Wine Advisor
La Conseillante 2002
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
An unexpectedly uninspiring effort from this estate, this light to medium-bodied 2002 has a flat middle as well as a fading finish. It revealed more fruit and depth at one tasting, but overall it does not appear to be one of the top La Conseillantes produced. It will need to be consumed during its first 7-8 years of life.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the La Conseillante vertical at Chez Bruce. There was a bit of controversy over this wine as to the extent of TCA. I think there was a slight taint, but even so this is not a great modern-day La Conseillante. It sports a dark garnet core. The nose is soft but well defined with blackberry, mulberry, hints of sage and wild mushroom in the background. The Cabernet Franc is very subtle here, lending touches of bacon fat and Italian salami into the aromatics that lacks a little focus. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, something slightly saline about the entry, crisp acidity lending freshness and vitality with cedar and black pepper towards the smudged finish. Tasted December 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Good depth on the nose: perhaps too much oak with lots of black fruits, spice and musk (?) The palate is balanced with good weight: quite muscular, though a little thin on the finish. Tasted again in June 2003, I am a little concerned about level of oak on the nose as it seemed more confectionary, like walking into an old sweet shop. Becoming a bit more tarry and spicy than last time, this is still a decent Pomerol wine for the vintage. Then after bottling in October 2004: a soft, earthy nose that appears to have shed some of its excessive oak. The palate has good concentration with well-integrated oak. Lots of plum and pure blackberry. Still a bit brusque on the finish, but it improved in the glass. But still not as great as other vintages and I prefer their 2003.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Farr’s 2002 Bordeaux tasting. This has a lifted, floral nose with good expression of fruit: blueberry, blackberry, iodine and a touch of violets. Medium-bodied with firm structure, crisp Merlot fruit here, nice vibrant acidity although it is just lacking a little focus on the finish. Overall, this is a good effort, although I would give it another year or two in bottle. Tasted October 2009.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Austere, lean, light-bodied, and lacking concentration as well as depth, the 2002 is a pleasant, picnic-styled Pomerol to consume over the next 5-6 years.
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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