Wine Advisor
La Conseillante 1995
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the La Conseillante vertical at Chez Bruce. This bottle of '95 just refused to come out an play, unlike previous examples. It had a very tight bouquet with touches of redcurrant and wild hedgerow, later developing more exotic scents of dried apricot and dates. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, obdurate tannins, a touch of spice box and truffle leading to a masculine cedar, tobacco and truffle-tinged finish. Stoic, but because this bottle should have been afforded more decanting, coalescing only after I had donated my score! Tasted December 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A very youthful, fresh, violet scented nose. Very rounded. Elegant black fruits and violets on the palate. Very pure extraction fruits with lush rounded tannins. It does lack some complexity mid-palate but there is an attractive fresh mint flourish on the finish. Tasted May 1998.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
One of Bordeaux's most compellingly seductive wines, La Conseillante's early charm can lead tasters to believe that the wine will not age. However, top vintages of La Conseillante can age for two decades, but they are often drunk immediately after bottling because of their expressive aromatics, velvety texture, and delicious fruit. La Conseillante's 1995 is dark ruby-colored with purple hues. It offers up a sweet, smoky, toasty, raspberry, cherry liqueur-scented nose that is impossible to resist. This medium-bodied, beautifully crafted, pure, ripe, generously-endowed wine possesses some tannin, but its flamboyant fruit and aromatics suggest early maturity, as well as 10-15 years of cellaring potential. It falls just short of being an outstanding effort for this chateau.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
La Conseillante's 1995 is dark ruby-colored with purple hues. It offers up a sweet, smoky, toasty, raspberry, cherry liqueur-scented nose that is impossible to resist. This medium-bodied, beautifully crafted, pure, ripe, generously-endowed wine possesses some tannin, but its flamboyant fruit and aromatics suggest early maturity, as well as 10-15 years of cellaring potential. It falls just short of being an outstanding effort for this chateau. Last tasted 11/97
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1995 exhibits a deep, dark ruby color, a ripe, smoky nose of minerals and black-raspberries and cherries. With its Burgundian-like (Richebourg?) nose, sweet, round flavors, excellent concentration, low acidity, and no hard edges to be found, this will make another tantalizing, silky-textured La Conseillante for drinking during its first decade of life. Beware of anyone who compares it with the exquisite 1990 and 1989. All of the wines in this segment were tasted between March 19 and March 28 in Bordeaux. Most of the important wines from both the 1994 and 1995 vintages were tasted three separate times during my ten-day stay in Bordeaux.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Ex-cellar bottle tasted at Bordeaux Index’s Conseillante dinner at The Ledbury. A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, it is the latter than dominates the nose at first with touches of pepper and underbrush, but then it reveals a more exotic side, crushed flowers, apricot jam and orange zest developing in the glass, then touches of kirsch and molasses. This is very complex and alluring. The palate is full-bodied, firm tannins and touch of Moroccan spice; wonderful vibrant black fruits with a tannic, roasted chestnut finish that goes on and on. Quintessential Pomerol. You could drink this now but I would prefer to leave it. Drink now-2020. Tasted December 2009.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
It is tempting to give this wine an outstanding score because of its seductiveness. However, I do not think it possesses quite the level of extract and concentration to merit an exceptional rating. Nevertheless, it is an extremely pleasing style of claret. The deep ruby color is followed by an open-knit, black cherry, raspberry, and smoky, roasted herb-scented nose. There is round, lush, ripe fruit, medium body, exceptional elegance and purity, and a soft, velvety-textured finish. Think of it as liquid charm and silk. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2014.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
The 1995 La Conseillante is now fully mature on the nose with brambly red fruit, black truffle and light copper piping aromas. It still feels cohesive and fresh, although I cannot see it improving with continued bottle age. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly rustic tannin that have softened in recent years. There is a pleasing plumpness to this La Conseillante, although it feels a little simplistic and rough-hewn towards the earthy, clove-infused finish. This is an enjoyable Pomerol but one that I would drink over the next five years. Tasted at La Conseillante vertical at the property.
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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