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OMG! One of the most exciting wines of the vintage, we absolutely loved it! 28 days of harvest time between 7th September and 2nd October for just 12 ha supports wine director Marielle Cazaux’s statement that this was not a vintage to rush. The end result is a totally joyous wine, which just flows throughout. A brilliant opaque colour, smoky spiced nose, violets and morello cherry. The plump generosity and combination of red and dark fruits caress the tongue, all flowing harmoniously. The juiciness and rich silky texture of fruit envelops the ripe tannins. A simply deliciously wine; in fact, a little beauty full of happiness!
The 2023 La Conseillante had been bottled in May. This certainly benefitted from a few minutes' aeration, gaining clarity with blackberry, blueberry, dried, wilted flowers and touches of crushed stone, the 12% Cabernet Franc imparting light pepperiness. The palate is medium-bodied and perhaps demonstrates a little more backbone than out of barrel. Firm grip, a touch of chalkiness in texture toward the finish, with a very long finish. This delivers. Drink 2028-2042
The 2023 La Conseillante had been bottled in May. This certainly benefitted from a few minutes' aeration, gaining clarity with blackberry, blueberry, dried, wilted flowers and touches of crushed stone, the 12% Cabernet Franc imparting light pepperiness. The palate is medium-bodied and perhaps demonstrates a little more backbone than out of barrel. Firm grip, a touch of chalkiness in texture toward the finish, with a very long finish. This delivers. Drink 2028-2042
The 2023 La Conseillante is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Medium in body and silky, with exceptional balance, the 2023 impresses from start to finish. Crushed flowers, lavender, spice, mocha and tobacco are some of the many nuances that emerge over time. More than anything else, the 2023 impresses with its balance and total class. It's a wine that marries the elegance of La Conseillante with a bit more mid-palate resonance and sustain through the finish than some recent vintages. Yields were 43 hectoliters per hectare. Élevage consists of 70% new oak, 27% used barrels and 3% amphora. Drink 2033-2063.
One of the great wines of the vintage, and one that can rival its 2022 counterpart, the 2023 La Conseillante wafts from the glass with a strikingly floral bouquet of violets, lilac, raspberries, exotic spices, candied orange, pipe tobacco and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, supple and fleshy, its textural attack segues into a layered and enveloping core of pure, vibrant fruit framed by sweet tannins and concluding with a long, precise finish. It's a blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, some 30% of which is maturing in amphorae. Harvest began on September 7, lasting until October 2, block by block.
Wow. What beauty, elegance and length in this young wine, with medium body and vivid, bright acidity that gives energy and greater length. The tannins are extremely fine-grained, with an endless, silky texture. Another al-dente wine with brilliance. Goes on for minutes. 88% merlot and 12% cabernet franc.
Winemaker Marielle Cazaux explained that La Conseillante’s winery is starting to resemble a doll’s house because of the number of small fermentation vessels they use. This makes perfect sense as this property endeavours to maintain its record of making some of the very finest wines on Earth. She also goes through her vines at harvest, performing multiple picks like the Sauternes Châteaux seek individual bunches, each at their absolute peak of perfection. So, La Conseillante does not harvest its grapes anymore. It mini-harvests over and over again. This extreme attention to the quality of fruit is borne out in the profound depth of flavour found in this wine. When you taste this wine, you geo-locate its precise location and its implicitly linked flavours – making it indelibly unique – and in 2023, the nose is so fresh and dynamic it defies convention. I wrote the word ‘phenomenal’ in my notes four times, demonstrating a distinct lack of vocabulary or a wine with a flavour that bears repetition. Apparently, the blend was ‘easy’, and it was made in January, so it has been complete for a few months ahead of my tasting. Marielle credits nine years of effort and sacrifice in the vineyard to reach a point where its perfume can be this rewarding. The fruit is typically layered and indulgent, and then the tannins enter the room. I try in vain to locate my jaw, which dropped minutes ago and is missing in action. Weirdly, I wrote down a heap of fruit descriptors which look simplistic on re-reading, and I will leave you with this much simpler and, I hope, much more impactful image. The flavours of this wine, as deep as the Mariana Trench and every bit as dramatic, are the same temper and hue as the capsules sitting atop this legendary wine. It is difficult not to award a perfect score to this tremendous wine, but I will stick with my score and reserve the right to tweak it when I revisit this flavour once this wine is bottled.
OMG! One of the most exciting wines of the vintage, we absolutely loved it! 28 days of harvest time between 7th September and 2nd October for just 12 ha supports wine director Marielle Cazaux’s statement that this was not a vintage to rush. The end result is a totally joyous wine, which just flows throughout. A brilliant opaque colour, smoky spiced nose, violets and morello cherry. The plump generosity and combination of red and dark fruits caress the tongue, all flowing harmoniously. The juiciness and rich silky texture of fruit envelops the ripe tannins. A simply deliciously wine; in fact, a little beauty full of happiness!
The small sub-region of Pomerol is situated north-east of the industrious city of Libourne. Pomerol's soils are predominately iron-rich clay with a smattering of gravel that produce wines with extraordinary power and depth. As a result of this clay-dominance, it has the highest percentage of Merlot planted in all of Bordeaux. Certain châteaux are produced exclusively from this grape, but most incorporate smaller quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc as well. Despite its hefty (if not exclusive) proportion of Merlot, many people think of wines from this region as separate entities. As one wine aficionado stated recently, "It's not Merlot. It's Pomerol." Despite the region's small size, Pomerol contains some of the world's most sought after (and expensive) wines including Pétrus, Le Pin, Lafleur, l'Evangile and Vieux Château Certan. Unlike other Bordelais subregions, there is no system of classification. The châteaux are traded on reputation alone.
