Wine Advisor
La Conseillante 1990
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
How much fun millionaires will have debating the virtues of the 1989 versus the 1990 La Conseillante! The latter is deep ruby/purple, with a sexy nose of exotic spices, sweet black fruits, and new oak. It displays La Conseillante's creamy/velvety texture, gobs of rich raspberry fruit, exceptional concentration, and a suave, superb finish that goes on and on. It will provide memorable drinking young, yet should age beautifully for 20 or more years. Anticipated maturity: 1994-2012. Last tasted, 8/93.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The La Conseillante 1990 continues to deliver again and again. Here, it has a gorgeous and unashamed voluptuous bouquet where the marine element, here suggestions of brine and kelp, are more accentuated than previous examples. The palate is finely balanced with a supremely well-judged seam of acidity embroidered through the sumptuous fruit. There are plenty of macerated dark cherries mixed with mulberry and a little sandalwood, the finish perhaps just a little more "brusque" than previous examples. But this remains a gorgeous La Conseillante - a benchmark for that era, and this is one of the best bottles that I have tasted. Tasted December 2013.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This deep ruby/garnet-hued 1990 reveals considerable amber at the edge as well as a knock-out bouquet of cedar, kirsch, licorice, roasted herbs, and spice box. An exuberant, atypically flamboyant effort, it possesses supple texture, medium to full body, sweet fruit, plenty of glycerin, and attractive melted tannin. This wine has been delicious since birth, but additional nuances continue to develop in the bottle. Drink it over the next decade. Release price: ($390.00/case)
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1989 and the 1990 La Conseillante are this property's greatest efforts since their 1949. How much fun millionaires will have debating the virtues of the 1989 versus the 1990! Deep ruby/purple, with a sexy nose of exotic spices, sweet black fruits, and new oak, the 1990 displays La Conseillante's creamy/velvety texture, gobs of rich fruit, exceptional concentration, and a suave, superb finish that goes on and on. It will provide memorable drinking young, yet should age beautifully for 20 or more years. A stunning performance, it is even more profound than the dazzling 1989. The 1989 and 1990 may be the finest and richest La Conseillantes made since 1945. Anticipated maturity: 1994-2012.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the La Conseillante vertical at Chez Bruce. This has a lovely, sensual, rustic, ferrous bouquet with touches of creme de cassis and dried flowers, wafting fragrantly from the glass in a flowing cape of warm alcohol. The palate is medium-bodied with a very savoury, Cabernet Franc dominated entry, fine tannins, very well balanced with a tannic, ferrous finish the lingers beautifully with touches of sage and allspice. Lovely in an exotic way. Tasted December 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Again, a magnum served at the chateau. A mature appearance with distinct tawny rim. A very attractive, fragrant nose of cherry, stewed fig and dates. Not as intense as I expected. The medium-bodied palate has quite low acidity, soft summer fruits, cherry, redcurrants with a slightly bretty, animally note towards the finish. Very mellow, perhaps not as much vigor as I expected but still very fine. Tasted April 2006.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
In this recent blind tasting, the 1990 triumphed over what seemed to be the slightly subdued, more tightly knit, atypically backward 1989. The 1990 was exhibiting all of its charms, with its deep ruby color, and flamboyant display of toasty new oak, black-cherries, raspberries, kirsch, licorice, and Asian spices. Velvety-textured, supple, sexy, and easy to drink, the low acid 1990 La Conseillante is about as seductive a wine as readers will ever encounter. It admirably demonstrates why Pomerols are often called the Burgundies of Bordeaux. As flamboyant as the 1990 is, it remains youthful, in spite of its low acid, precocious showing. While it can be drunk now, it will continue to develop for another 12-20 years. The 1989 and 1990 wines represent La Conseillante's quintessential smooth as silk style, which often leads consumers to believe the wines will not last. I remember feeling the same way about the 1982 (which never tasted as stunning as either the 1989 or 1990). That wine continues to get better and better. One of the unexplainable facts of Bordeaux wine drinking is that even the softer, delicious, up-front wines can age impeccably when well-stored. Owners of the 1989 and 1990 La Conseillantes should not hesitate to enjoy them now, as well as over the next 20 years.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Tasted 8 Times Since Bottling With Consistent Notes How much fun millionaires will have debating the virtues of the 1989 versus the 1990 La Conseillante! The latter is deep ruby/purple, with a sexy nose of exotic spices, sweet black fruits, and new oak. It displays La Conseillante's creamy/velvety texture, gobs of rich raspberry fruit, exceptional concentration, and a suave, superb finish that goes on and on. It will provide memorable drinking young, yet should age beautifully for 20 or more years. Anticipated maturity: 1994-2012. I have high hopes that the 1989 and 1990 will prove to be as awesome and ageworthy as the 1949.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
One of the all-time great La Conseillantes, this wine, which to me has similarities to a grand cru Burgundy from the likes of Henri Jayer, still has a deep ruby/purple color and an exotic, even flamboyant bouquet of vanilla, kirsch liqueur, raspberries, licorice, and Asian spice. Full-bodied, very opulent, with low acidity, yet consistently a velvety-textured, full-bodied mouthful, this endearing, very seductive wine clearly demonstrated why Pomerols are often called the “Burgundies of Bordeaux.” The wine still seems surprisingly youthful despite its accessibility, and should continue to develop for up to another 10-15 years. Anticipated maturity: Now-2018. Last tasted, 12/02.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
From this beautifully situated vineyard on the plateau of Pomerol, adjacent to the appellation of St.-Emilion, another superb wine has emerged. Deep ruby/purple, with a sexy nose of exotic spices, sweet black fruits, and new oak, the wine displays La Conseillante's creamy/velvety texture, gobs of rich fruit, exceptional concentration, and a suave, superb finish that goes on and on. Much like other top vintages of La Conseillante, the 1990 will provide memorable drinking young, yet should age beautifully for 20 or more years. A stunning performance, it should ultimately prove to be a worthy rival to the profound 1989. Anticipated maturity: 1996-2012.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted from an ex-cellar double magnum, this has a sweet coconut and almond tinged nose with touches of cassis and loganberry all cloaked in a haze of warm alcohol. The palate is fully mature with fine acidity cutting through those rounded, voluptuous black summer fruits that show less volatility than many Right Banks of its alumni. Low acidity as expected, hints of tobacco developing towards the finish that juxtapose nicely with that exotic, lascivious bouquet. It would appear that large formats are certainly less developed than smaller. Drink now-2020. Tasted December 2009.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The only problem that the 1990 Château La Conseillante has faced is that it had to follow up the brilliant 1989. Here, tasted directly against the previous vintage, it seems more youthful in color than the 1989. The nose races out of the blocks, more precocious than I remember and yet never losing focus, offering kirsch, crushed violets and still that subtle marine influence. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly grainy tannin. It offers wonderful black truffle, morels and mulberry fruit, as powerful as the 1989, albeit not quite with the same precision on the finish. It is the purity of the La Conseillante that wins you over time and time again, and I would not hesitate in enjoying this Pomerol over the next decade. It will never quite match the 1989, but hey, don't hold that against this beauty. Tasted January 2016.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
The 1990 La Conseillante is a vintage that I have tasted several times. The most recent bottle was opened at a private dinner in Bordeaux and mirrored previous showings. It has a precocious, slightly blurred bouquet with kirsch and wilted violets scents noted on previous bottles. The palate is full-bodied for a Pomerol, sensual with an underlying wild mint note that surfaces with time. Traits of black truffle continue to come through on the plush and sensual finish although it is becoming a little loose-knit with bottle age, especially compared to the regal 1989. It will not improve further unless you are lucky enough to own large formats. Tasted at a private dinner in Bordeaux.
About the Producer
Chateau La Conseillante is located in the Pomerol appellation on the right bank of Bordeaux, France, next to Vieux Chateau Certan and Chateau L'Evangile, and is one of the best châteaux in Pomerol. The vineyard covers an area of 11.8 hectares with a topsoil of 60% grey clay and 40% gravel and a subsoil of red clay rich in iron. The vineyard is planted with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The Merlot is planted mainly on clay plots, while the Cabernet Franc is planted mainly on gravel. The average age of the vines is 35 years and the planting density is 7,000 vines per hectare. The winery uses traditional vineyard management practices, eliminating the use of herbicides. During the growing season, the land is usually plowed four times to suppress weed growth and thus obtain more water for the vines. In the winter, the vines are pruned in a strict Simple Guyot and Double Guyot style. In addition, the vineyards are de-leafed and de-budded to keep yields at around 4,000 liters per hectare. At harvest time, the grapes are hand-picked to their optimum ripeness and a preliminary selection is carried out. Once the selection is complete, the grapes are transported in small batches to the winery to prevent crushing of the fruit. The winery is located in the heart of the vineyard, which shortens the transportation time and ensures that the grapes are fresh and ready for fermentation. In 2012, the winery added a new fermentation room with enough temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks to ferment the grapes from each of the 18 plots separately, combining traditional winemaking techniques with modern technology. In addition, the winery now has four sorting tables and a de-stemmer. After being transferred to barrels, the grapes undergo a cold maceration of 48 to 96 hours. After maceration, the must is fermented in barrels with the skins for 1 week, followed by a further 1 to 2 weeks of maceration. At the end of fermentation, some of the artesian wine is released first and the remaining lees are pressed through a vertical press. The pressed wines are aged separately, and only some of the best pressed wines are blended with the artesian wines. Before bottling, the wines are matured in oak barrels for approximately 18 months, 50% to 80% of which are new. During maturation, the wines are decanted by the winemakers every three months and finally clarified with egg whites.
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