«Châteu La Conseillante»-Tasting @ Arvi, 14. March 2019
Tasting was set at Arvi showroom in Zürich; a stylish, modern, upscale lieu de plaisir, run by a smart, cautious and professional, yet welcoming and inviting crew. It was a very nice evening, with a charming host and Mme Directrice herself as special guest – a most enchanting special guest, I’d like to emphazise.
We were fortunate enough to savor the following beauties, all of which were excellent:
Château La Conseillante, 2016:
One of the best vintages ever produced at Château La Conseillante (go figure), this dark, intense wine is a 80% Merlot / 20% Cabarnet Franc split with an almost nappaesque feel to it. Fruit is concentrated and penetrating, i.e. pretty darn awesome. My guess is the merlot provided the black cherry and the cabarnet franc the haws.
However, compared to the voluptuous Nappa IG-model wines, you’ll find cooler stylistics here, more subdued and seductive rather than teasing. This provides an avenue for a certain minerality (apparently this isn’t an English word, but I like and will use it nonetheless). Which in turn adds to the complexity and enjoyment.
Once this wine develops more secondary and in particular tertiary aromas, I think you’ll have an opus magnum (double pun point for me) on your hands. All things considered, I’ll go up to a whopping 98+.
Château La Conseillante, 2009:
A similar split as the 2016 (81%/19%) this is driven by darker flavors, like cassis, licorice, violet. Strong but in no way primitive. There are three things that let 2009 stand out: The incredibly silky tannins which are so well integrated, they truly melt once put them in your facehole. And then, again, the minerality, which, in my book, was very strong for a red, but again, not brute or violent but instead providing a phenomenal structure. And third, there were hints of almonds to be found, which was surprising and kinda cool. Minerality is the real MVP here. And it helps to reach 96 points.
Château La Conseillante, 2005:
I felt like this was Mme Directrices personal favorite; and who am I to argue? To me, it had a similar quality and structure to 2016 but of course more subdued, more secondary and in particular tertiary aromas like truffle, forest berries (again, is this an English word? Waldbeeren is what I’m going for) and soubois (or sottobosco in Italian, as I learned and which has a nice ring to it). Since the winemaker liked it so much, I’ll quote: “what makes the 2005 vintage stand out is all the balances have been ratcheted up: more sugar, more colour, more acidity, more tannins”. More of everything. But not more points than 2016. I’ll go with 97.
Château La Conseillante, 2001:
Fruit was almost completely gone here, in my very humble opinion, winemaker said it was still fresh though, so I’d trust her, not me. To me it was a bit unspectacular, a little watery, cause the absence of fruit did not coincide with strong tertiary aromas. Pleasant, sure, and some might prefer this to the more bootylicious vintages, but to me this was lacking (in comparison, it is obviously still a top wine). The blurb reads great though: “Bright, garnet robe. Wonderfully complex, the nose sports cherry, violet and animal notes The attack on the palate is smooth and fruity, but then elegant tannins take over to make it bigger. The finish is mellow, concluding with the first notes of evolution, such as leather.” Meh. I’ll go with 92 points.
Château La Conseillante, 1995:
Now we are entering what I’d call old Bordeaux, you know, stable, saddle, humid earth and smoky oak. Suave, good length and well-integrated tannins but maybe already a bit of birrewegge (ok, this one is not to be translated, “pear pastry” is too weird, even for me) and perhaps even a hint of oxidation. I think this one is almost gone and its touches of tabacco and cedar couldn’t save it. Unlike the German flak, this has no armor-piercing capacities. But like the German flak, this is an 88.
Château La Conseillante, 1990 (magnum):
Clearly better than 1995 in my book. Very tertiary but not gone, not birreweg and not maggi. Instead, and this was a nice surprise for me cause I haven’t really identified this flavor as precise before, I tasted Coca-Cola. Like, not canned or bottled Coke but rather McDonalds syrup(py) Coke. So a bit sweeter, a bit staler. Have you ever had those bonbons formed like a frog that taste like Coke. Kinda like that. Neal Marti compared it to 1989 and wrote: “It will never quite match the 1989, but hey, don’t hold that against this beauty.” Going with the flow, I’ll give 89 (instead of the 90 it probably deserves) points.
Château La Conseillante 1985 and 1982 (both magnum) :
The crowd was very pleased with these two, impressed even and they seemed to give quite the ratings. I finna be honest tho, I was getting tipsy at this point and my focus shifted from subtle appreciation to where can I dance, please? So I withhold any further commentary and rating and finish with the conclusion, that La Conseillante is an impressive Pomerol Chateau with a history as rich as their wines are amazeballs. 10/10, would visit.
What we talked about:
The discussion was led by the host and the winemaker (and very well led at that) and revolved around the minutiae and intricacies of wine making in Pomerol, which I enjoyed – and learned from - a lot. My favorite tidbit was when la Directrice told us, that her first teacher wouldn’t let her near the wine cellar cause “women turn wine into vinegar”. I lol’d at that, not only cause she obviously is such a fantastic talent but moreso, cause this was what.. 20 years ago max? But it feels like something from an era where stegosaurus roamed the earth. Time really has different ways of passing. Also, I would like to meet that dude, just for shits and giggles.
My first review, please bear with me, dear reader.
The enchanting charm of this admirable Grenache is composed of its very precise strawberry aroma, its elegant finesse in both bouquet and taste and its structure; which is upward soaring, following sprawling, decorative lines and yet remains svelte and focused. Were this structure to be translated into another aspect of western culture, it’d remind me of Jugendstil/art nouveau: think contoured, brandished lines and twining shapes, think Gaudi or – if your into obscure Swiss references – the poster for le chat noir.
If a red wine can be described as red, this one is. There is hardly any blue or black in it, it is condensed red, it is strawberry and a little framboise. If Milkas yogurt strawberry chocolate would cost 200+ bucks, it’d might approach this taste. To add another nondescript metaphor: I’d imagine that Botticelli’s Venus or Klimt’s Danae would taste close to this, if you could melt those paintings down and bottle them up. (Creepy Jean-Baptiste Grenouille much?)
What really puts this beauty over the top though, is the lengthy and lingering finish – one sip and you’ll dance under the crisp and clear sky and blazing sun of 2013 for at least ten cadences.
I am nothing but an amateur, a puny dabbler, but boy do I love wine. And nectar like this is the reason why. It’s not just the sumptuous hylic experience, it’s the cerebral thrill just as much.
What we talked about: My friend and I were actually playing a nerdy pen and paper game, so most of the conversation evolved around the best strategy to take down a moldy cave of living corpses and the like, as well as more tactical talk about the correct timing of invisibility cloaks and poisoned daggers. And yes, we managed to take down this mötley crüe of rotten foes with our very last effort. Good times.
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2016 Château La Conseillante
3/14/2019 - Laschtig Likes this wine: 98 Points
«Châteu La Conseillante»-Tasting @ Arvi, 14. March 2019
Tasting was set at Arvi showroom in Zürich; a stylish, modern, upscale lieu de plaisir, run by a smart, cautious and professional, yet welcoming and inviting crew. It was a very nice evening, with a charming host and Mme Directrice herself as special guest – a most enchanting special guest, I’d like to emphazise.
We were fortunate enough to savor the following beauties, all of which were excellent:
Château La Conseillante, 2016:
One of the best vintages ever produced at Château La Conseillante (go figure), this dark, intense wine is a 80% Merlot / 20% Cabarnet Franc split with an almost nappaesque feel to it. Fruit is concentrated and penetrating, i.e. pretty darn awesome. My guess is the merlot provided the black cherry and the cabarnet franc the haws.
However, compared to the voluptuous Nappa IG-model wines, you’ll find cooler stylistics here, more subdued and seductive rather than teasing. This provides an avenue for a certain minerality (apparently this isn’t an English word, but I like and will use it nonetheless). Which in turn adds to the complexity and enjoyment.
Once this wine develops more secondary and in particular tertiary aromas, I think you’ll have an opus magnum (double pun point for me) on your hands. All things considered, I’ll go up to a whopping 98+.
Château La Conseillante, 2009:
A similar split as the 2016 (81%/19%) this is driven by darker flavors, like cassis, licorice, violet. Strong but in no way primitive. There are three things that let 2009 stand out: The incredibly silky tannins which are so well integrated, they truly melt once put them in your facehole. And then, again, the minerality, which, in my book, was very strong for a red, but again, not brute or violent but instead providing a phenomenal structure. And third, there were hints of almonds to be found, which was surprising and kinda cool. Minerality is the real MVP here. And it helps to reach 96 points.
Château La Conseillante, 2005:
I felt like this was Mme Directrices personal favorite; and who am I to argue? To me, it had a similar quality and structure to 2016 but of course more subdued, more secondary and in particular tertiary aromas like truffle, forest berries (again, is this an English word? Waldbeeren is what I’m going for) and soubois (or sottobosco in Italian, as I learned and which has a nice ring to it). Since the winemaker liked it so much, I’ll quote: “what makes the 2005 vintage stand out is all the balances have been ratcheted up: more sugar, more colour, more acidity, more tannins”. More of everything. But not more points than 2016. I’ll go with 97.
Château La Conseillante, 2001:
Fruit was almost completely gone here, in my very humble opinion, winemaker said it was still fresh though, so I’d trust her, not me. To me it was a bit unspectacular, a little watery, cause the absence of fruit did not coincide with strong tertiary aromas. Pleasant, sure, and some might prefer this to the more bootylicious vintages, but to me this was lacking (in comparison, it is obviously still a top wine). The blurb reads great though: “Bright, garnet robe. Wonderfully complex, the nose sports cherry, violet and animal notes The attack on the palate is smooth and fruity, but then elegant tannins take over to make it bigger. The finish is mellow, concluding with the first notes of evolution, such as leather.” Meh. I’ll go with 92 points.
Château La Conseillante, 1995:
Now we are entering what I’d call old Bordeaux, you know, stable, saddle, humid earth and smoky oak. Suave, good length and well-integrated tannins but maybe already a bit of birrewegge (ok, this one is not to be translated, “pear pastry” is too weird, even for me) and perhaps even a hint of oxidation. I think this one is almost gone and its touches of tabacco and cedar couldn’t save it. Unlike the German flak, this has no armor-piercing capacities. But like the German flak, this is an 88.
Château La Conseillante, 1990 (magnum):
Clearly better than 1995 in my book. Very tertiary but not gone, not birreweg and not maggi. Instead, and this was a nice surprise for me cause I haven’t really identified this flavor as precise before, I tasted Coca-Cola. Like, not canned or bottled Coke but rather McDonalds syrup(py) Coke. So a bit sweeter, a bit staler. Have you ever had those bonbons formed like a frog that taste like Coke. Kinda like that. Neal Marti compared it to 1989 and wrote: “It will never quite match the 1989, but hey, don’t hold that against this beauty.” Going with the flow, I’ll give 89 (instead of the 90 it probably deserves) points.
Château La Conseillante 1985 and 1982 (both magnum) :
The crowd was very pleased with these two, impressed even and they seemed to give quite the ratings. I finna be honest tho, I was getting tipsy at this point and my focus shifted from subtle appreciation to where can I dance, please? So I withhold any further commentary and rating and finish with the conclusion, that La Conseillante is an impressive Pomerol Chateau with a history as rich as their wines are amazeballs. 10/10, would visit.
What we talked about:
The discussion was led by the host and the winemaker (and very well led at that) and revolved around the minutiae and intricacies of wine making in Pomerol, which I enjoyed – and learned from - a lot. My favorite tidbit was when la Directrice told us, that her first teacher wouldn’t let her near the wine cellar cause “women turn wine into vinegar”. I lol’d at that, not only cause she obviously is such a fantastic talent but moreso, cause this was what.. 20 years ago max? But it feels like something from an era where stegosaurus roamed the earth. Time really has different ways of passing.
Also, I would like to meet that dude, just for shits and giggles.
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2013 Clos Erasmus Priorat
1/20/2019 - Laschtig Likes this wine: 96 Points
My first review, please bear with me, dear reader.
The enchanting charm of this admirable Grenache is composed of its very precise strawberry aroma, its elegant finesse in both bouquet and taste and its structure; which is upward soaring, following sprawling, decorative lines and yet remains svelte and focused.
Were this structure to be translated into another aspect of western culture, it’d remind me of Jugendstil/art nouveau: think contoured, brandished lines and twining shapes, think Gaudi or – if your into obscure Swiss references – the poster for le chat noir.
If a red wine can be described as red, this one is. There is hardly any blue or black in it, it is condensed red, it is strawberry and a little framboise. If Milkas yogurt strawberry chocolate would cost 200+ bucks, it’d might approach this taste.
To add another nondescript metaphor: I’d imagine that Botticelli’s Venus or Klimt’s Danae would taste close to this, if you could melt those paintings down and bottle them up. (Creepy Jean-Baptiste Grenouille much?)
What really puts this beauty over the top though, is the lengthy and lingering finish – one sip and you’ll dance under the crisp and clear sky and blazing sun of 2013 for at least ten cadences.
I am nothing but an amateur, a puny dabbler, but boy do I love wine. And nectar like this is the reason why. It’s not just the sumptuous hylic experience, it’s the cerebral thrill just as much.
What we talked about: My friend and I were actually playing a nerdy pen and paper game, so most of the conversation evolved around the best strategy to take down a moldy cave of living corpses and the like, as well as more tactical talk about the correct timing of invisibility cloaks and poisoned daggers. And yes, we managed to take down this mötley crüe of rotten foes with our very last effort. Good times.
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