Wine Advisor
La Conseillante 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2005 La Conseillante is a rich, heady Pomerol. Crème de cassis, lavender, chocolate, leather, espresso, licorice and sweet French oak infuse the 2005 with tremendous character. The 2005 is, naturally, a wine of its era. There is quite a bit of extraction and tannin, and yet the wine has aged impeccably. Time in the glass brings out energy and aromatic lift to round things out nicely. The 2005 just got better and better with time, so I suggest giving it a good bit of air. I would prefer to drink it over the next decade or so.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Tasted after the Clos L'Eglise, the 2005 La Conseillante simply has more of everything. More richness, body and texture, but at the same time, there is a striking element of underlying minerality that confers freshness. The Conseillante is one of the riper wines of the night, yet all the elements are very much in the right place. A host of dark, jammy flavors meld into the effortless, flamboyant finish, where a kick of sweetness from the French oak adds the closing nuances. What a gorgeous wine this is.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2005 La Conseillante is blessed with a truly fabulous, multi-faceted bouquet with layers of redcurrant and cranberry, rose petals, truffle oil, orange rind and hints of Dorset plum. The aromatics here are the most impressive...thus far. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin and a keen line of acidity, fresh and more saline in the mouth compared to the 2004, also with greater mineralité towards the finish. Now we are beginning to see the precision that the property is known for today and you have to stand back and admire the persistence, residues of spice lingering forty-five seconds after the wine has bid adieu. This is evolving with consummate grace and style. Tasted at La Conseillante vertical at the property.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright, medium red-ruby. Superripe, complex aromas of kirsch, musky espresso, fruity dark chocolate, spices and game. Wonderfully lush, sweet, dense and ripe; in fact, atypically large-scaled (this is 13.7% alcohol) and full for La Conseillante but perfectly framed by harmonious acidity. The light meaty quality is buried in dark fruits on the palate. The spreading, horizontal finish is very sweet, subtle and long, with fine-grained tannins and lovely lingering aromatic perfume. This beauty will be great fun to follow over the next couple of decades.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(aged in 100% new oak) Bright ruby-red. Knockout nose combines sappy raspberry, violet and sweet oak. A compellingly sweet, opulent fruit bomb framed and intensified by lively acidity. Showing more coffee and chocolate than floral character-no surprise as this wine is very ripe, with a pH of 3.89. A big wine with a serious tannic structure and very good verve on the back.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc) Good bright ruby-red. Subtle, fresh aromas of black cherry and violet. Sweet on entry, then juicy and pure, with a hint of menthol to the raspberry and spice flavors. Not particularly showy today, as the acids and the tannins have not yet harmonized, but the middle palate is quite suave and round. This initially struck me as like an underripe version of the 2005 Cheval Blanc, but the wine gained in texture and sweetness as it opened in the glass. A lovely combination of silky texture and floral lift. This will probably be slow to evolve in bottle: wait until 2014.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Displaying spectacular aromatics of mulberry, blueberry and raspberry fruit, a dense ruby/purple color, and sweet floral notes, in the mouth the 2005 La Conseillante is not as broad and powerful as Petrus, Trotanoy, Hosanna or Lafleur, but it is gorgeously silky, elegant and stylish. This medium-bodied, savory wine is a graceful, provocative and compelling Pomerol to drink now and over the next 25 years.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
La Conseillante’s superb 2005 appears capable of rivaling their 2000, 1990, 1989, and 1982. A deep ruby/purple color is accompanied by a sweet perfume of black raspberries, vanilla, licorice, and hints of earth and pepper. Spicy, plush, and elegant with a classic floral component, superb concentration, beautiful purity, medium body, sweet tannin, and an overall sense of finesse (despite its intense richness and fruit), it will be approachable in 4-5 years, and will keep for two decades or more.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the La Conseillante vertical at Chez Bruce. The 2005 Conseillante has a very intense bouquet, although you know that it will have much more to offer in 10-15 years. Very fine delineation (more so than the 2006) with redcurrant, blackberry, iodine, macerated black cherries with a hint of vanilla. The palate is medium-bodied with caressing tannins subsequently replicated by the 2005. There is a touch of dried orange peel on towards the finish with very fine tannins that demonstrate great precision and focus. Outstanding. Tasted December 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Two tastings, one at the UGC which was not representative and one at the chateau (this note.) A very intense nose of blackberry, cassis and a touch of fig. A little disjointed at the moment. The palate is very harmonious with a slightly grainy texture, very pure with a savory end. Lots of character here, powerful and yet very controlled. Excellent. Tasted April 2006.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The finest La Conseillante since 2000, the dense purple-colored 2005 displays notes of sweet raspberries, creamy vanilla ice cream, spice box, and cedar. With good fruit, depth, and a broad, savory attack as well as mid-palate, this medium-bodied, finesse-styled, elegant wine represents a synthesis in style between a grand cru red Burgundy and a top-notch Bordeaux. Give it 3-5 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 20-25.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at BBR’s 2005/2009 tasting in London. The La Conseillante still has that ripe vivacious bouquet with small red cherries, creme de cassis, iodine and dark plum with wonderful definition and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with a velvety, rounded entry, good depth and a fabulous sense of elegance married with power. A little more open than others at the moment, but sure to age over the long-term. Tasted July 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2005 La Conseillante is a serious Pomerol destined for the long-term. It has a very intense, perfumed bouquet with macerated dark cherries and plenty of blueberry fruit, all with superb delineation and intensity. The palate is very concentrated almost to the point where you might describe it has having a New World veneer. But there is that beguiling elegance on the finish to remind you that this is just the first chapter of a wine with a 30-year trajectory. This is a superb wine from Jean-Michel Laporte. Tasted June 2013.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
With the son of the Nicolas family, Valmy, taking over and ratcheting up the selection process as well as the quality, La Conseillante appears poised to challenge its closest neighbor, l’Evangile, as the finest estate on the border of the sector of Pomerol facing Cheval Blanc in St.-Emilion. The 2005 will challenge the extraordinary 2000. Among the truly fabulous wines made here (i.e., 2000, 1990, 1989, 1985, and 1982), its deep ruby/purple hue is accompanied by an exquisite bouquet of incense, raspberry jam, kirsch, licorice, and hints of black olives as well as flowers. This broadly perfumed Pomerol exhibits sensational purity, sweet tannin, medium to full body, and outstanding elegance and finesse. The fruit is forward and precocious, but there is enough stuffing, structure, and density for the wine to evolve for 20-25 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Château La Conseillante 2005 has a flamboyant bouquet that just soars from the glass with scents of crème de cassis, blueberry, violets and a hint of black olive. This is far more exuberant than I remember it. The palate is full-bodied with ripe and underpinned by sumptuous tannins. It has extremely well-judged acidity, enormous depth and volume and a complex finish with lightly spice dark cherries, blackcurrant pastilles and minerals. There is a sense of completeness and harmony to this La Conseillante, allied with an audaciousness that is truly compelling.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Ex-cellar bottle tasted at Bordeaux Index’s Conseillante dinner at The Ledbury. A blend of 85% Merlot, matured entirely in new oak for 20 months, this 2005 La Conseillante has a more opaque colour compared to the 2006, although it is cut from the same cloth. Maraschino cherry, blueberry, cassis, a touch of creme de menthe and then a touch of iodine with time. Wonderful. The palate is full-bodied with saturated tannins, wonderful concentration and purity with a firm structure towards the finish. I think that the extended new oak lends the wine a little more persistency rather than just the fruit per se. Perhaps one could anticipate this last longer than the 2006 but if push came to shove, the 2006 may ultimately the edge. But this remains a stupendous 2005. Drink 2013-2030+ Tasted December 2009.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2005 La Conseillante is blessed with a truly fabulous, multi-faceted bouquet with layers of redcurrant and cranberry, rose petals, truffle oil, orange rind and hints of Dorset plum. The aromatics here are the most impressive...thus far. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin and a keen line of acidity, fresh and more saline in the mouth compared to the 2004, also with greater mineralité towards the finish. Now we are beginning to see the precision that the property is known for today and you have to stand back and admire the persistence, residues of spice lingering forty-five seconds after the wine has bid adieu. This is evolving with consummate grace and style. Tasted at La Conseillante vertical at the property.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Constantly evolving in the glass, with notes of vanilla, berries, chocolate, and flowers. Full and very intense, yet compacted and beautiful. Pure class on the finish, focusing everything on the tip of your tongue. Wonderful stuff, subtle, almost Burgundian. How can a wine be so delicate and powerful at the same time? Don’t touch this for a couple years. Pull the cork in 2018.
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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Package Size
12 x 75cl
