating Pomerol pirate. The wines were served in vintage flights of 4 and not decanted. Main observations were: 1/ Le Pin knocked it out of the park coming in first in 4 out of 6 vintages while Pétrus came in last with not a single vintage win (Lafleur came in best in two off-vintages, 2006 and 2008), 2/ The best overall vintage was 2009 (runner-up 2010) while 2006 came in last (scoring range 85-92), 3/ best bottle was Le Pin 2009 (99), followed by Pétrus 2010 and Le Pin 2010 (98 each), 4/ best pirate was Clos L’Eglise 2009 (97). List of wines per score included in the tasting story.
Tasting note: A touch of Williams emanates through the pure, detailed and precise red berry fruit. In the mix you’ll also find sweet accents, a few herbs, floral notes and a pinch of leather. High-octane palate, tannins with a firm grip, but in good harmony. Adds a chemical, acrylic dimension along with fresher herbs.
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OK, a great young wine, a powerhouse in the making. Easily the class of the young wines at the table and it wears it’s (stated) 15% alcohol with ease. Flashy and fun yet still true. Should have a brilliant future, if the booze stays in check — for now, 93+ pts
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12 Vintages of L’Eglise-Clinet vs La Conseillante (1993-2015): Enlightening head to head of two Pomerol heavyweights. All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. A few observations: 1) La Conseillante (LC) is the winner with 7 vs 5 wins, a higher average score (92.1 pts vs 90.8 pts) and a much better consistency over the years. 2) The LC showed more harmonious and inviting, less extracted and with a good ripeness as well as a seductive creaminess. 3) L’Eglise-Clinet (EC) only started to get good to great in the past 10 to 15 years. Most older wines showed too ripe, too extracted and often with a drying finish. 4) Not surprisingly, the best vintages got the highest scores (2015, 2010, 2009) with the highest scores awarded to the EC 2010 and 2015 (96 pts), LC 2015 (95 pts) as well as a quite strong LC 2003 (95 pts). 5) The race for the better Pomerol is open! Since 2015, L’EC got higher critic scores than LC as well as more perfect scores (11 vs 5; 17 critics/6 vintages) but I’m not yet sure if I like the riper and slightly bolder style of the EC (and LC is not really famous for its lightness or restraint either). But I got the feeling (or hope?) that the more recent vintages of EC will at least age much better than their older counterparts.
TN: Rather muted on the nose. The palate shows dense and powerful with a beautiful creaminess and lots of fresh dark fruit, coffee, herbs and minerality. Lots of substance here but without a proper decant, it never really fully revealed itself. It certainly needs a lot more time to reach its peak. There is a wall of fine tannins and a high, not yet perfectly integrated acidity. All in all, this is not yet super harmonious but is very promising.
Decanting: Not decanted, at least 2-3 hours in the decanter seem necessary
Duel: Win for L’Eglise-Clinet rated 96 pts
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Lovely. The '10 edges a bit away from LA core, tbh. The textures are there as is the fruit, but backbeats are heavier and a wrong a bit. Maybe time will fix. That said - loved it.
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Bordeaux 2010 - 10 Years On - 61 Reds: Bordeaux 2010 after 10 years. 61 reds, mostly big names, tasted blind. Average score 92.1 and lower than the more open and charming 2009 vintage last year (93.4). A few observations: A) It’s not yet the harmonious, complex, classic, clean vintage. Especially the masculine appellations of the left bank need at least 5 more years to just open up, potentially longer to soften. B) Left bank trumps right bank thanks to less detectable alcohol, cleaner lines and the two best wines of the vintage (Mouton, Margaux). C) Pomerol shines bright with many strong wines which can all mask the high alcohol levels (best AOC slightly ahead of Pauillac). D) As in 2009, there are several right banks already past peak, incl. big names (Duffau Lagarosse, Ausone). All in all, 2010 is a very good vintage with pockets of greatness but today 2009 shows more open and hence complex. More information, top and worst 10 list, appellation rankings from five participants in the story link.
TN: While Petrus or Le Pin are both more intellectual wines today, Conseillante is all about hedonism and sexy, sweet fruit and all that without being too dense, or slutty. This is a very sensous wine with lots of different, soft, ripe red berries, lots of herbs and some hints of minerality. Not the most complex wine today but with great precision and a super fine structure without any excess weight and a very good freshness. This is a fantastic wine and I guess it could rival the 2005 once all the teritary aromas kick-in.
Decanting: No extensive decant needed, 1-2 hours should be enough, but better wait a few more years.
Group average: 95.2 Group rank: number 11 out of 61 wines
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Grand Bordeaux 2010 ten years on tasting; 6/21/2020-6/22/2020 (Fribourg): Big Bordeaux 2010 2-day horizontal hosted by a private collector. My 3 main takeaways from the vintage were 1) more frequent perception of heat, 2) a slightly stronger left bank and a less consistent right bank, 3) while in general it is still too early to pop the 2010s, wine selection is key as some appear to be in decline already, especially on the right bank. The top wines were Mouton (99), Margaux (98) and VCC (98). The biggest positive surprise was Clos Manou (95). Biggest disappointment was Pape Clement (86). More details and complete tasting overview included in the tasting story.
Tasting note: Fruit-forward with plenty of red berries, sweet notes and whiffs of spices. Juicy and accessible palate with fresh acidity and well integrated tannin.
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Majestivc wine. Farfrom mature, but the mere structure and elegance of this makes it worthwhile to look at in it's youth. It still has a bit of cool, chalky cab franc character, that I love, it is extremely vertical, yet plentifull in it's fruit. Grand Vin, indeed. 96+ point
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It is young, but it is impossible not to be enthralled with the floral, earthy, cherry, cocoa and plum filled nose. The wine has concentration, balance, elegance, length and purity. The fruit is sweet, fresh and silky. Give it a few hours of air, or 5 years and enjoy.
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Remains the colour of blue-black ink, this is now somewhat shut down and a brooding monster of a wine. Quite atypical for the Chateau, but perhaps reflective of the monumental vintage.... now is not the time to be opening 2010 high-end Bordeaux, right or left bank. Extended decanting reveals tell-tale violets, dark fruits, mint, liquorice, dark chocolate and hints of tobacco. The wine is multi-layered with extraordinary length and complexity, but the tannins are lurking and this requires at least another decade of careful cellaring before it's potential will start to reveal itself. For mine, still the best-ever from this Chateau, a wine for the ages, and surely amongst the top dozen of this superb vintage. 98+ points, drink: 2030-2060.
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Tasted next to 2008 and 2000 La Conseillante. Very dark in colour, slightly restrained and brooding on the nose. Notes of liquorice, plums, grilled herbs, spices, tobacco. On the palate very serious with lots of depth and structure. Superbly balanced, spicy, fresh, grippy, tons of fruit underneath those tannins. Very very long. Without a doubt my favourite vintage of La Conseillante tonight, but at least 5 years too young. 95-96+
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Chateau La Conseillante Vertical with Marielle Cazaux (Au Petit Bouchon): Clearly tons of material here but this is not the time for drinking any 2010 Bordeaux, even this one. So much bound up in this but it's a construction zone, beams everywhere. At its core is the classic blackberry fruit trailing with a metallic element on the finish. Needs food to soften up.
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Chateau La Conseillante Dinner with Marielle Cazaux (Le Cafe Descartes at the French Embassy): Unbelievably massive scale nose displaying pure black and red fruit, blackberry, cremes de cassis, plum, cherry pie, ink, licorice, liquid smoke, lavender, exotic incense, tobacco and limestone dust. Exceptional concentration, incredibly layered intense pure black fruit, oily yet silky and weightless, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, very fine tannins and never ending finish. Despite being very primary, intense pure fruit and beautiful refined palate provide immense pleasure. In another three decades, this will become a monumental wine. Easily my WOTN.
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La Conseillante Vertical Tasting (French Embassy - Washington, DC): This was less expressive than the 2009, but, at the same time, just stunning. Darker and needs more coaxing aromatically, but there is a lot of pretty fruit and earthy, floral goodness deep in there. Tannic and young on the palate, with concentrated but beautiful red and black cherries and currants. Deep notes of earth, mineral, leaves, cedar, dark chocolate. So young (I'd bury this for 15 years), but so, so good.
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A Matter of Taste: New York (The Conrad NY | Del Posto): Wow do I love this wine. Its young and not really ready yet but there's so much good here. Truffle and lavender and black fruits. I wrote awesome a few times in my book. Great wine.
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With age the wine continues developing additional nuances of truffle, and flowers, with sweet, earthy, ripe, deep red fruits. Silkier than when last tasted, the wine offers freshness and sensual textures in the finish. Another 5 - 7 years will add even more to the wine.
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14%. Merlot 80% and Cabernet Franc 20%. Thick ruby without purplish hue. The nose speaks of ‘Bordeaux’ but not sure where. Nose of stale raw rice, which means it’s already ripe, soy sauce, leather, earth, truffle, oak, disinfectant, spices, but no flowers. Medium plus to full bodied, medium plus tannins. Complex but not much finesse.
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2017 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/16/2017-10/25/2017 (New York City, NY): Conseillante's 2010 is a monumental wine that perfectly fits the descriptor "iron fist in a velvet glove." An opaque ruby blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, it is highly perfumed with lavender, violets, and pipe tobacco, superimposed on a core of black and blue fruits. Full-bodied, freshly acidic, seamlessly alcoholic and with plentiful fine-grained tannins, it weaves a complementary amount of oak into the dense middle palate and closes with notes of bittersweet chocolate on a very long finish. This is something special, but will require further cellaring to fully strut its stuff. Drink 2025-2050.
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Deep dense crimson colour. The nose is rich and expressive with blackberries, black cherries, plums, touches of mint and savoury herbs, chocolate and leatherwood honey. The palate is quite dense but with plenty of time it becomes more expressive showing complex fruit and a long firm tannic structure. A beautiful baby at present ! A delicious wine showing great promise.
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This needs a lot of aeration, it was much better on the second day. Deep and dark, dry, with graphite like tannins, mineral and stone nose, some initial Pomerol Merlot like qualities that will become more upfront and complex in 5 years. Would love to open a bottle then.
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Tried this a year ago, no notes from then but rated it a low 3,5 stars. Liked it much better now. Beautiful nose with dark fruit, grass and some Rioja like dill and oak/vanilla notes. Tough tannins but a great balance. Some chemical hints.
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Brief tasting note. Another great showing from 2010 today, already at this young age, to my surprise. Nose just shines, filled with lovely spicy red berries, and the great green and herbal grassy notes of Cab Franc really showing, for the intriguing spiciness. Palate is silky and velvety, full-bodied yet fresh and balanced, with stony gravel, dark pure fruit and superb length. This is Pomerol as it should be. Brilliant now, with an even more brilliant future to come. (95 – 97+)
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Lords 2015 en primeur tasting. Next to the 2015 it makes you realise what a great vintage 2010 is. Typical 2010 heavy weight, yet still balanced. Long finish. Needs time, preferably a decade.
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The 2010 La Conseillante is undoubtedly a wine for extended ageing and has lost that youthful exuberance that it had a couple of years ago as in beds in for the long haul. This is in stark contrast to the 1990 which was all singing, all dancing even in 1993. When I first tasted the ten I surmised that it might turn out to be the greatest wine this estate has ever produced. Jean-Valmy seems to think so and so does Jean-Michel Laporte, who was the wine maker until last June. Without doubt this is a most accomplished wine with a lot of power, dark chocolate and cool fruits. If one were to criticise it one might say it is a little bit clinical.
For me this was the most impressive wine shown to us, but this seems to need at least 15yrs (probably 20) before it will be at peak. For my palate this is a better wine than the 2009 and step up from the 1990 (with more upside potential if it evolves as well as I expect). This seems much fresher than the 1990, with more concentration and even better balance. Under-rated by some critics on release and definitely a wine to buy. 97+pts for me. I can see why they wanted me to try this when I pop by last month - they should be very proud of their 2010...
Matter of Taste Lunch La Conseillante with Jean-Valmy Nicolas and Neal Martin - all wines decant for 3-4 hours.
Wines tasted La Conseillante 1989, 1990, 2009, 2010.
1989: From Ex-Chateau Magnum bottle. Colour very brown, certainly looking very developed. Strong barnyard / animal nose. Too little fruit for me left. I found this somewhat over the hill (for my liking, some agreed at the table others did not). Disappointing for the vintage and given provenance and bottle format. A second pouring from another bottle showed the same. Reminds me of why I prefer left bank wines over right bank, I much prefer the way they age. 88-90
1990: From Ex-Chateau Magnum bottle. Quite brown but less developed looking then the 1989. Slightly less animal nose. Some more fruit in this compared to 1989. Better then 1990 but overall just not winning me over, I also felt this was past its prime. Also disappointing considering the vintage and critic’s praise of this (and price of the wine). 90-92
2009: From standard bottle. After the 89/90 hoping for some lift. I felt the 2009 was a bit of a brute attack on the palate at this point. Shame - I just could not feel the pleasure I was hoping I could get. 89-91
2010: From standard bottle. I had tired of taking any notes at this point. But the 2010 was clearly better then the 2009 for me and probably my favourite of the whole lunch. Still not a wine I will be buying for my cellar. 91-93
Summary: After having had the benefit of the Mouton vertical before I felt myself longing for some of those throughout the lunch. It’s probably a tough act to follow but La Conseillante wines sell for quite high prices also. I really wanted to like these wines and was looking for getting some pleasure out of them but was left somewhat disappointed. The older vintages were both past its prime drinking in my view. I guess I am just really a left bank guy and that’s one of those things you can find out in events like this.
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celebrated a further acquisition of this by cracking a bottle to accompany a beautiful cantonese BBQ lunch today. this wine continues to put on more weight than a middle-aged diabetic, it now is full-bodied, rich and crammed full of everything you want in great wine. Classic nose of violets, anise and mint, the massive palate kept in check by beautiful, smooth and ripe tannins. Immensely broad finish, dark chocolate, cool fruits, liquorice and spice, with length to burn. What a wonderful demonstration of Pomerol in 2010, which continues to astound with it's extraordinary quality. This wine will plateau in 10-15 years, but the journey to get there will be incredibly enjoyable for those fortunate enough to experience it. No doubt, this and Le Gay are the smart right-bank buys in 2010. 98+ drink:2020-2050
Lots of dark fruits and some flowers in the nose; quite concentrated and heavy on the palate with lots of fruits and a bit too much wood spices; overall, 93-94 points; needed quite a few more years too.
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The 2010 La Conseillante is just a brilliant wine, and every time I taste it I'm inclined to agree with Jean-Michel Laporte in thinking one of the best La Conseillante vintages ever. Bursting from the glass with a deep bouquet of black raspberry, mulberry, gravelly soil tones, incipient black truffle and violets, on the palate the wine deep, layered, and unerringly precise, sacrificing none of its trademark elegance despite its massive scale. It has already absorbed its new oak, and the finish is pure and very long. While the wine is relatively shut down right now, its immense quality is impossible to miss.
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Neal Martin is on the money here. Incredibly focused wine full of blueberry violate anise and cassis aromas and flavour, very linear at the moment, but absolutely certain to blossom into something very very special with another decade. I was surprised how much weight this has put on over the past 18 months, when last I tried this wine. Must get some more of this.
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Bordeaux 2009 vs. 2010 - Check in on 50 well known Chateaux: Very dark purple. Reserved nose of blue fruit, toast, chocolate. As a matter of fact, quite linear Merlot at this time due to its reductiveness. On the palate medium bodied with quite pronounced acidity. Difficult to assess due to its closeness. Mid mouth fill is better than the 09. I have seen La Conseillante being in this sleepy phase and then 10-15 later opening up and delivering a greatly aromatic wine. I am quite confident this will take the same road and then may even ad a point or two. 94-96 (Group Score 95.4/RP96)
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Flowers, fresh herbs, black cherries, black raspberries and mocha notes create the aromatics with little effort. Silky, soft and polished, there is sweet, velvet textured fruits with a lot of freshness to be discovered in the finish. The wine has the structure to age for decades. I’d wait at least 7-8 years before popping a bottle as it needs time.
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incredibly intense aromas of black cherries, burning embers, truffles, kirsch, violets, blackberry liqueur soar from the glass; on the palate the wine is incredibly concentrated with plenty of very ripe black cherries, blackberries, and a very tightly wound mineral component that holds it all together; the remarkable thing about the 2010 Conseillante is the way in which it allies power and a lightness of touch that make this this better than the 2009, 2005, or 2000; impressive
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The Gilded Man (Aalborg, Denmark): Infanticide par excellence, but what, at this time of day (or night) ... dark, dense, juicy, extremely well structured with lots of black berries and even a little smoke - and not necessarily straightforward to identify the right bank - is much cab. in the game? (yes, almost 20 percent cabernet franc, it turns out). It's great wine with a massive fruit that is kept in balance so that elegance is maintained. Would like to meet again in 10-15 years
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bright red nose this is more cab sauv driven wine. quite smoky on the palate. big and heavy tannins, but more subtle acidity. very long finish. overall, a classic bordeaux that is vibrant.
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Tasted at Bordeaux 2010 Arrivage Tasting tonight. Absolutely beautiful and complex nose of dark chocolate, tobacco, berries, cherries and some earthiness and well integrated oak. Hits the palate with an incredible elegance and class. Very complex, dense and incredibly long without being heavy. Great balance of all components. This was one of the stars of the evening. An absolutely beautiful classic Pomerol of the highest level.
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Flash back to some of the best vintages where that beautiful floral nose jumps from the glass. This has all the elegance, power and complexity of the very best. Raspberries, red and blue fruit, a florist show room of various flowers, seamless yet structured with top notch first growth quality, maybe better. You can only experience these characteristics in a great Bordeaux. Dances and magical, the structure is there and this wine should reward for decades. Hope that is never shuts down. I suspect it should have an early drinking window in 7-10 years ( a preview ) and evolve for 2-3 decades. Though I would consume during its first 7-15 years of life to experience that floral fruit. 98++
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With a nose reminiscent of a flower shop, produced from a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the wine is packed with fresh black raspberries, cherry blossoms and sweet, dark chocolate. Freshness and concentration lead to a long, tannic, pure, black raspberry and plum finish, with a hint of olive tapenade.
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About 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. An excellent wine and my favorite Pomerol at this event. Better than the 1982, 2003 and 2005. Just as good as the 2009 upon release but not as plush. Sweet roasted coffee bean nose. On the palate there was roses, mocha, toffee and ripe berries. Rich texture. 95-96 points.
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UGC tasting. Loved this wine. Deep nose of purple fruit, violets, leather, some earth and even caramel. Bright violet on the palate, great smooth, velvet mouthfeel. My favorite right bank. Long, well integrated finish.
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Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and very chewy tannins. While the structure is big, it doesn't fully hide the tones silky tones of berries, red currants, roses, spices and lots of wild flowers on the back end.
Overall: There is a load of class to this wine. It is sexy and gorgeous right now, but this could be out of this world with age.
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Classy nose. Just a beautiful, beautiful wine. Closed at first but the floral qualities really start to expand after a few minutes. A "syrup" of a wine in the very best sense, very balanced with beautiful structure, very elegant and promises tremendous complexity and a long life. Probably the star of the tasting for me.
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Has a refined mineral rockiness, dark purple fruits, graphite. Shows licorice notes on the refined but slightly austere palate, with a lot of earthiness. True to the house style, this wine is not really about the fruit, but is exactly what it intends to be. Elegant, composed, regal. 93-95. A complete toss-up as to which is better between this and the 2009.
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Tasted it repeatedly at the UGC Los Angeles. Jean Laporte told me this is better than the 2009 and I think he is correct. Two hours into the event, the wine opens up with powerful floral and fruit aromas. Structured and very complex with smooth tannin. This beauty will outlive many of us. Stunning.
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2010 UGC Bordeaux Tasting (Palace Hotel, SF): This is fantastic. Very complex nose, balanced of fruit and spice; balanced palate with great concentrated but not overripe fruit. One of my favorites of the tasting because it seems to have more complexity and stuffing than its counterparts. 93-96+
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Union Des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2010 Vintage Tasting San Francisco, nose of black cherry, black currants, spring flowers, same on the palate, big body, medium amount of soft tannins, elegant, lovely, rich and big tasting today, seems slightly fruit forward compared to the other Pomerols today or is it richer, needs 7 years to peak, the wine of the event for me, medium/long finish.
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Union des Grands Crus 2010 Bordeaux Tasting (Palace Hotel - San Francisco): Fantastic nose showing tons of graphite and cedar aromas, along with some cassis sweetness, cigar box, rich black cherries, leafy mint, and a touch of blueberries. Plenty more lead pencil on the palate, followed by rich cassis, ripe black cherries, saddle leather, blackberries, fresh mint, cigar leaf, and a bit of coffee bean. I spoke with Jean-Michel Laporte and he commented this had started to shut down the last few months, and while it definitely wasn't as expressive as when I last tasted this with him out of barrel back in 2011, this was still excellent and is surely one of the wines of the vintage. Great richness without being overripe, tons of structure, and excellent balance. Outstanding.
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Very closed nose; Lovely velvet tannins. Good concentration of rich fruit. Very impressive, should be an excellent vintage in time. Polished and refined. 93-95+
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Spicy, floral, pepper, caramel, black plum scents, powerful but soft tannins, sensuous textures and a long, fresh, silky, dark, black raspberry and licorice filled finish.
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2010 La Conseillante is stuffed with chocolate, floral and black raspberry liqueur aromas. Concentrated, full bodied and powerful for La Conseillante, this silky, elegant, opulent wine combines freshness, depth and elegance. From a blend that is similar to the vineyard plantings, even though the wine is high in alcohol for the estate at 14.5, there is no sensation of heat in the finish. Racked two weeks ago, the wine was tight aromatically. In the mouth, it’s easy to sense the wine is offering more volume, greater length and additional structure than it showed in April. 2010 La Conseillante was offered at 150 Euros, showing an increase from their 2009 pricing. 95-97 Pts
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CellarTracker Bordeaux Trip; 5/23/2011-5/26/2011 (Bordeaux, France): Barrel sample. Ok, where to begin. Completely captivated by the nose, which was not shy in the least. Huge, kicking off tons of ripe fruit in the form of blackberries, black cherry, dark plum, cassis, with a touch of raspberry, all wrapped in a layer of toasted oak. From there the palate did not disappoint. Wonderful, rich dense flavors of cassis, plum, sweet fresh blackberries, asphalt, toasted oak, along with a fabulous floral component in the form of violets. Velvety with fantastic texture, and extremely well balanced. A copious amount of fine tannins melded with a generous amount of acidity. What seemed like a never ending finish faded away leaving behind a note of cassis at the end. This is close to perfection for me, and I would have to say was my wine of the trip. Outstanding!
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-- tasted a single glass non-blind over 10 minutes -- -- barrel sample -- -- 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc --
NOSE: rich purple berries; a touch earthy; deep florals; complex; engaging; convincing.
TASTE: ballpoint ink; red and purple berries; tannic, but not bitter – actually, this seemed a touch sweet to me; 14.5% alc. shows a bit. I was actually more impressed with this than my note probably makes it sound. I don’t see myself shelling-out the dollars for this, but those who ultimately do will not be disappointed.
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CT Bordeaux Trip, Day 3 (Right Bank & Chateau Coutet for Dinner): Absolutely brilliant stuff. A barrel sample, bottled in the morning, so it was still throwing of a little gas, but a few swirls and it revealed a gorgeous nose of mulberries, plums, lots of violets, just a hint of sweet spices - so perfumed, so beautiful, just pure right bank seduction. The palate followed up where the nose left off. It had dollops of lovely acidity wed to a fine, lacy structure so that the wine was supremely elegant even though there was tons of power and reservoirs of depth in its pure blackberry and plum flavours, which were sprinkled with attractive little flecks of spice and herb on the mid-palate. 14.5% but you never quite felt it. Fleshy, seductively, voluptuous, yet with a nice sense of structure that carried it into lovely finish. Really young of course, and still intimidatingly primary, but this was a superb wine, and one to cellar for sure. 94-96
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Bibendum Bordeaux 2010 tasting including selected back vintages (Lords Cricket Ground - St Johns Wood, London): I knew that this wine would be vying with the alpha dogs to stake its claim at the top of the vintage podium. It really doesnt disappoint, with bags of power, however with a certain finesse and contradictory lightness in the palate. This wine really does dance in your mouth. Not so much a beefcake, more svelte, accurate and with targeted power - more SAS than Navy seal. 94-96+
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Dark purple with a lovely vibrant, ripe nose of black cherry and violets. Powerful and concentrated with dense ripe fruit and supple fine tannins. Very long, dry finish. Excellent.
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La Conseillante Produced from an assemblage of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, (which is the same as the vineyard plantings,) the wine is slightly higher in alcohol than what they achieved in 2009 at 14.5% . Due to the high levels of acidity from 3.69 pH, there is no sensation of heat. Floral, chocolate, truffle and black raspberry liqueur aromas exude from the glass. Dark and powerful, a unique character for La Conseillante, the wine is rich, intense and filled with plum liqueur, chocolate and black cherry. The wine combines freshness, silky textures and a sense of refined elegance, with the volume turned up. Jean- Michel Laporte feels 2010 is in the same style as 2005. 95-96 Pts
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Lovely nose which is brooding and offer deep, dark fruits. Quite ripe; good weight and texture on the palate. Lovely flavour and fine tannins. Superb finish which fans out and builds - great length. 93-96.
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2/29/2024 - nywine68 wrote: 94 Points
Vinous Icons of Bordeaux with Neal Martin (Legacy Records, New York City): Nice fine grained tannins in the foreground. Very structured with great purity of fruit. Like the 2016, shows the more feminine side of Merlot (80/20 blend with Cab Franc).
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11/29/2023 - Krokfjord Likes this wine: 93 Points
Luftet 3 t - veldig elegant - svart/lilla frukt - urter - lekkert
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10/31/2023 - Helmetass Likes this wine: 97 Points
Wafting breathtaking nose, sweet plum, sweet tobacco leaf, cassis, amazing!!! Palate so mellow and smooth with flavors of dark plums, some toastiness, dark, sweet fruit, nice concentration and power, very vibrant and fulfilling.
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10/2/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 93 Points
20-vintage La Conseillante vertical (Fribourg): Part of a 20 vintage vertical (key takeaways in the tasting story). Sweet oaky notes along with accents of sweet spice, dry wood, sweet red cherry fruit - all in a medium intensity setting. Rather intense palate with plenty of acidity and soft but tangible tannin. Have rated this higher a couple of years ago, but this seems to be a rather accessible 2010 that would likely benefit from a proper decant.
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10/2/2023 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
20 Vintages of La Conseillante (1947-2020): All wines tasted blind. I have had many beautiful Conseillantes in the past, but in this tasting the wines did not shine as expected. A few thoughts: A) Conseillante is a seductive, sensual wine, not unlike more Bordeaux-esque Napa Valley wines. In fact, it reminded me a lot of Opus One, with the blue and black forest berry aromas found in almost every vintage. B) The fruit is ripe, but never too ripe. But only in the cooler years (and 2020) is the fruit perfectly pure and fresh. C) Even in the newer vintages, the (luxurious) oak notes are still present and will need some time to be fully absorbed. D) My biggest problem (and the group had the same one) was that almost all of the newer vintages showed alcohol notes that weren't noticeable en primeur or in the Arrivage tastings (and the wines were served at a perfect temperature or rather a little too cold). E) There were some beautiful wines, complex and seductive, but La Conseillante is not a wine for classic Bordeaux or Left Bank lovers. Conseillante is the hot one-night stand, not the elegant and intellectually appealing wine I want to drink every day. F) The best wine was the 2020 (96pts, the only score above 95pts), confirming my impression that it is a better, less ripe Bordeaux vintage than 2019.
TN: I very much like the 2010 freshness which was showcased beautifully with this bottle: ripe but fresh blue and black fruit and lots of other layers with coffee, herbs, crushed rocks, and some toasted oak around it. High intensity and expression from the first sniff through the palate into the quite long finish (most Conseillante didn’t have such a long finishes tonight). In typical 2010 fashion, this is also high tannins and high acidity. Everything is turned up but that creates a balance that is great. I would have rated this 95pts, consistent with previous bottles but there were some hints of alcohol heat on the nose (something I haven’t had on previous bottles).
Decanting: The bottle was opened a few hours before consumption but not decanted. This bottle would have needed 2-3 hours in a decanter.
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9/29/2023 - Collector1855 wrote: 96 Points
Chateau La Conseillante 1947-2020 tasted blind: My WOTN together with the 2016. Cool dark fruit with good ripeness. Rich palate, enough freshness, a touch of alcoholic heat but then a fresh finish on the blue fruit spectrum. Still a few years away from peak.
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4/16/2023 - PghMike Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fairly tight at pop and first sips. Poured into decanter and left for an hour or so.
Definite improvement. Nose reminded me of 2014 VCC, smoky and deep but also greener. Core of blueberry and some black fruit. Medium in body. Chalky tannins. A little tart on the finish which felt abrupt.
Overall I enjoyed it quite a bit but was expecting more here. Felt straightforward and while very elegant just didnt find anything too impressive. Will hold my other bottle.
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3/26/2023 - Libbidog Likes this wine: 98 Points
Wow. Just...wow. Deep dark black fruit, earth, cigar box, dried herbs, soft tannins, endless finish. This is an excellent example of a stunning right banker. Had with beef fillet, shiitake mushrooms, and potato. Framed the meal beautifully. 2 bottles left. Wish I had more. See you in another couple years, bottle #2. Life and wine are good!
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3/15/2023 - DAN BAILEY wrote:
Decanted 2 hours beforehand. Bit more elegant than the 12 gazin. Fresher, cooler fruit profile on the nose and palate. Redder, tangy fruit. Precise, fine tannins. Consensus WOTN.
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3/15/2023 - Vinumming & Ahhing Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nick A's Pomerol Part 2 (67 Pall Mall, London): Nose starts a little muted, with some air some mulled plums and black cardamom emerges. Some espresso and cassis too with time. Palate also tight to start, shows a little ankle with some time; real potential here. My 3rd favourite wine of the night.
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3/15/2023 - Paul D wrote: 93 Points
Nick's Pomerol Dinner (67 Pall Mall, London): A touch closed at first, slowly opening to reveal blueberry fruit, plum, lovely purity - noble. Some floral perfume. Medium bodied, elegant, very fine tannins, less fat but by no means lean, fresh/vibrant acids, lovely line, a touch constricted still on the finish but very fine. From 2028ish?
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3/15/2023 - fussyeater Likes this wine: 95 Points
Nick's Pomerol Part II (67 Pall Mall, London): A real treat to try this Chateau for the first time and in a top vintage. Crimson with a little evolution in appearance, and with blue and black fruits on the nose. Medium to full bodied with silky yet comforting tannins and arrow like precision with serious concentration and scale fanning out on the finish. Whilst early window, this was not too soon to drink now, and really had so much class and pedigree without needing to make a big statement. Lovely. Group WOTN and upon reflection it should probably have been mine too, although I put it 2nd. From Zalto Bordeaux.
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3/15/2023 - NickA Likes this wine: 95 Points
Pomerol, part 2 (67 Pall Mall): Hoo, this was superb. Perfectly ripe nose, with red fruit, spice, Zanzibar chest and a touch of game - sexy, with a sense of completeness. I could still sense the new wood, which seemed of excellent quality and really well integrated with the fruit. Substantial and almost brooding on the palate, with rich blue fruit and espresso. Fine powdery tannins that provided structure and emphasised the wine's nobility, and will ensure a long life, and good length to the finish. My #2, group WOTN.
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1/4/2023 - nwebstar wrote: 97 Points
Sensational. Everything you want Bordeaux to be. Very dark and black fruited. Blackberries and cassis. Intense and piercing but with a firm classic inky structure alluding to elegance. Wonderfully complex drinking experience, chocolate, violets, truffles, cigar, meats. Not a single guest could resist rushing for another pour.
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11/12/2022 - melvinyeowq wrote: 94 Points
Wines at Jordan's wedding: Liked this a lot. Surprisingly old-school and a little more evolved than I expected for the maker and vintage. Very elegant and had a traditional rustic earthiness to it. Slightly plummy that made me think right bank but still a very well-balanced wine with good concentration.
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11/1/2022 - Irish_Wine wrote: 95 Points
Medium garnet.
Pronounced on the nose with prune, fig, tobacco, black plum, cedar.
Lovely intensity and long finish.
*** Tasted as part of a walkaround Bordeaux tasting. Not full notes ***
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9/25/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Just about to enter its prime-time drinking window, the wine balances its sensuality with its vibrant core of ripe, sweet, plums, chocolate with truffles with a floral edge. The combination of finesse and silky on the palate hits all the right notes. Drink 2022-2040.
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6/28/2022 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 95 Points
Château La Conseillante dinner & Kabinett tasting (Groot-Ammers, Netherlands): Ex-Château. Very energetic, fresh and well balanced, deep and harmonious, just starting to develop its complexity, firm but very fine tannins, very long finish. Not very communicative right now, give it ten years at least. Score based on potential now. 95
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5/15/2022 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
6 Vintages Le Pin vs Petrus vs Lafleur vs Other Pomerol: All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
TN: At first a fairly muted nose. With time mostly herbal and mineral driven with ripe dark red fruit underneath. On the palate, this is so fresh and almost weightless. Ripe dark red fruit, herbs and minerality in many layers. I thought that due to the freshness and many herbal aromas it might be the Lafleur with more Cabernet Franc than the La Conseillante. Very fine tannins, high freshness, creamy and fresh, good tension. A fruit and mineral-driven finish which resonantes for quite some time. At first it started with 92/93 pts. With time and more complexity, it got better and reached the 94/95 pts category. Consistent with previous bottles (rated 94 and 95 pts).
Decanting: At least 2, 3 hours, potentially even more would be best, in my opinion. Better wait another decade or two.
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5/14/2022 - SGoenophile Likes this wine: 96 Points
Dinner at Imperial Treasure TPC. Dark inky purple colour. Plushly layered, beautifully textured. Rich, succulent plush fruit. Distinctive notes of soy and balsamic vinegar. Successfully achieved the balance among structure, generosity and elegance. A memorable wine from a good producer in a great vintage.
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5/11/2022 - Collector1855 wrote: 96 Points
Petrus vs. Le Pin vs. Lafleur 2004-2011, blind (Fribourg): Muted nose, dark fruit, extracted, this clearly needs more time. On the palate good balance, black forest cake, a bit tight still. This will be grand but dont touch this for another 5 years. A good showing for this pirate. 96+
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5/9/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 94 Points
Pétrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin (Fribourg): 6 vintage face-off (2006-2011) Pétrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin vs alternating Pomerol pirate. The wines were served in vintage flights of 4 and not decanted. Main observations were: 1/ Le Pin knocked it out of the park coming in first in 4 out of 6 vintages while Pétrus came in last with not a single vintage win (Lafleur came in best in two off-vintages, 2006 and 2008), 2/ The best overall vintage was 2009 (runner-up 2010) while 2006 came in last (scoring range 85-92), 3/ best bottle was Le Pin 2009 (99), followed by Pétrus 2010 and Le Pin 2010 (98 each), 4/ best pirate was Clos L’Eglise 2009 (97). List of wines per score included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
A touch of Williams emanates through the pure, detailed and precise red berry fruit. In the mix you’ll also find sweet accents, a few herbs, floral notes and a pinch of leather. High-octane palate, tannins with a firm grip, but in good harmony. Adds a chemical, acrylic dimension along with fresher herbs.
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11/5/2021 - blanquito wrote:
OK, a great young wine, a powerhouse in the making. Easily the class of the young wines at the table and it wears it’s (stated) 15% alcohol with ease. Flashy and fun yet still true. Should have a brilliant future, if the booze stays in check — for now, 93+ pts
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9/19/2021 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
12 Vintages of L’Eglise-Clinet vs La Conseillante (1993-2015): Enlightening head to head of two Pomerol heavyweights. All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. A few observations: 1) La Conseillante (LC) is the winner with 7 vs 5 wins, a higher average score (92.1 pts vs 90.8 pts) and a much better consistency over the years. 2) The LC showed more harmonious and inviting, less extracted and with a good ripeness as well as a seductive creaminess. 3) L’Eglise-Clinet (EC) only started to get good to great in the past 10 to 15 years. Most older wines showed too ripe, too extracted and often with a drying finish. 4) Not surprisingly, the best vintages got the highest scores (2015, 2010, 2009) with the highest scores awarded to the EC 2010 and 2015 (96 pts), LC 2015 (95 pts) as well as a quite strong LC 2003 (95 pts). 5) The race for the better Pomerol is open! Since 2015, L’EC got higher critic scores than LC as well as more perfect scores (11 vs 5; 17 critics/6 vintages) but I’m not yet sure if I like the riper and slightly bolder style of the EC (and LC is not really famous for its lightness or restraint either). But I got the feeling (or hope?) that the more recent vintages of EC will at least age much better than their older counterparts.
TN: Rather muted on the nose. The palate shows dense and powerful with a beautiful creaminess and lots of fresh dark fruit, coffee, herbs and minerality. Lots of substance here but without a proper decant, it never really fully revealed itself. It certainly needs a lot more time to reach its peak. There is a wall of fine tannins and a high, not yet perfectly integrated acidity. All in all, this is not yet super harmonious but is very promising.
Decanting: Not decanted, at least 2-3 hours in the decanter seem necessary
Duel: Win for L’Eglise-Clinet rated 96 pts
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8/21/2021 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Lovely. The '10 edges a bit away from LA core, tbh. The textures are there as is the fruit, but backbeats are heavier and a wrong a bit. Maybe time will fix. That said - loved it.
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6/29/2020 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
Bordeaux 2010 - 10 Years On - 61 Reds: Bordeaux 2010 after 10 years. 61 reds, mostly big names, tasted blind. Average score 92.1 and lower than the more open and charming 2009 vintage last year (93.4). A few observations: A) It’s not yet the harmonious, complex, classic, clean vintage. Especially the masculine appellations of the left bank need at least 5 more years to just open up, potentially longer to soften. B) Left bank trumps right bank thanks to less detectable alcohol, cleaner lines and the two best wines of the vintage (Mouton, Margaux). C) Pomerol shines bright with many strong wines which can all mask the high alcohol levels (best AOC slightly ahead of Pauillac). D) As in 2009, there are several right banks already past peak, incl. big names (Duffau Lagarosse, Ausone). All in all, 2010 is a very good vintage with pockets of greatness but today 2009 shows more open and hence complex. More information, top and worst 10 list, appellation rankings from five participants in the story link.
TN: While Petrus or Le Pin are both more intellectual wines today, Conseillante is all about hedonism and sexy, sweet fruit and all that without being too dense, or slutty. This is a very sensous wine with lots of different, soft, ripe red berries, lots of herbs and some hints of minerality. Not the most complex wine today but with great precision and a super fine structure without any excess weight and a very good freshness. This is a fantastic wine and I guess it could rival the 2005 once all the teritary aromas kick-in.
Decanting: No extensive decant needed, 1-2 hours should be enough, but better wait a few more years.
Group average: 95.2
Group rank: number 11 out of 61 wines
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6/22/2020 - sirpat00 wrote: 95 Points
Grand Bordeaux 2010 ten years on tasting; 6/21/2020-6/22/2020 (Fribourg): Big Bordeaux 2010 2-day horizontal hosted by a private collector. My 3 main takeaways from the vintage were 1) more frequent perception of heat, 2) a slightly stronger left bank and a less consistent right bank, 3) while in general it is still too early to pop the 2010s, wine selection is key as some appear to be in decline already, especially on the right bank. The top wines were Mouton (99), Margaux (98) and VCC (98). The biggest positive surprise was Clos Manou (95). Biggest disappointment was Pape Clement (86). More details and complete tasting overview included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
Fruit-forward with plenty of red berries, sweet notes and whiffs of spices. Juicy and accessible palate with fresh acidity and well integrated tannin.
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6/13/2020 - King_Arthur wrote: 94 Points
Opened the day before, already excellent to drink. Not so intensive in the nose, but well balanced, subtle in mouth. Came in blind tasting first.
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2/20/2020 - beatles wrote: 96 Points
Majestivc wine. Farfrom mature, but the mere structure and elegance of this makes it worthwhile to look at in it's youth. It still has a bit of cool, chalky cab franc character, that I love, it is extremely vertical, yet plentifull in it's fruit. Grand Vin, indeed. 96+ point
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11/8/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
It is young, but it is impossible not to be enthralled with the floral, earthy, cherry, cocoa and plum filled nose. The wine has concentration, balance, elegance, length and purity. The fruit is sweet, fresh and silky. Give it a few hours of air, or 5 years and enjoy.
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10/31/2019 - wineappellation Likes this wine: 97 Points
Excellent concentration, very ripe but not over, sweet fruits, earth, wood spices all wrapped in a lingering and elegant palate.
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8/19/2019 - felixp Likes this wine: 98 Points
Remains the colour of blue-black ink, this is now somewhat shut down and a brooding monster of a wine. Quite atypical for the Chateau, but perhaps reflective of the monumental vintage.... now is not the time to be opening 2010 high-end Bordeaux, right or left bank.
Extended decanting reveals tell-tale violets, dark fruits, mint, liquorice, dark chocolate and hints of tobacco. The wine is multi-layered with extraordinary length and complexity, but the tannins are lurking and this requires at least another decade of careful cellaring before it's potential will start to reveal itself.
For mine, still the best-ever from this Chateau, a wine for the ages, and surely amongst the top dozen of this superb vintage.
98+ points, drink: 2030-2060.
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1/16/2019 - rossi.wine wrote: 96 Points
Tasted next to 2008 and 2000 La Conseillante. Very dark in colour, slightly restrained and brooding on the nose. Notes of liquorice, plums, grilled herbs, spices, tobacco. On the palate very serious with lots of depth and structure. Superbly balanced, spicy, fresh, grippy, tons of fruit underneath those tannins. Very very long. Without a doubt my favourite vintage of La Conseillante tonight, but at least 5 years too young. 95-96+
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11/13/2018 - Keith Levenberg wrote:
Chateau La Conseillante Vertical with Marielle Cazaux (Au Petit Bouchon): Clearly tons of material here but this is not the time for drinking any 2010 Bordeaux, even this one. So much bound up in this but it's a construction zone, beams everywhere. At its core is the classic blackberry fruit trailing with a metallic element on the finish. Needs food to soften up.
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11/13/2018 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Chateau La Conseillante Dinner with Marielle Cazaux (Le Cafe Descartes at the French Embassy): Unbelievably massive scale nose displaying pure black and red fruit, blackberry, cremes de cassis, plum, cherry pie, ink, licorice, liquid smoke, lavender, exotic incense, tobacco and limestone dust. Exceptional concentration, incredibly layered intense pure black fruit, oily yet silky and weightless, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, very fine tannins and never ending finish. Despite being very primary, intense pure fruit and beautiful refined palate provide immense pleasure. In another three decades, this will become a monumental wine. Easily my WOTN.
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11/13/2018 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 96 Points
La Conseillante Vertical Tasting (French Embassy - Washington, DC): This was less expressive than the 2009, but, at the same time, just stunning. Darker and needs more coaxing aromatically, but there is a lot of pretty fruit and earthy, floral goodness deep in there. Tannic and young on the palate, with concentrated but beautiful red and black cherries and currants. Deep notes of earth, mineral, leaves, cedar, dark chocolate. So young (I'd bury this for 15 years), but so, so good.
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11/10/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
A Matter of Taste: New York (The Conrad NY | Del Posto): Wow do I love this wine. Its young and not really ready yet but there's so much good here. Truffle and lavender and black fruits. I wrote awesome a few times in my book. Great wine.
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11/10/2018 - JonnyG Likes this wine:
Spectacular young Pomerol, black fruit and mocha, plenty of minerality. Very long finish.
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10/7/2018 - Alvarovazquez Likes this wine: 94 Points
A spectacular Pomerol. Still young but approachable. Good QPR
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1/17/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
With age the wine continues developing additional nuances of truffle, and flowers, with sweet, earthy, ripe, deep red fruits. Silkier than when last tasted, the wine offers freshness and sensual textures in the finish. Another 5 - 7 years will add even more to the wine.
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11/18/2017 - fotomill Likes this wine: 93 Points
14%. Merlot 80% and Cabernet Franc 20%. Thick ruby without purplish hue. The nose speaks of ‘Bordeaux’ but not sure where. Nose of stale raw rice, which means it’s already ripe, soy sauce, leather, earth, truffle, oak, disinfectant, spices, but no flowers. Medium plus to full bodied, medium plus tannins. Complex but not much finesse.
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10/19/2017 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 96 Points
2017 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/16/2017-10/25/2017 (New York City, NY): Conseillante's 2010 is a monumental wine that perfectly fits the descriptor "iron fist in a velvet glove." An opaque ruby blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, it is highly perfumed with lavender, violets, and pipe tobacco, superimposed on a core of black and blue fruits. Full-bodied, freshly acidic, seamlessly alcoholic and with plentiful fine-grained tannins, it weaves a complementary amount of oak into the dense middle palate and closes with notes of bittersweet chocolate on a very long finish. This is something special, but will require further cellaring to fully strut its stuff. Drink 2025-2050.
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8/31/2017 - drjb Likes this wine: 95 Points
Deep dense crimson colour. The nose is rich and expressive with blackberries, black cherries, plums, touches of mint and savoury herbs, chocolate and leatherwood honey. The palate is quite dense but with plenty of time it becomes more expressive showing complex fruit and a long firm tannic structure. A beautiful baby at present ! A delicious wine showing great promise.
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5/30/2017 - SlimShaney wrote: 91 Points
Sweet sour French pendulum legs on aristocratic heels.
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5/2/2017 - LWI wrote: 95 Points
23 Vintages of Château La Conseillante 1947-2011: Warm, blueberries, approachable, wonderful; a gap between the warm fruit and the tannin.
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3/14/2017 - wineotim Likes this wine: 94 Points
This needs a lot of aeration, it was much better on the second day. Deep and dark, dry, with graphite like tannins, mineral and stone nose, some initial Pomerol Merlot like qualities that will become more upfront and complex in 5 years. Would love to open a bottle then.
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9/10/2016 - Markus IWC wrote: 93 Points
Tried this a year ago, no notes from then but rated it a low 3,5 stars. Liked it much better now. Beautiful nose with dark fruit, grass and some Rioja like dill and oak/vanilla notes. Tough tannins but a great balance. Some chemical hints.
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9/8/2016 - Ramberg wrote: 96 Points
Brief tasting note.
Another great showing from 2010 today, already at this young age, to my surprise.
Nose just shines, filled with lovely spicy red berries, and the great green and herbal grassy notes of Cab Franc really showing, for the intriguing spiciness.
Palate is silky and velvety, full-bodied yet fresh and balanced, with stony gravel, dark pure fruit and superb length.
This is Pomerol as it should be.
Brilliant now, with an even more brilliant future to come.
(95 – 97+)
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6/15/2016 - wineforth Likes this wine: 95 Points
Lords 2015 en primeur tasting. Next to the 2015 it makes you realise what a great vintage 2010 is. Typical 2010 heavy weight, yet still balanced. Long finish. Needs time, preferably a decade.
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4/28/2016 - Comte Flaneur wrote: 96 Points
The 2010 La Conseillante is undoubtedly a wine for extended ageing and has lost that youthful exuberance that it had a couple of years ago as in beds in for the long haul. This is in stark contrast to the 1990 which was all singing, all dancing even in 1993. When I first tasted the ten I surmised that it might turn out to be the greatest wine this estate has ever produced. Jean-Valmy seems to think so and so does Jean-Michel Laporte, who was the wine maker until last June. Without doubt this is a most accomplished wine with a lot of power, dark chocolate and cool fruits. If one were to criticise it one might say it is a little bit clinical.
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4/25/2016 - JulianSkeels Likes this wine: 97 Points
For me this was the most impressive wine shown to us, but this seems to need at least 15yrs (probably 20) before it will be at peak. For my palate this is a better wine than the 2009 and step up from the 1990 (with more upside potential if it evolves as well as I expect). This seems much fresher than the 1990, with more concentration and even better balance. Under-rated by some critics on release and definitely a wine to buy. 97+pts for me. I can see why they wanted me to try this when I pop by last month - they should be very proud of their 2010...
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4/24/2016 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 92 Points
La Conseillante Tasting Lunch
Matter of Taste Lunch La Conseillante with Jean-Valmy Nicolas and Neal Martin - all wines decant for 3-4 hours.
Wines tasted La Conseillante 1989, 1990, 2009, 2010.
1989: From Ex-Chateau Magnum bottle. Colour very brown, certainly looking very developed. Strong barnyard / animal nose. Too little fruit for me left. I found this somewhat over the hill (for my liking, some agreed at the table others did not). Disappointing for the vintage and given provenance and bottle format. A second pouring from another bottle showed the same. Reminds me of why I prefer left bank wines over right bank, I much prefer the way they age. 88-90
1990: From Ex-Chateau Magnum bottle. Quite brown but less developed looking then the 1989. Slightly less animal nose. Some more fruit in this compared to 1989. Better then 1990 but overall just not winning me over, I also felt this was past its prime. Also disappointing considering the vintage and critic’s praise of this (and price of the wine). 90-92
2009: From standard bottle. After the 89/90 hoping for some lift. I felt the 2009 was a bit of a brute attack on the palate at this point. Shame - I just could not feel the pleasure I was hoping I could get. 89-91
2010: From standard bottle. I had tired of taking any notes at this point. But the 2010 was clearly better then the 2009 for me and probably my favourite of the whole lunch. Still not a wine I will be buying for my cellar. 91-93
Summary: After having had the benefit of the Mouton vertical before I felt myself longing for some of those throughout the lunch. It’s probably a tough act to follow but La Conseillante wines sell for quite high prices also. I really wanted to like these wines and was looking for getting some pleasure out of them but was left somewhat disappointed. The older vintages were both past its prime drinking in my view. I guess I am just really a left bank guy and that’s one of those things you can find out in events like this.
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3/10/2016 - Papies wrote: 92 Points
Atlas Fine Wines 2010,2011,2012 Bordeaux Tasting (Vintners Hall, London): Peppery nose, good rich dark fruits, nice balance, good ripeness and just on the cusp of too much. Elegant though although at times felt a bit heavy. Needs time. 92
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3/5/2015 - felixp Likes this wine: 98 Points
celebrated a further acquisition of this by cracking a bottle to accompany a beautiful cantonese BBQ lunch today.
this wine continues to put on more weight than a middle-aged diabetic, it now is full-bodied, rich and crammed full of everything you want in great wine. Classic nose of violets, anise and mint, the massive palate kept in check by beautiful, smooth and ripe tannins. Immensely broad finish, dark chocolate, cool fruits, liquorice and spice, with length to burn. What a wonderful demonstration of Pomerol in 2010, which continues to astound with it's extraordinary quality.
This wine will plateau in 10-15 years, but the journey to get there will be incredibly enjoyable for those fortunate enough to experience it.
No doubt, this and Le Gay are the smart right-bank buys in 2010.
98+ drink:2020-2050
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3/3/2015 - CWang wrote: 94 Points
Lots of dark fruits and some flowers in the nose; quite concentrated and heavy on the palate with lots of fruits and a bit too much wood spices; overall, 93-94 points; needed quite a few more years too.
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3/3/2015 - William Kelley Likes this wine: 98 Points
The 2010 La Conseillante is just a brilliant wine, and every time I taste it I'm inclined to agree with Jean-Michel Laporte in thinking one of the best La Conseillante vintages ever. Bursting from the glass with a deep bouquet of black raspberry, mulberry, gravelly soil tones, incipient black truffle and violets, on the palate the wine deep, layered, and unerringly precise, sacrificing none of its trademark elegance despite its massive scale. It has already absorbed its new oak, and the finish is pure and very long. While the wine is relatively shut down right now, its immense quality is impossible to miss.
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2/20/2015 - felixp wrote: 97 Points
Neal Martin is on the money here. Incredibly focused wine full of blueberry violate anise and cassis aromas and flavour, very linear at the moment, but absolutely certain to blossom into something very very special with another decade. I was surprised how much weight this has put on over the past 18 months, when last I tried this wine. Must get some more of this.
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5/2/2014 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux 2009 vs. 2010 - Check in on 50 well known Chateaux: Very dark purple. Reserved nose of blue fruit, toast, chocolate. As a matter of fact, quite linear Merlot at this time due to its reductiveness. On the palate medium bodied with quite pronounced acidity. Difficult to assess due to its closeness. Mid mouth fill is better than the 09. I have seen La Conseillante being in this sleepy phase and then 10-15 later opening up and delivering a greatly aromatic wine. I am quite confident this will take the same road and then may even ad a point or two. 94-96 (Group Score 95.4/RP96)
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3/10/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Flowers, fresh herbs, black cherries, black raspberries and mocha notes create the aromatics with little effort. Silky, soft and polished, there is sweet, velvet textured fruits with a lot of freshness to be discovered in the finish. The wine has the structure to age for decades. I’d wait at least 7-8 years before popping a bottle as it needs time.
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12/29/2013 - fhirsch Likes this wine: 99 Points
incredibly intense aromas of black cherries, burning embers, truffles, kirsch, violets, blackberry liqueur soar from the glass; on the palate the wine is incredibly concentrated with plenty of very ripe black cherries, blackberries, and a very tightly wound mineral component that holds it all together; the remarkable thing about the 2010 Conseillante is the way in which it allies power and a lightness of touch that make this this better than the 2009, 2005, or 2000; impressive
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11/23/2013 - beatles wrote: 95 Points
The Gilded Man (Aalborg, Denmark): Infanticide par excellence, but what, at this time of day (or night) ... dark, dense, juicy, extremely well structured with lots of black berries and even a little smoke - and not necessarily straightforward to identify the right bank - is much cab. in the game? (yes, almost 20 percent cabernet franc, it turns out). It's great wine with a massive fruit that is kept in balance so that elegance is maintained. Would like to meet again in 10-15 years
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11/3/2013 - PC73 Likes this wine: 95 Points
bright red nose
this is more cab sauv driven wine.
quite smoky on the palate. big and heavy tannins, but more subtle acidity. very long finish. overall, a classic bordeaux that is vibrant.
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4/16/2013 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 97 Points
Tasted at Bordeaux 2010 Arrivage Tasting tonight. Absolutely beautiful and complex nose of dark chocolate, tobacco, berries, cherries and some earthiness and well integrated oak. Hits the palate with an incredible elegance and class. Very complex, dense and incredibly long without being heavy. Great balance of all components. This was one of the stars of the evening. An absolutely beautiful classic Pomerol of the highest level.
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2/25/2013 - edub7 wrote: 98 Points
Flash back to some of the best vintages where that beautiful floral nose jumps from the glass. This has all the elegance, power and complexity of the very best. Raspberries, red and blue fruit, a florist show room of various flowers, seamless yet structured with top notch first growth quality, maybe better. You can only experience these characteristics in a great Bordeaux. Dances and magical, the structure is there and this wine should reward for decades. Hope that is never shuts down. I suspect it should have an early drinking window in 7-10 years ( a preview ) and evolve for 2-3 decades. Though I would consume during its first 7-15 years of life to experience that floral fruit.
98++
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2/7/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
With a nose reminiscent of a flower shop, produced from a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the wine is packed with fresh black raspberries, cherry blossoms and sweet, dark chocolate. Freshness and concentration lead to a long, tannic, pure, black raspberry and plum finish, with a hint of olive tapenade.
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1/31/2013 - Vino Me wrote: 96 Points
About 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. An excellent wine and my favorite Pomerol at this event. Better than the 1982, 2003 and 2005. Just as good as the 2009 upon release but not as plush. Sweet roasted coffee bean nose. On the palate there was roses, mocha, toffee and ripe berries. Rich texture. 95-96 points.
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1/29/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 96 Points
UGC tasting. Loved this wine. Deep nose of purple fruit, violets, leather, some earth and even caramel. Bright violet on the palate, great smooth, velvet mouthfeel. My favorite right bank. Long, well integrated finish.
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1/27/2013 - leonardo_de_araujo wrote: 94 Points
Very elegant red. Balanced with Plums, blackberries.
Very long finish. WOW
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1/26/2013 - Vmaster007 wrote: 88 Points
le vin était un peu trop froid, ce qui n'a pas aidé, un beau fruité , quelque peu vêgétal, bel équilibre
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1/25/2013 - lumpyelbow wrote:
Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2010 (Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, ON): In the top 3 Right Bankers. Needs some serious time sleeping but will be exceptional.
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1/23/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 95 Points
2010 Bordeaux UGC Chicago (The Drake Hotel, Chicago IL): Nose: Perfumed and sensuous nose filled with deep tones of berries, herbs, raspberries, red currants, spice tones, roses and various floral tones.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and very chewy tannins. While the structure is big, it doesn't fully hide the tones silky tones of berries, red currants, roses, spices and lots of wild flowers on the back end.
Overall: There is a load of class to this wine. It is sexy and gorgeous right now, but this could be out of this world with age.
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1/22/2013 - yofog wrote: 95 Points
Classy nose. Just a beautiful, beautiful wine. Closed at first but the floral qualities really start to expand after a few minutes. A "syrup" of a wine in the very best sense, very balanced with beautiful structure, very elegant and promises tremendous complexity and a long life. Probably the star of the tasting for me.
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1/21/2013 - amateurwino wrote: 94 Points
Has a refined mineral rockiness, dark purple fruits, graphite. Shows licorice notes on the refined but slightly austere palate, with a lot of earthiness. True to the house style, this wine is not really about the fruit, but is exactly what it intends to be. Elegant, composed, regal. 93-95. A complete toss-up as to which is better between this and the 2009.
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1/19/2013 - rho wrote: 97 Points
Tasted it repeatedly at the UGC Los Angeles. Jean Laporte told me this is better than the 2009 and I think he is correct. Two hours into the event, the wine opens up with powerful floral and fruit aromas. Structured and very complex with smooth tannin. This beauty will outlive many of us. Stunning.
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1/19/2013 - aagrawal wrote: 95 Points
2010 UGC Bordeaux Tasting (Palace Hotel, SF): This is fantastic. Very complex nose, balanced of fruit and spice; balanced palate with great concentrated but not overripe fruit. One of my favorites of the tasting because it seems to have more complexity and stuffing than its counterparts. 93-96+
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1/18/2013 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 97 Points
Union Des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2010 Vintage Tasting San Francisco, nose of black cherry, black currants, spring flowers, same on the palate, big body, medium amount of soft tannins, elegant, lovely, rich and big tasting today, seems slightly fruit forward compared to the other Pomerols today or is it richer, needs 7 years to peak, the wine of the event for me, medium/long finish.
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1/18/2013 - MattTM wrote:
Union des Grands Crus 2010 Bordeaux Tasting (Palace Hotel - San Francisco): Fantastic nose showing tons of graphite and cedar aromas, along with some cassis sweetness, cigar box, rich black cherries, leafy mint, and a touch of blueberries. Plenty more lead pencil on the palate, followed by rich cassis, ripe black cherries, saddle leather, blackberries, fresh mint, cigar leaf, and a bit of coffee bean. I spoke with Jean-Michel Laporte and he commented this had started to shut down the last few months, and while it definitely wasn't as expressive as when I last tasted this with him out of barrel back in 2011, this was still excellent and is surely one of the wines of the vintage. Great richness without being overripe, tons of structure, and excellent balance. Outstanding.
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1/18/2013 - Caligrrl Likes this wine:
Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux SF 3013 - really nice, complex finish
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1/18/2013 - europat55 wrote:
Union des Grands Crus (UGC) San Francisco 2010 Bordeaux Tasting (Palace Hotel, San Francisco): Nose: A-; Palate B++;
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11/12/2012 - vespasian Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very closed nose; Lovely velvet tannins. Good concentration of rich fruit. Very impressive, should be an excellent vintage in time. Polished and refined. 93-95+
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5/1/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Spicy, floral, pepper, caramel, black plum scents, powerful but soft tannins, sensuous textures and a long, fresh, silky, dark, black raspberry and licorice filled finish.
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7/8/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
2010 La Conseillante is stuffed with chocolate, floral and black raspberry liqueur aromas. Concentrated, full bodied and powerful for La Conseillante, this silky, elegant, opulent wine combines freshness, depth and elegance. From a blend that is similar to the vineyard plantings, even though the wine is high in alcohol for the estate at 14.5, there is no sensation of heat in the finish. Racked two weeks ago, the wine was tight aromatically. In the mouth, it’s easy to sense the wine is offering more volume, greater length and additional structure than it showed in April. 2010 La Conseillante was offered at 150 Euros, showing an increase from their 2009 pricing. 95-97 Pts
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6/18/2011 - ErnestWorthing wrote: 95 Points
Tasted at the sampler. My favourite 2010 ep sample by far. Thick, vanilla, complex, yum!
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5/25/2011 - MattTM wrote:
CellarTracker Bordeaux Trip; 5/23/2011-5/26/2011 (Bordeaux, France): Barrel sample. Ok, where to begin. Completely captivated by the nose, which was not shy in the least. Huge, kicking off tons of ripe fruit in the form of blackberries, black cherry, dark plum, cassis, with a touch of raspberry, all wrapped in a layer of toasted oak. From there the palate did not disappoint. Wonderful, rich dense flavors of cassis, plum, sweet fresh blackberries, asphalt, toasted oak, along with a fabulous floral component in the form of violets. Velvety with fantastic texture, and extremely well balanced. A copious amount of fine tannins melded with a generous amount of acidity. What seemed like a never ending finish faded away leaving behind a note of cassis at the end. This is close to perfection for me, and I would have to say was my wine of the trip. Outstanding!
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5/25/2011 - grafstrb wrote:
-- tasted a single glass non-blind over 10 minutes --
-- barrel sample --
-- 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc --
NOSE: rich purple berries; a touch earthy; deep florals; complex; engaging; convincing.
TASTE: ballpoint ink; red and purple berries; tannic, but not bitter – actually, this seemed a touch sweet to me; 14.5% alc. shows a bit. I was actually more impressed with this than my note probably makes it sound. I don’t see myself shelling-out the dollars for this, but those who ultimately do will not be disappointed.
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5/25/2011 - Paul S wrote: 94 Points
CT Bordeaux Trip, Day 3 (Right Bank & Chateau Coutet for Dinner): Absolutely brilliant stuff. A barrel sample, bottled in the morning, so it was still throwing of a little gas, but a few swirls and it revealed a gorgeous nose of mulberries, plums, lots of violets, just a hint of sweet spices - so perfumed, so beautiful, just pure right bank seduction. The palate followed up where the nose left off. It had dollops of lovely acidity wed to a fine, lacy structure so that the wine was supremely elegant even though there was tons of power and reservoirs of depth in its pure blackberry and plum flavours, which were sprinkled with attractive little flecks of spice and herb on the mid-palate. 14.5% but you never quite felt it. Fleshy, seductively, voluptuous, yet with a nice sense of structure that carried it into lovely finish. Really young of course, and still intimidatingly primary, but this was a superb wine, and one to cellar for sure. 94-96
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5/23/2011 - Lord of the Bottles wrote: 94 Points
EP wine of the night? Very concentrated fruit but holding well together. Chocolate, mint, oak, mocha, more dark red fruit.
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5/4/2011 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 94 Points
Bibendum Bordeaux 2010 en primeur tasting (Lord's Cricket Ground, London): Such fragrance and elegance - and at the same time very serious. You can't score style and beauty. Hurrah!
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5/4/2011 - thewineoceros wrote: 95 Points
Bibendum Bordeaux 2010 tasting including selected back vintages (Lords Cricket Ground - St Johns Wood, London): I knew that this wine would be vying with the alpha dogs to stake its claim at the top of the vintage podium. It really doesnt disappoint, with bags of power, however with a certain finesse and contradictory lightness in the palate. This wine really does dance in your mouth. Not so much a beefcake, more svelte, accurate and with targeted power - more SAS than Navy seal. 94-96+
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5/4/2011 - Biggsy wrote: 93 Points
Dark purple with a lovely vibrant, ripe nose of black cherry and violets. Powerful and concentrated with dense ripe fruit and supple fine tannins. Very long, dry finish. Excellent.
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4/21/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
La Conseillante Produced from an assemblage of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, (which is the same as the vineyard plantings,) the wine is slightly higher in alcohol than what they achieved in 2009 at 14.5% . Due to the high levels of acidity from 3.69 pH, there is no sensation of heat. Floral, chocolate, truffle and black raspberry liqueur aromas exude from the glass. Dark and powerful, a unique character for La Conseillante, the wine is rich, intense and filled with plum liqueur, chocolate and black cherry. The wine combines freshness, silky textures and a sense of refined elegance, with the volume turned up. Jean- Michel Laporte feels 2010 is in the same style as 2005. 95-96 Pts
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4/4/2011 - vespasian wrote: 94 Points
Lovely nose which is brooding and offer deep, dark fruits. Quite ripe; good weight and texture on the palate. Lovely flavour and fine tannins. Superb finish which fans out and builds - great length. 93-96.
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