Tasted at the Chateau over dinner with Mrs. Marielle (a wonderful human and host). 750ml, decanted prior to dinner while enjoying champagne.
Stunning wine, smells like 2009, and the rest is just perfect. The fruit is so pure, the silk is so refined, tannins are smooth, and finish is so long. Everyone went back to the dinner table before leaving to ensure there was not a drop left.
Incredible showing of the Chateau and vintage. BUY (there aren't many left).
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A strong whiff and taste of oak at first but after a 5-hour decant, I must say this was singing. Yes, it's ripe and decadent but there is excellent freshness for the vintage and a lovely and complex minty aftertaste. Thickly-textured but with good acidity present along with grippy tannins. This is gorgeous now after a big-time decant and I think it will age quite well. 94+
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20-vintage La Conseillante vertical (Fribourg): Part of a 20 vintage vertical (key takeaways in the tasting story). Over-extracted with cooked fruit of on balance rather dark cherry. Dried leaves and a bit of tobacco and leather which gain in presence with time in the glass. A rather simple palate with drying tannin, lacking harmony, but with a nice red berry fruit. This was already bottom-half in a vintage horizontal 4 years ago and did not seem to have improved since.
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’ve had this a few times before and it always needed air to open up and become balanced and round. This bottle didn’t get that time. Served in a flight with the 2010, 14 and 15, I was surprised that this was the 2009 as it was the least ripe wine in the series. Maybe the fact that it was a bit muted and would have needed air masked the ripeness a bit. After a muted nose, there was fresh fruit and lots of spices at the core of the palate. Unfortunately, some alcohol notes too. The tannin quality and acidity were good, the balance slightly off. My guess is that these 92pts are not reflective of what the wine can achieve when properly prepared.
Decanting: The bottle was opened a few hours before consumption but not decanted. I would decant this for 2-3 hours.
Chateau La Conseillante 1947-2020 tasted blind: Dark fruit, oak and vanilla. Medium- complexity only. Elegant and fresh on the palate, relatively light for the warm vintage. If this can develop more complexity it may add a point from here. 93-95
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Quite fragrant with its showy bouquet of violets, roses, chocolate, black cherries, and plums. Soft, elegant, bright, and fresh, with a bit of a reserved character, the wine is at the start of its drinking window. Drink from 2023-2040.
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Nez sur d’intenses notes de fruits noirs, ainsi que quelques fleurs et de la réglisse… Très belle bouche aux tannins rangés. C’est suave, tendu juste comme il faut, profond, plein de fruit. Une TRES GRANDE bouteille au potentiel splendide !
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Beautiful bouquet with oak and cedar and a lovely touch of barnyard and clay. On the palate beautiful black berries, herbs and acidity, cedar, some sweetness, beautiful fresh acidity, some pleasant bitterness and round sticky tannin in the finish. Beautiful wine in its young maturity stage and a great promise for the future! 94+ for now.
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Excellent nose, rich, complex and pronounced. On the palate a beautiful mixture of ripe dark and red berries. Ripe plum, some sweet spices, soft tertiary notes like mushrooms, truffle and dry forest floor. Full bodied with a precise and medium intense acidity. Velvety tannins, nicely integrated. Great fruit structure and depth. Amazing overall complexity and balance. It’s powerful but not overdone. Alcohol is integrated nicely too. It’s in a great spot now, just allow it to breathe for an hour. No need to hurry here, it has a long life ahead. (IG)
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En Primeur campaign for the 2022 vintage Day Three (Bordeaux): Served blind Rich, ripe, black plums, alcohol warmth, sweet and savoury spice, quite big but still fresh with a little leather and slight earth. I thought this might be initially but went with 2010 as the freshness steered me away from the more hot vintage
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Boy did this wine fire at lunch with Marielle at the Chateau. Deep, full bodied and ripe in the style of the vintage but it also possesses tremendous verve and cut to keep it fresh and lively. The finish is already showing the classic blue fruit/spice-driven notes of a mature La Conseillante but there is plenty of time for further development here. Just loved this as it just begins to enter its drinking window with a long decant. 96+
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Tasted alongside '08, '15, '16, '17 and '18 at a Ch. La Conseillante dinner at restaurant BOCA in Hickory NC with vineyard managing director & winemaker Marielle Cazaux in attendance - at this point of maturation clearly the WOTN, certainly the best R bank Bdx we have ever had (and we have had several vintages of neighbor Petrus...), one of the best Bdx wines from any locale that we have ever had and one of the best wines we have had this year - bought a 3-pack and that is all I could get allocated. A master class in R bank merlot-based Bdx wines and La Conseillante in particular was had that night. This vintage is 81% merlot / 19% CF and the percentages vary slightly vintage to vintage with the merlot being roughly ~ 80-85% and CF making up the rest. Entering a perfect drinking window and thus drink or hold. If drunk now would recommend at least 3 hours open in bottle or 90 minutes in decanter or in poured glass. With proper cellaring this has a good 3+ decades left so strongly leaning on the hold. A show case / show stopper R bank Bdx wine. Paired beautifully with braised short ribs and mushrooms. Very deep purple with some peripheral bricking starting to develop, mature, balanced, soft mouth feel but very full bodied, fruit forward with well integrated tannins and oak but not dominant in any way (we found out this is on purpose, very much their style and intent) and a lovely almost eternally long lingering aftertaste. Nose bold, intense and almost explosive with dark stone fruit up front followed by a complex melangue of coffee, garrigue, vanilla, a hint of orange and black pepper. Flavor profile of dark stone fruit, crushed blue- and blackberries and a vegetal note up front with coffee, leather, sage and black pepper with truffle and dirt on the finish. Highly recommend despite the price point - well worth the money if high end Bdx is your thing. This is almost to the level of a cellar collection crown jewel.
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Pomerol night (Chicago, IL): Of the young Pomerols tonight, this was far and away my favourite. Such a stunning showing of pure fruit without being marred by oak. Slightly herbal with a touch of mint, but the nose comes across more as perfume than smelling like wine. Despite that sort of wispiness, this is a powerhouse on the palate with copious amounts of fruit that are hiding the structure underneath. Very ripe but very much under control; the fruit doesn't for a second feel overdone. Truly impressive.
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En-Primeur campaign for the 2021 vintage; 4/25/2022-4/29/2022 (Bordeaux): Served blind. Plush, rich, plummy fruit, plenty of sweet spice, polished oak. Medium plus intensity acidity, juicy, powerful, alcohol warmth, plummy fruit, talc textured tannins, long, balanced. Nice. Time shows age again. I guessed 2014 to my chagrin
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Dekantert lenge. Pen, men noen år unna drikkeklar. Vent til 2024 med meste. Savner signaturen til Conseillante. Siste halvdel av flasken er mye bedre, men ikke helt. Avklart, men ikke mye futt dag 3. Pen.
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92+ pts. A lot of potential with this one still. Rich and velvety on the palate, intense blue fruit flavors, very smooth with a nice finish. Not sure what exactly, but felt like there is a missing component holding this back from reaching higher levels. Maybe in time.
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Well stored bottle with a pristine label. Drank at a wine bar. Decanted and drank over 1.5 hours. Still early in its drinking window, but there is a lot to love. Bold, powerful, dark fruits and hints of cherries on the back end. Will be excellent in 15 years.
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Explodes out of the glass upon opening, dark cherry, cassis, strawberry, milk chocolate and that wonderful Bordeaux earthiness. This bottle was so harmonious and balanced with medium+ acidity that left me wanting another sip almost immediately. I always love great years of La Conseillante, they are powerful yet elegant at the same time with perfect balance. Wish I had more.
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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: At first it the wine showed a bit disjointed on the nose, rather dry and ripe with lots of alcohol. On the palate it showed similar with a slightly drying end. When revealed I was surprised to see the 2009 as I’ve had this much better before (rated 96 and 94 pts). I gave the wine more time (and a lot of swirling) and luckily, it got better and more harmonious by the minute (and the drying finish disappeared). The best traits are the creaminess paired with a super freshness and play of ripe but pure black, blue and red forest fruit with the strong minerality. I’m sure that with a lot of air and more time, this would have climbed even higher. 92/93 pts max today for the last sip.
Decanting: Not decanted. My guess is, this needs a solid 3-4 hours in the decanter to shine.
Duel: Win for L’Eglise-Clinet rated 94 pts
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Nose of forest floor and dark berry compote with a bit of camphor. Red cherry, a hint of toast. Finish is long, with bright fruit and stiff but balanced tannins. Has a long future ahead.
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Fine to try now, but this meeds 3-5 years. Quite a lot of heat, wood and unbalanced fruit. Everything is there, so expect to add 2-3 points, when it opens up properly and everything falls into place.
My 2:nd La Conseilltante. Previously 2005, wich I scored 98 points.
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Blinded. Deep dark red, with a dense core. Slight bricking on the edge. Black fruit with plum notes. Sweet tobacco and sweet oak on the palate with notable heat. Decent acidity and nice balance. Not my preferred style of wine, but clearly high pedigree and quality winemaking. Debated between supertuscan or Bordeaux, ultimately guessed 2010 Conseillante! ;)
Opened my first bottle out of 3 last night. It was decanted for about 4 hours. What a powerful wine demonstrating strong tannins but very well balanced. The finish in the mouth was long and the 2nd nose quite outstanding which suggests that it will age for many more years. I will wait at least another 10 years until I open my next bottle.
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Gorgeous, multi dimensional nose of dark blue and black fruit, chocolate, rose and floral tones, mint, licorice, crushed stones and minerals. Elegant and velvety palate with large but balanced structure, tight but sweet tannins, tremendous acidity and lift, and ends with a mineral driven, lengthy finish.
Great now, and will be even better with 5-10 years.
Fantastic!
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From .375l format and let it breathe 2 hours in the bottle before serving. Ripe and full, with loads of black currant, licorice. Tannins are integrating yet still a bit on the “easy to find” side of the scale. Even though approachable, for my taste, it still needs a good 5-10 years to fully show its potential.
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Right off the bat you find flowers, cocoa, truffle and plum on the nose. The wine is vibrant, juicy and fresh. Medium bodied with silky tannins, the fruit is sweet and pure, the wine is elegant, but I wish it had a bit more density. Still, this is a gorgeous wine that is quite nice to taste today.
Tasted next to a barrel sample of 2018. Ripe red and dark fruit, earth, spices, liquorice on the nose. Quite open and expressive. On the palate also quite approachable. Good acidity, plenty of generous fruit, unobtrusive tannins. A little less elegance and lift compared to 2018, but very impressive. Drink or keep. 94-96
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2009 Bordeaux 10 years in the bottle 2-day horizontal; 6/23/2019-6/24/2019 (Fribourg): Part of a grand Bordeaux 2009 tasting spanning 2 days that revealed 1) a right bank struggling with overripe fruit and overwhelming tannins, 2) wide spreak between top performers and laggards, 3) left bank, and especially Margaux, outshone the right bank cousins, 4) Top wines: Palmer, Margaux, Cheval Blanc, Vieux Chateau Certan.
Tasting note: Slightly less extracted fruit and cooler style than the rest of the 2009 right bank pack, but lots of acidity and tannins on the palate.
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Bordeaux 2009 - 10 Years On - 47 Reds; 6/23/2019-6/24/2019: 2009 Bordeaux after 10 years. 48 red wines. The left bank (average rating 94.2) clearly trumps the right bank (92.6): Elegance, purity and freshness vs over-extraction, ripeness and oxidation. But there are some winners on the right bank (Cheval, Petrus, Hosanna for now, Lafleur, Trotanoy medium-term) but the highest scores were given to left bank wines (Margaux #1 overall, Palmer, Mouton, for now, Latour, St. Juliens medium-term). I guess purists will not like the loads of oak-derived aromas which in some wines are great but can make the wines a bit slutty (Cheval, Margaux, quite a lot of right banks). But there are plenty of more classically shaped wines too. Overall, the 2009s are a lot of fun with many pockets of greatness but I would be very selective on the right bank. If you like more elegant, subtle and classic wines I would focus on 2005/2010/2016. All wines tasted blind and without decanting.
TN: Confirming my notes from a Conseillante vertical a few months back. The good finesse and very good precision are instantly apparent but not the complexity the wine showed last time. For that it would have needed more time. Better than the Clos Eglise but not on par with Hosanna and Le Pin in the same flight. With a good 5 hours in the decanter, this would for sure be up there with the 96+ points I experienced back in March.
Average blind score 4 tasters: 94.0 Rank: 27th out of 48 wines (shared rank with Rauzan Segla)
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Floral yet spicy nose that is full of fruit. Hits the palate with a load of cherry, chocolate and slight earthiness. No sense of heaviness and wonderful balance. This opened up over a few hours and probably needs 2-3 hours of decant time. The great Pomerols of 09 are, to me, the wines of the vintage and this one does not dissapoint.
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Decanted for only 3 hours and this needed more to fully unwind. But what a gorgeous wine this is. Nose is lovely and palate has huge structure with gripping tannins that are still sweet. Last sip was at 6 hours of decanting and it was finally opening up and showing much more personality. This definitely needs to 6-87 hours of decanting if drinking now.
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Gedronken op Château la Conseillante tijdens een diner met Jean-Valmy, Bertrand Nicolas en Marielle Cazaux. Zeer generous door hen geschonken bij het hoofdgerecht. Gezien het interessante gesprek géén proefnotities geschreven!
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La Conseillante 1982-2016: Vertical of eight vintages from four decades with winemaker Marielle Cazaux. While it might not come as a surprise that the Conseillante impresses with its seductiveness, the level of freshness and tension in all wines is remarkable. Unsurprisingly, the four best wines came all from great vintages: The 2016 stands above all the other wines and is a future star and so good to drink right now, the 2009 needed time but became better by the minute and came in close second, the 2005 is fantastic with so much intense tertiary aromatics and precision and the 1990 is in a great spot and better than the Mouton or Lynch Bages I had in the past few weeks.
TN: This needed a lot of time in the glass and became better by the minute: Candied strawberries, rose hip, cassis and other dark forest berries, violets, mint, cola, a very intriguing nuttiness with fresh and roasted almonds, fine earth, leather, tobacco hints, nice minerality (ash, clay, slate?). Very deep, very precise and focused and all packed in a good structural frame with massive but smooth tannins, a good freshness and tension. This 2009 has not the elegance and the sense of weightlessness as the 2016 but the balance is still impeccable and the complexity is amazing. 96+
Decanting: This bottle was not decanted but it should have been. It opened up with time in the glass and was best after three hours. Hence, I would give it at least five hours in the decanter, probably better even seven or more hours.
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Round. balanced and perfumed with rich black cherry fruit and notes of dark chocolate and dark spice. The finish is grippy and chalky in a good way and this is very classy and refined. Great potential down the road and not overdone at all. 93+
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Chateau La Conseillante Vertical with Marielle Cazaux (Au Petit Bouchon): Monolithic, but great stuff just the same - I found this to have gotten up on a much better side of the bed than the 2010. Dark, robust, and built like a stone. The classic rich blackberry fruit as you'd expect with metal shavings on the back end. One of my favorites of the day.
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Chateau La Conseillante Dinner with Marielle Cazaux (Le Cafe Descartes at the French Embassy): A big scale nose displaying blackberry, blackberry liqueur, roasted nuts, ink, licorice, espresso bean, dark milk chocolate, cedar, liquid smoke, incense and earth. Exceptional concentration and balance, layers upon layers of ripe yet pure black fruit, dense and oily yet pure and polished, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral, noticeable but very fine tannins and a long intense black fruit driven finish with dark milk chocolate at the end. This beautifully expresses the 09 vintage, i.e. intense opulent yet pure black fruit, impressive concentration and exceptional balance. It will reach the youthful peak in another ten years and will easily improve for another decade or two. As much as I love the 09, I slightly prefer the freshness of the 05 and the 10.
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La Conseillante Vertical Tasting (French Embassy - Washington, DC): Stunningly beautiful wine. So deep and dark on the nose (concentrated plums and black cherries) with notes of incense sticks, mesquite, anise, fallen leaves. Plush yet rich, dense but expressive at the same time, the balance is on point, and while this is young and deserving of much more time, I loved how it showed. Notes of coffee, anise, dark chocolate - a lot more to come out for many years.
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Opened and double decanted 2 hours ahead. Drinking well now. Complex, fresh, structured, brambles, are words that come initially to mind. A powerful, concentrated smooth wine with backbone. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the next few years. ***(**)
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Just now starting to show its true essence, this is the epitome of silk and velvet. Incredibly refined, with the opulence of the vintage, you can drink this now, if you like primary fruit paired with velvety textures. Or give it another 7 years of ago, for the truffles and dark chocolate that are sure to come.
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Occasional dinner group: Riesling GG and Top Pomerol (@ Zarzo): One note for the 2009 Trotanoy, VCC and Conseillante. The Trotanoy already shows some development and creamy dark and red berries. On the palate a full bodied and expressive wine with juicy red berries, good acidity and round tannin. Truly great already. The VCC is the most classical, has some coffee and mocha in the bouquet and on the palate firm and even some green impressions. A great and complex wine, but it probably needs many more years to show all of its finesse. Like the VCC the Conseillante is still too young. Also some green impressions, firm acidity and tannin. For the moment the Trotanoy is the biggest treat: 96. The VCC and Conseillante both hold a promise and might score 96+ as well, but for the moment I scored them 95.
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Tobacco, cherry, plum and truffle, with a hint of floral notes are the first thing you notice. Next, you move to a refined, silky sensuously, textured, fresh sensation of ripe, sweet, plums and black cherries. There is a beautiful, purity to the fruit in the finish that makes you want to return to your glass for another sniff, sip and swallow. This is quite nice to drink now, if you like young wines, but I am letting mine rest for at least another 7 years or so, give or take.
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Medium-bodied, medium rim width with opaque core. It needs not air for minutes with nose of blackberries. Tasted silky and have a nice balance of fruit, acidity and oak with long finish. Great for now.
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According to conventional wisdom the 2009 La Conseillante is 1989 La Conseillante Mark II. I think that is tommyrot because the style of this chateau has fundamentally changed from making precocious and seductive wines in the 1980s to making more serious and brooding wines in the 2000s. In fact I put this view to Jean-Valmy and he agreed. The 2009 is approachable, but is rich, dense and powerful, with sumptuous plummy and chocolatey notes, which obliterate any more nuanced earthy tobacco notes, which may however evolve over time. So while this is drinkable now it will surely repay a decade in the cellar. 95 points with upside potential.
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Rich chocolate, mocha and cassis - softening to black cherry and plum. Apparently in the style of the 89 but for me this is a much better wine than that although lacks the Conseillante characteristics the other wines showed today. Short on aromatics, but I think this will come good. Should drink well from 2020 and be at peak from 2025 (there’s lots of new oak showing that still needs to integrate) and hold a decade. However, it’s clearly outclassed by the superb 2010 for me. 94-95pts for now.
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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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Earthy, truffle, chocolate, cocoa, wet forest floor, plum and licorice on the nose. The wine is pure silky and velvet, with lush plummy texture, fine tannins and a sweet, purity of fruit and freshness with a chocolate overtone in the finish. If you like wines on the young side, you can open a bottle. But you’ll be amply rewarded if you exercise another 7-10 years as this is really a super wine.
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Goedhuis tasting at the Saatchi Gallery West London. With 2005 the WOTN, 2012 sublime and approachable, I think 2009 sits squarely in the middle as a more expressive and exuberant wine. It is rich, colourful, expressive, sumptuous and tad more in your face than '12 and the more quiet 2005. Showing more aromas and expression on the palate than most of the other Pomerols and less open Left Banks.
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The 2009 La Conseillante ranks just a bit behind the 2005, and stands in the shadow of the monumental and perfect 2010, but it is still a very creditable wine. The wine is quite open in the glass, with a flamboyant nose of black raspberry and cherry that is quite marked by its generous dose of creamy new oak, somewhat to the exclusion of La Conseillante's customary gravelly soil tones. On the palate the wine is supple and open, with good concentration and a nice finish, with no trace of unintegrated wood tannin as far as I could tell, so it would seem that the oak marks the nose more than the palate. This is just a bit less bright and classically-structured than some of the other La Conseillantes of the decade.
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Bordeaux 2009 vs. 2010 - Check in on 50 well known Chateaux: Dark purple. Discrete nose of dark and red fruit with the typical 2009 nose of toast, cedar wood, chocolate and a hint of earth. On the palate quite closed not revealing lots of aromas but soft. The finish is not particularly long today. I would put this in the “good but not great” bucket, which clearly is not enough given the 250$ retail price. It came in second last in the group in which several La Conseillante lovers were present. Part of that is though that this wine was more closed than others and therefore not yet delivered on the hedonistic front. (Group Score 94.0/RP96)
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Even though I just had this back in November I wanted to try it again to make sure it was as good as I thought. In short, it is. Same note as before but what is so wonderful about this wine is the purity, balance and incredibly lush mouthfeel. Ok, now I really will wait a few years to try the next bottle.
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Decanted and drank over 6 hours. Initially the nose was fairly closed, but slowly opened to reveal notes of violet, black and blue fruits and some chocolate. The palate is just wonderfully textured and is round and full in the mouth but not heavy. More sweet black, blue and red fruit. Some spice and a hint of tobacco. Silky but with structure. Long smooth finish.
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Deep red in color! Sweet nose, toasted new oak, dark fruits, alluring, rich and deep! Absolutely smooth on the palate, rich fruits and long finish, full of spice! 96+
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Chocolate, truffle, plums, black raspberry and an array of spicy scents drum up your interest. This round, rich, elegant Pomerol has the structure to age and evolve along with sensual textures. This assemblage of 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc is not far off from the level of wines produced at La Conseillante in 2005 or 2000!
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UGC Bordeaux (Sheraton Hotel - Chicago IL): Floral start with very good spice along with black cherry, blackberry and hints of licorice, mushroom and dark chocolate. Same black fruit on the palate with slightly earthy flavors and textures, along with great Asian spice and black pepper on long finish. Good balance.
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UGC 2009 Bordeaux Tasting (Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers): Heavy on the dark fruit upfront in the aroma. Nose is beautiful. Great balance of spice, dark fruit and oak. The taste follows up the aroma by being wonderful. Best wine of the night.
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Returns to the refined style that I value from this chateau, much better than the ’08. Does show plushness, and feels a bit closed compared to other wines today but the lead pencil, mineral, and leafiness together with pretty, perfumed fruits hint as to a very bright future for this wine in my opinion – you just have to pay attention to the clues that peek out from behind this wine. 93-95 in the future.
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Union Des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Tasting (New York, NY): Nose: Red Plum, Sweet Cherry, Chocolate and Flint. Palate: Cherry, Wild Blackberry and Truffle notes with a touch of herbs. Finish: Firm with black fruit and espresso.
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UGC 2009 Bordeaux tasting San Francisco: Medium body, red fruit, touch of tartness, missing a little depth, elegant and more feminine. A second taste later showed more depth and structure, could be needed air.
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Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux 2009 Tasting K&L, nose of plum, black cherry, blackberry, allspice, and cedar, same on the palate, big body, delicious, needs 5 years to peak, mouth filling fruit, long, long finish, tasted twice today.
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La Conseillante bottled in early May is packed with fresh flowers, truffles, chocolate, oak and plum aromas. With textures of pure silk and velvet, this opulent Pomerol is filled with sweet black raspberry, plum and spice flavors. The wine ends with a long, fresh, sensuous black cherry filled finish. This is showing great for a wine that was recently bottled. My score could look stingy with more time in bottle.
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UGC. My wine of the day (vintage)! Loads of ripe blue fruit as in so much of these 2009s. violet aromatics too. Mouth-coating. Gorgeous, gorgeous texture and a finish that lasted a minute+ WOW!
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Clean, pure and fresh fruit expression between blueberry and blackberry, blueberry compote, sea breeze. Excellent concentration and more complex fruit expression than the second wine. All components are in excellent harmony and very fresh.
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2009 La Conseillante, from 81% merlot and 19% cabernet franc, is never the deepest colored Pomerol. The nose is of flowers, spice, fennel, oak, plums, and dark berries. The wine has an intense freshness in the mouth that’s accompanied by a long, pure, sweet black cherry and licorice flavored finish. The wine comes in at 14.2% alcohol, but has no sensation of heat. 96/97 Pts
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BR 2009 Bordeaux En Primeur Tasting (London): The Creature from the Black Lagoon! In ballet shoes!! A huge 14.2% monster that amazes by somehow keeping it's balance and even playing the elegance card with some aplomb. Don't even look at this for 20 years+ but will be a real stunner. One day...95-97
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I will have to re-taste this at some stage, as some way superior (than me) en primeur judges have given this major praise, but on the day it just didnt do it for me - I thought it was too jammy and in fact bordering on outright sweet - not my style.
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En Primeur Bordeaux 2009 Tasting (Crown Wine Cellars, Hong Kong): Tasted en primeur after roughly 6 months in the barrel. Really bright, attractive, opaque red/purple colour. Big legs on the swirl. Fresh-sawn wood nose. Palate is really unctuous, rounded and silky. Thick but not over-extracted. Coats the glass. This has a 1+ minute length and already exhibits some resonance in the head on the finish. By far the most complete wine of the 17 en primeurs sampled today. Wine of the day for me. "Excellent".
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Barrel sample tasted at Conseillante vertical in London. Blend of 81% merlot, 19% cab franc. Amazing, fragrant, sensual, lifted, almost kinky nose of red/black fruits with violets, a touch of mint and loads of eucalyptus from the cab franc. On the palate, again red/black fruits, supple, medium bodied, precise with perfectly ripe, slightly spicy tannins.
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4/10/2024 - tdanie5 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Tasted at the Chateau over dinner with Mrs. Marielle (a wonderful human and host). 750ml, decanted prior to dinner while enjoying champagne.
Stunning wine, smells like 2009, and the rest is just perfect. The fruit is so pure, the silk is so refined, tannins are smooth, and finish is so long. Everyone went back to the dinner table before leaving to ensure there was not a drop left.
Incredible showing of the Chateau and vintage. BUY (there aren't many left).
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1/22/2024 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
A strong whiff and taste of oak at first but after a 5-hour decant, I must say this was singing. Yes, it's ripe and decadent but there is excellent freshness for the vintage and a lovely and complex minty aftertaste. Thickly-textured but with good acidity present along with grippy tannins. This is gorgeous now after a big-time decant and I think it will age quite well. 94+
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10/2/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 89 Points
20-vintage La Conseillante vertical (Fribourg): Part of a 20 vintage vertical (key takeaways in the tasting story). Over-extracted with cooked fruit of on balance rather dark cherry. Dried leaves and a bit of tobacco and leather which gain in presence with time in the glass. A rather simple palate with drying tannin, lacking harmony, but with a nice red berry fruit. This was already bottom-half in a vintage horizontal 4 years ago and did not seem to have improved since.
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10/2/2023 - Cailles wrote: 92 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’ve had this a few times before and it always needed air to open up and become balanced and round. This bottle didn’t get that time. Served in a flight with the 2010, 14 and 15, I was surprised that this was the 2009 as it was the least ripe wine in the series. Maybe the fact that it was a bit muted and would have needed air masked the ripeness a bit. After a muted nose, there was fresh fruit and lots of spices at the core of the palate. Unfortunately, some alcohol notes too. The tannin quality and acidity were good, the balance slightly off. My guess is that these 92pts are not reflective of what the wine can achieve when properly prepared.
Decanting: The bottle was opened a few hours before consumption but not decanted. I would decant this for 2-3 hours.
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9/29/2023 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
Chateau La Conseillante 1947-2020 tasted blind: Dark fruit, oak and vanilla. Medium- complexity only. Elegant and fresh on the palate, relatively light for the warm vintage. If this can develop more complexity it may add a point from here. 93-95
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9/12/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Quite fragrant with its showy bouquet of violets, roses, chocolate, black cherries, and plums. Soft, elegant, bright, and fresh, with a bit of a reserved character, the wine is at the start of its drinking window. Drink from 2023-2040.
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8/19/2023 - zorglub123 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Nez sur d’intenses notes de fruits noirs, ainsi que quelques fleurs et de la réglisse… Très belle bouche aux tannins rangés. C’est suave, tendu juste comme il faut, profond, plein de fruit. Une TRES GRANDE bouteille au potentiel splendide !
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8/12/2023 - Zweder Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful bouquet with oak and cedar and a lovely touch of barnyard and clay. On the palate beautiful black berries, herbs and acidity, cedar, some sweetness, beautiful fresh acidity, some pleasant bitterness and round sticky tannin in the finish. Beautiful wine in its young maturity stage and a great promise for the future! 94+ for now.
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6/9/2023 - DrZett wrote: 95 Points
Excellent nose, rich, complex and pronounced. On the palate a beautiful mixture of ripe dark and red berries. Ripe plum, some sweet spices, soft tertiary notes like mushrooms, truffle and dry forest floor. Full bodied with a precise and medium intense acidity. Velvety tannins, nicely integrated. Great fruit structure and depth. Amazing overall complexity and balance. It’s powerful but not overdone. Alcohol is integrated nicely too. It’s in a great spot now, just allow it to breathe for an hour. No need to hurry here, it has a long life ahead. (IG)
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4/24/2023 - chatters wrote:
En Primeur campaign for the 2022 vintage Day Three (Bordeaux): Served blind
Rich, ripe, black plums, alcohol warmth, sweet and savoury spice, quite big but still fresh with a little leather and slight earth.
I thought this might be initially but went with 2010 as the freshness steered me away from the more hot vintage
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4/16/2023 - dream Likes this wine: 96 Points
Boy did this wine fire at lunch with Marielle at the Chateau. Deep, full bodied and ripe in the style of the vintage but it also possesses tremendous verve and cut to keep it fresh and lively. The finish is already showing the classic blue fruit/spice-driven notes of a mature La Conseillante but there is plenty of time for further development here. Just loved this as it just begins to enter its drinking window with a long decant. 96+
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10/27/2022 - ikkaariainen Likes this wine: 97 Points
Tasted alongside '08, '15, '16, '17 and '18 at a Ch. La Conseillante dinner at restaurant BOCA in Hickory NC with vineyard managing director & winemaker Marielle Cazaux in attendance - at this point of maturation clearly the WOTN, certainly the best R bank Bdx we have ever had (and we have had several vintages of neighbor Petrus...), one of the best Bdx wines from any locale that we have ever had and one of the best wines we have had this year - bought a 3-pack and that is all I could get allocated. A master class in R bank merlot-based Bdx wines and La Conseillante in particular was had that night. This vintage is 81% merlot / 19% CF and the percentages vary slightly vintage to vintage with the merlot being roughly ~ 80-85% and CF making up the rest. Entering a perfect drinking window and thus drink or hold. If drunk now would recommend at least 3 hours open in bottle or 90 minutes in decanter or in poured glass. With proper cellaring this has a good 3+ decades left so strongly leaning on the hold. A show case / show stopper R bank Bdx wine. Paired beautifully with braised short ribs and mushrooms. Very deep purple with some peripheral bricking starting to develop, mature, balanced, soft mouth feel but very full bodied, fruit forward with well integrated tannins and oak but not dominant in any way (we found out this is on purpose, very much their style and intent) and a lovely almost eternally long lingering aftertaste. Nose bold, intense and almost explosive with dark stone fruit up front followed by a complex melangue of coffee, garrigue, vanilla, a hint of orange and black pepper. Flavor profile of dark stone fruit, crushed blue- and blackberries and a vegetal note up front with coffee, leather, sage and black pepper with truffle and dirt on the finish. Highly recommend despite the price point - well worth the money if high end Bdx is your thing. This is almost to the level of a cellar collection crown jewel.
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8/25/2022 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
Pomerol night (Chicago, IL): Of the young Pomerols tonight, this was far and away my favourite. Such a stunning showing of pure fruit without being marred by oak. Slightly herbal with a touch of mint, but the nose comes across more as perfume than smelling like wine. Despite that sort of wispiness, this is a powerhouse on the palate with copious amounts of fruit that are hiding the structure underneath. Very ripe but very much under control; the fruit doesn't for a second feel overdone. Truly impressive.
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4/28/2022 - chatters wrote:
En-Primeur campaign for the 2021 vintage; 4/25/2022-4/29/2022 (Bordeaux): Served blind.
Plush, rich, plummy fruit, plenty of sweet spice, polished oak. Medium plus intensity acidity, juicy, powerful, alcohol warmth, plummy fruit, talc textured tannins, long, balanced. Nice. Time shows age again.
I guessed 2014 to my chagrin
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1/26/2022 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dekantert lenge. Pen, men noen år unna drikkeklar. Vent til 2024 med meste. Savner signaturen til Conseillante. Siste halvdel av flasken er mye bedre, men ikke helt. Avklart, men ikke mye futt dag 3. Pen.
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10/25/2021 - SonnyChiba wrote: 92 Points
92+ pts. A lot of potential with this one still. Rich and velvety on the palate, intense blue fruit flavors, very smooth with a nice finish. Not sure what exactly, but felt like there is a missing component holding this back from reaching higher levels. Maybe in time.
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10/25/2021 - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Well stored bottle with a pristine label. Drank at a wine bar. Decanted and drank over 1.5 hours. Still early in its drinking window, but there is a lot to love. Bold, powerful, dark fruits and hints of cherries on the back end. Will be excellent in 15 years.
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9/26/2021 - pakabear Likes this wine: 96 Points
Explodes out of the glass upon opening, dark cherry, cassis, strawberry, milk chocolate and that wonderful Bordeaux earthiness. This bottle was so harmonious and balanced with medium+ acidity that left me wanting another sip almost immediately. I always love great years of La Conseillante, they are powerful yet elegant at the same time with perfect balance. Wish I had more.
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9/19/2021 - Cailles wrote: 93 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: At first it the wine showed a bit disjointed on the nose, rather dry and ripe with lots of alcohol. On the palate it showed similar with a slightly drying end. When revealed I was surprised to see the 2009 as I’ve had this much better before (rated 96 and 94 pts). I gave the wine more time (and a lot of swirling) and luckily, it got better and more harmonious by the minute (and the drying finish disappeared). The best traits are the creaminess paired with a super freshness and play of ripe but pure black, blue and red forest fruit with the strong minerality. I’m sure that with a lot of air and more time, this would have climbed even higher. 92/93 pts max today for the last sip.
Decanting: Not decanted. My guess is, this needs a solid 3-4 hours in the decanter to shine.
Duel: Win for L’Eglise-Clinet rated 94 pts
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8/27/2021 - snaff wrote: 93 Points
Nose of forest floor and dark berry compote with a bit of camphor. Red cherry, a hint of toast. Finish is long, with bright fruit and stiff but balanced tannins. Has a long future ahead.
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12/3/2020 - Sundbyberg wrote: 93 Points
Fine to try now, but this meeds 3-5 years. Quite a lot of heat, wood and unbalanced fruit.
Everything is there, so expect to add 2-3 points, when it opens up properly and everything falls into place.
My 2:nd La Conseilltante. Previously 2005, wich I scored 98 points.
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8/15/2020 - mye wrote:
Blinded. Deep dark red, with a dense core. Slight bricking on the edge. Black fruit with plum notes. Sweet tobacco and sweet oak on the palate with notable heat. Decent acidity and nice balance. Not my preferred style of wine, but clearly high pedigree and quality winemaking. Debated between supertuscan or Bordeaux, ultimately guessed 2010 Conseillante! ;)
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6/17/2020 - hstiti Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opened my first bottle out of 3 last night. It was decanted for about 4 hours. What a powerful wine demonstrating strong tannins but very well balanced. The finish in the mouth was long and the 2nd nose quite outstanding which suggests that it will age for many more years. I will wait at least another 10 years until I open my next bottle.
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6/17/2020 - mchern02 wrote: 95 Points
3 hour decant and followed over the next 3 hours
Gorgeous, multi dimensional nose of dark blue and black fruit, chocolate, rose and floral tones, mint, licorice, crushed stones and minerals. Elegant and velvety palate with large but balanced structure, tight but sweet tannins, tremendous acidity and lift, and ends with a mineral driven, lengthy finish.
Great now, and will be even better with 5-10 years.
Fantastic!
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6/5/2020 - yuti1225 Likes this wine: 92 Points
From .375l format and let it breathe 2 hours in the bottle before serving. Ripe and full, with loads of black currant, licorice. Tannins are integrating yet still a bit on the “easy to find” side of the scale. Even though approachable, for my taste, it still needs a good 5-10 years to fully show its potential.
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9/20/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Right off the bat you find flowers, cocoa, truffle and plum on the nose. The wine is vibrant, juicy and fresh. Medium bodied with silky tannins, the fruit is sweet and pure, the wine is elegant, but I wish it had a bit more density. Still, this is a gorgeous wine that is quite nice to taste today.
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7/22/2019 - chatters wrote:
Airoldi Fine Wines Winter Tasting (Oak Barrel, Elizabeth Street, Sydney): Plums, chocolate (again), slight volatile, sweet spice, plenty of alcohol heat joins the plummy fruit, oaky and gritty tannins dries out the finish. Hmm.
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7/3/2019 - rossi.wine wrote: 95 Points
Tasted next to a barrel sample of 2018. Ripe red and dark fruit, earth, spices, liquorice on the nose. Quite open and expressive. On the palate also quite approachable. Good acidity, plenty of generous fruit, unobtrusive tannins. A little less elegance and lift compared to 2018, but very impressive. Drink or keep. 94-96
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7/3/2019 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 95 Points
Berry Brothers 2018 Bordeaux en primeur (plus back vintages) (Lindley Hall, London): (A lot) better then when tasted ~3 years ago - blueberry, gravel, long and effortless and less heat than other right banks.
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6/23/2019 - sirpat00 wrote: 92 Points
2009 Bordeaux 10 years in the bottle 2-day horizontal; 6/23/2019-6/24/2019 (Fribourg): Part of a grand Bordeaux 2009 tasting spanning 2 days that revealed 1) a right bank struggling with overripe fruit and overwhelming tannins, 2) wide spreak between top performers and laggards, 3) left bank, and especially Margaux, outshone the right bank cousins, 4) Top wines: Palmer, Margaux, Cheval Blanc, Vieux Chateau Certan.
Tasting note:
Slightly less extracted fruit and cooler style than the rest of the 2009 right bank pack, but lots of acidity and tannins on the palate.
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6/23/2019 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux 2009 - 10 Years On - 47 Reds; 6/23/2019-6/24/2019: 2009 Bordeaux after 10 years. 48 red wines. The left bank (average rating 94.2) clearly trumps the right bank (92.6): Elegance, purity and freshness vs over-extraction, ripeness and oxidation. But there are some winners on the right bank (Cheval, Petrus, Hosanna for now, Lafleur, Trotanoy medium-term) but the highest scores were given to left bank wines (Margaux #1 overall, Palmer, Mouton, for now, Latour, St. Juliens medium-term). I guess purists will not like the loads of oak-derived aromas which in some wines are great but can make the wines a bit slutty (Cheval, Margaux, quite a lot of right banks). But there are plenty of more classically shaped wines too. Overall, the 2009s are a lot of fun with many pockets of greatness but I would be very selective on the right bank. If you like more elegant, subtle and classic wines I would focus on 2005/2010/2016. All wines tasted blind and without decanting.
TN: Confirming my notes from a Conseillante vertical a few months back. The good finesse and very good precision are instantly apparent but not the complexity the wine showed last time. For that it would have needed more time. Better than the Clos Eglise but not on par with Hosanna and Le Pin in the same flight. With a good 5 hours in the decanter, this would for sure be up there with the 96+ points I experienced back in March.
Average blind score 4 tasters: 94.0
Rank: 27th out of 48 wines
(shared rank with Rauzan Segla)
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4/20/2019 - Parrish02 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Floral yet spicy nose that is full of fruit. Hits the palate with a load of cherry, chocolate and slight earthiness. No sense of heaviness and wonderful balance. This opened up over a few hours and probably needs 2-3 hours of decant time. The great Pomerols of 09 are, to me, the wines of the vintage and this one does not dissapoint.
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4/13/2019 - Lateva wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for only 3 hours and this needed more to fully unwind. But what a gorgeous wine this is. Nose is lovely and palate has huge structure with gripping tannins that are still sweet. Last sip was at 6 hours of decanting and it was finally opening up and showing much more personality. This definitely needs to 6-87 hours of decanting if drinking now.
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4/3/2019 - dvansteenderen Likes this wine: 94 Points
Gedronken op Château la Conseillante tijdens een diner met Jean-Valmy, Bertrand Nicolas en Marielle Cazaux. Zeer generous door hen geschonken bij het hoofdgerecht. Gezien het interessante gesprek géén proefnotities geschreven!
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3/14/2019 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points
La Conseillante 1982-2016: Vertical of eight vintages from four decades with winemaker Marielle Cazaux. While it might not come as a surprise that the Conseillante impresses with its seductiveness, the level of freshness and tension in all wines is remarkable. Unsurprisingly, the four best wines came all from great vintages: The 2016 stands above all the other wines and is a future star and so good to drink right now, the 2009 needed time but became better by the minute and came in close second, the 2005 is fantastic with so much intense tertiary aromatics and precision and the 1990 is in a great spot and better than the Mouton or Lynch Bages I had in the past few weeks.
TN: This needed a lot of time in the glass and became better by the minute: Candied strawberries, rose hip, cassis and other dark forest berries, violets, mint, cola, a very intriguing nuttiness with fresh and roasted almonds, fine earth, leather, tobacco hints, nice minerality (ash, clay, slate?). Very deep, very precise and focused and all packed in a good structural frame with massive but smooth tannins, a good freshness and tension. This 2009 has not the elegance and the sense of weightlessness as the 2016 but the balance is still impeccable and the complexity is amazing. 96+
Decanting: This bottle was not decanted but it should have been. It opened up with time in the glass and was best after three hours. Hence, I would give it at least five hours in the decanter, probably better even seven or more hours.
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2/28/2019 - dream Likes this wine: 93 Points
Round. balanced and perfumed with rich black cherry fruit and notes of dark chocolate and dark spice. The finish is grippy and chalky in a good way and this is very classy and refined. Great potential down the road and not overdone at all. 93+
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11/13/2018 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 95 Points
Chateau La Conseillante Vertical with Marielle Cazaux (Au Petit Bouchon): Monolithic, but great stuff just the same - I found this to have gotten up on a much better side of the bed than the 2010. Dark, robust, and built like a stone. The classic rich blackberry fruit as you'd expect with metal shavings on the back end. One of my favorites of the day.
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11/13/2018 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
Chateau La Conseillante Dinner with Marielle Cazaux (Le Cafe Descartes at the French Embassy): A big scale nose displaying blackberry, blackberry liqueur, roasted nuts, ink, licorice, espresso bean, dark milk chocolate, cedar, liquid smoke, incense and earth. Exceptional concentration and balance, layers upon layers of ripe yet pure black fruit, dense and oily yet pure and polished, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral, noticeable but very fine tannins and a long intense black fruit driven finish with dark milk chocolate at the end. This beautifully expresses the 09 vintage, i.e. intense opulent yet pure black fruit, impressive concentration and exceptional balance. It will reach the youthful peak in another ten years and will easily improve for another decade or two. As much as I love the 09, I slightly prefer the freshness of the 05 and the 10.
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11/13/2018 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 96 Points
La Conseillante Vertical Tasting (French Embassy - Washington, DC): Stunningly beautiful wine. So deep and dark on the nose (concentrated plums and black cherries) with notes of incense sticks, mesquite, anise, fallen leaves. Plush yet rich, dense but expressive at the same time, the balance is on point, and while this is young and deserving of much more time, I loved how it showed. Notes of coffee, anise, dark chocolate - a lot more to come out for many years.
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5/7/2018 - baxter67 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Opened and double decanted 2 hours ahead. Drinking well now. Complex, fresh, structured, brambles, are words that come initially to mind. A powerful, concentrated smooth wine with backbone. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the next few years. ***(**)
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8/14/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Just now starting to show its true essence, this is the epitome of silk and velvet. Incredibly refined, with the opulence of the vintage, you can drink this now, if you like primary fruit paired with velvety textures. Or give it another 7 years of ago, for the truffles and dark chocolate that are sure to come.
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7/7/2017 - MarcelloW Likes this wine: 94 Points
Rich and powerful with a lush dark fruit. Opened up and gained a lot with two hours of air. Another 09 which is already in it's early drinking window.
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5/26/2017 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
Valmy dinner. Caramel and mouth puckering bitter tannins overpowering right now, but enjoyed floral notes and lushness.
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5/19/2017 - Zweder wrote: 95 Points
Occasional dinner group: Riesling GG and Top Pomerol (@ Zarzo): One note for the 2009 Trotanoy, VCC and Conseillante. The Trotanoy already shows some development and creamy dark and red berries. On the palate a full bodied and expressive wine with juicy red berries, good acidity and round tannin. Truly great already. The VCC is the most classical, has some coffee and mocha in the bouquet and on the palate firm and even some green impressions. A great and complex wine, but it probably needs many more years to show all of its finesse. Like the VCC the Conseillante is still too young. Also some green impressions, firm acidity and tannin. For the moment the Trotanoy is the biggest treat: 96. The VCC and Conseillante both hold a promise and might score 96+ as well, but for the moment I scored them 95.
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5/17/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Tobacco, cherry, plum and truffle, with a hint of floral notes are the first thing you notice. Next, you move to a refined, silky sensuously, textured, fresh sensation of ripe, sweet, plums and black cherries. There is a beautiful, purity to the fruit in the finish that makes you want to return to your glass for another sniff, sip and swallow. This is quite nice to drink now, if you like young wines, but I am letting mine rest for at least another 7 years or so, give or take.
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5/2/2017 - LWI wrote: 92 Points
23 Vintages of Château La Conseillante 1947-2011: Warmish, toffee (!), not very expressive, some ash, a hint of sweetness; not the most delineated, a little blurred edges.
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9/15/2016 - Smart Likes this wine: 95 Points
Medium-bodied, medium rim width with opaque core. It needs not air for minutes with nose of blackberries. Tasted silky and have a nice balance of fruit, acidity and oak with long finish. Great for now.
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4/28/2016 - Comte Flaneur wrote: 95 Points
According to conventional wisdom the 2009 La Conseillante is 1989 La Conseillante Mark II. I think that is tommyrot because the style of this chateau has fundamentally changed from making precocious and seductive wines in the 1980s to making more serious and brooding wines in the 2000s. In fact I put this view to Jean-Valmy and he agreed. The 2009 is approachable, but is rich, dense and powerful, with sumptuous plummy and chocolatey notes, which obliterate any more nuanced earthy tobacco notes, which may however evolve over time. So while this is drinkable now it will surely repay a decade in the cellar. 95 points with upside potential.
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4/25/2016 - JulianSkeels wrote: 95 Points
Rich chocolate, mocha and cassis - softening to black cherry and plum. Apparently in the style of the 89 but for me this is a much better wine than that although lacks the Conseillante characteristics the other wines showed today. Short on aromatics, but I think this will come good. Should drink well from 2020 and be at peak from 2025 (there’s lots of new oak showing that still needs to integrate) and hold a decade. However, it’s clearly outclassed by the superb 2010 for me. 94-95pts for now.
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4/24/2016 - BenBlu wrote: 90 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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7/2/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Earthy, truffle, chocolate, cocoa, wet forest floor, plum and licorice on the nose. The wine is pure silky and velvet, with lush plummy texture, fine tannins and a sweet, purity of fruit and freshness with a chocolate overtone in the finish. If you like wines on the young side, you can open a bottle. But you’ll be amply rewarded if you exercise another 7-10 years as this is really a super wine.
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4/23/2015 - MEKWINE Likes this wine: 94 Points
Goedhuis tasting at the Saatchi Gallery West London. With 2005 the WOTN, 2012 sublime and approachable, I think 2009 sits squarely in the middle as a more expressive and exuberant wine. It is rich, colourful, expressive, sumptuous and tad more in your face than '12 and the more quiet 2005. Showing more aromas and expression on the palate than most of the other Pomerols and less open Left Banks.
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3/3/2015 - William Kelley Likes this wine: 93 Points
The 2009 La Conseillante ranks just a bit behind the 2005, and stands in the shadow of the monumental and perfect 2010, but it is still a very creditable wine. The wine is quite open in the glass, with a flamboyant nose of black raspberry and cherry that is quite marked by its generous dose of creamy new oak, somewhat to the exclusion of La Conseillante's customary gravelly soil tones. On the palate the wine is supple and open, with good concentration and a nice finish, with no trace of unintegrated wood tannin as far as I could tell, so it would seem that the oak marks the nose more than the palate. This is just a bit less bright and classically-structured than some of the other La Conseillantes of the decade.
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5/2/2014 - Collector1855 wrote: 93 Points
Bordeaux 2009 vs. 2010 - Check in on 50 well known Chateaux: Dark purple. Discrete nose of dark and red fruit with the typical 2009 nose of toast, cedar wood, chocolate and a hint of earth. On the palate quite closed not revealing lots of aromas but soft. The finish is not particularly long today. I would put this in the “good but not great” bucket, which clearly is not enough given the 250$ retail price. It came in second last in the group in which several La Conseillante lovers were present. Part of that is though that this wine was more closed than others and therefore not yet delivered on the hedonistic front. (Group Score 94.0/RP96)
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12/8/2013 - Niagara wrote: 92 Points
Closed now, I think. Very tight.
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11/3/2013 - PC73 Likes this wine: 93 Points
unfortunately this is a bit closed on the nose at the moment.
palate has great fruit. lots of tannins, but soft acidity. well rounded.
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6/18/2013 - quaglia wrote: 89 Points
Bordeaux Vinexpo 2013 (Saint Estephe/Sauternes/Pomerol) (Bordeaux (F)): Full ruby red. At nose dominat notes of red fruit and toasted hints.
Coherent at taste, still with toasty notes. Well balanced with a nice subtle tannin.
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3/10/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 97 Points
Even though I just had this back in November I wanted to try it again to make sure it was as good as I thought. In short, it is. Same note as before but what is so wonderful about this wine is the purity, balance and incredibly lush mouthfeel. Ok, now I really will wait a few years to try the next bottle.
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11/21/2012 - johnh1001 wrote: 97 Points
Decanted and drank over 6 hours. Initially the nose was fairly closed, but slowly opened to reveal notes of violet, black and blue fruits and some chocolate. The palate is just wonderfully textured and is round and full in the mouth but not heavy. More sweet black, blue and red fruit. Some spice and a hint of tobacco. Silky but with structure. Long smooth finish.
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9/29/2012 - mmh wrote: 91 Points
Some red candy on the nose. Oaky but very good on the palate. Loads of fruit and red berries. Tannic and acidic. Clearly needs patience.
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5/30/2012 - DonalOB wrote: 95 Points
Grande Bordeaux Tasting, 2009 (Harbour Grand Kowloon, Hong Kong): Young but fresh, zingy and already complex.
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5/29/2012 - Tao wrote: 96 Points
Tasted at Vinexpo Asia 2012
Deep red in color! Sweet nose, toasted new oak, dark fruits, alluring, rich and deep! Absolutely smooth on the palate, rich fruits and long finish, full of spice! 96+
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5/12/2012 - Bisty Likes this wine: 95 Points
Le Week-end des Grands Crus (Bordeaux): Excellent fruit and minerality.
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5/10/2012 - pdwinter Likes this wine:
Gazzar Bordeaux Primeur 2011 Degustation (Zurich, Switzerland): Already a brown tinge on the rim, Nose shows ink, blackberry, medium intensity; taste is balanced, but strong, bread, a bit too "malbec"; Looooong finish, > 1 minute.
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1/31/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Chocolate, truffle, plums, black raspberry and an array of spicy scents drum up your interest. This round, rich, elegant Pomerol has the structure to age and evolve along with sensual textures. This assemblage of 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc is not far off from the level of wines produced at La Conseillante in 2005 or 2000!
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1/29/2012 - mike410 wrote: 92 Points
Union Des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Tasting (MONTREAL).
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1/27/2012 - lumpyelbow wrote:
Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2009 (Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, ON): In contention for WOTN with Clinet. Christmas spices in a thick, luxurious bath of fruit. Needs time.
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1/27/2012 - Vino Me wrote: 95 Points
2009 Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Tasting; 1/27/2012-1/31/2012 (Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Chicago, Illinois): 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc. Supple feel to this wine. The best Pomerol wine at the tasting and although I have not tried the 2000, this is my favorite Conseillante of the last 10 years. Floral aromas. Rich texture with red currents, leather and blueberry notes. Long finish. Full bodied. 94-96 points.
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1/26/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
UGC Bordeaux (Sheraton Hotel - Chicago IL): Floral start with very good spice along with black cherry, blackberry and hints of licorice, mushroom and dark chocolate. Same black fruit on the palate with slightly earthy flavors and textures, along with great Asian spice and black pepper on long finish. Good balance.
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1/26/2012 - Wine Sparty wrote: 95 Points
UGC 2009 Bordeaux Tasting (Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers): Heavy on the dark fruit upfront in the aroma. Nose is beautiful. Great balance of spice, dark fruit and oak. The taste follows up the aroma by being wonderful. Best wine of the night.
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1/25/2012 - amateurwino wrote: 94 Points
Returns to the refined style that I value from this chateau, much better than the ’08. Does show plushness, and feels a bit closed compared to other wines today but the lead pencil, mineral, and leafiness together with pretty, perfumed fruits hint as to a very bright future for this wine in my opinion – you just have to pay attention to the clues that peek out from behind this wine. 93-95 in the future.
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1/24/2012 - RockinCabs wrote:
Union Des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Tasting (New York, NY): Nose: Red Plum, Sweet Cherry, Chocolate and Flint. Palate: Cherry, Wild Blackberry and Truffle notes with a touch of herbs. Finish: Firm with black fruit and espresso.
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1/23/2012 - alanr wrote: 91 Points
UGC 2009 Bordeaux tasting San Francisco: Medium body, red fruit, touch of tartness, missing a little depth, elegant and more feminine. A second taste later showed more depth and structure, could be needed air.
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1/21/2012 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 94 Points
Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux 2009 Tasting K&L, nose of plum, black cherry, blackberry, allspice, and cedar, same on the palate, big body, delicious, needs 5 years to peak, mouth filling fruit, long, long finish, tasted twice today.
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11/12/2011 - Philippe_C wrote: 93 Points
Powerfull nose of black fruit, black chocolate, vanilla, almost volatile acidity... in the mouth, fresh dark fruit, hint of tannins, a nice lenght
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10/18/2011 - vespasian wrote: 96 Points
Subdued but shows hints of great fruit; gorgeous texture. Really fans out like a peacocks tail. Lots of depth/layers. Nuanced classy finish. 95-97
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7/8/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
La Conseillante bottled in early May is packed with fresh flowers, truffles, chocolate, oak and plum aromas. With textures of pure silk and velvet, this opulent Pomerol is filled with sweet black raspberry, plum and spice flavors. The wine ends with a long, fresh, sensuous black cherry filled finish. This is showing great for a wine that was recently bottled. My score could look stingy with more time in bottle.
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4/4/2011 - vespasian wrote: 96 Points
Lifted, perfumed pretty red fruits, very pure and opulent; Lovely texture and flavour. A delicious wine with supreme length.
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1/11/2011 - shaftlet wrote: 98 Points
UGC. My wine of the day (vintage)! Loads of ripe blue fruit as in so much of these 2009s. violet aromatics too. Mouth-coating. Gorgeous, gorgeous texture and a finish that lasted a minute+ WOW!
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9/1/2010 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
81% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc
Clean, pure and fresh fruit expression between blueberry and blackberry, blueberry compote, sea breeze. Excellent concentration and more complex fruit expression than the second wine. All components are in excellent harmony and very fresh.
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8/27/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
2009 La Conseillante, from 81% merlot and 19% cabernet franc, is never the deepest colored Pomerol. The nose is of flowers, spice, fennel, oak, plums, and dark berries. The wine has an intense freshness in the mouth that’s accompanied by a long, pure, sweet black cherry and licorice flavored finish. The wine comes in at 14.2% alcohol, but has no sensation of heat. 96/97 Pts
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7/6/2010 - Khamen wrote:
BR 2009 Bordeaux En Primeur Tasting (London): The Creature from the Black Lagoon! In ballet shoes!! A huge 14.2% monster that amazes by somehow keeping it's balance and even playing the elegance card with some aplomb. Don't even look at this for 20 years+ but will be a real stunner. One day...95-97
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7/5/2010 - iobtoel Likes this wine: 96 Points
Elegant, perfumed, well balanced. Excellent.
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5/11/2010 - il_diavolo wrote: 89 Points
I will have to re-taste this at some stage, as some way superior (than me) en primeur judges have given this major praise, but on the day it just didnt do it for me - I thought it was too jammy and in fact bordering on outright sweet - not my style.
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4/17/2010 - Goldstone wrote:
En Primeur Bordeaux 2009 Tasting (Crown Wine Cellars, Hong Kong): Tasted en primeur after roughly 6 months in the barrel. Really bright, attractive, opaque red/purple colour. Big legs on the swirl. Fresh-sawn wood nose. Palate is really unctuous, rounded and silky. Thick but not over-extracted. Coats the glass. This has a 1+ minute length and already exhibits some resonance in the head on the finish. By far the most complete wine of the 17 en primeurs sampled today. Wine of the day for me. "Excellent".
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4/13/2010 - DAN BAILEY wrote:
Barrel sample tasted at Conseillante vertical in London. Blend of 81% merlot, 19% cab franc. Amazing, fragrant, sensual, lifted, almost kinky nose of red/black fruits with violets, a touch of mint and loads of eucalyptus from the cab franc. On the palate, again red/black fruits, supple, medium bodied, precise with perfectly ripe, slightly spicy tannins.
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