La Conseillante 2018 (1.5L)

98 VM / 98 WA / 98 WCI / 97+ JD / 97 JS / 97 DE / 95 FS / 95 WE

The 2018 La Conseillante is a regal and utterly exquisite Pomerol from the very first taste. Technical Director Marielle Cazaux and her team turned out a jewel of a wine. Silky tannins and lifted, precise aromatics make a strong first impression. Inky dark fruit, pain grillé, lavender, spice, menthol and a kiss of new French oak all flesh out over time. More than anything else, what comes through is the new emphasis at La Conseillante on freshness and verve. The 2018 is a Pomerol of tremendous precision. It is, in a word: dynamite! - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

The 2018 La Conseillante is composed of 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc, with a 3.65 pH and 14% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a lot of swirling and coaxing to lure out the youthfully shy, incredible perfume of black raspberries, boysenberries, ripe plums and cinnamon toast, leading to notions of lilacs, clove oil and forest floor, plus a waft of iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate is a jaw-dropping exercise in finesse, slowly unfurling in the mouth to reveal layer upon layer of bright, crunchy red and black fruits, supported by a rock-solid frame of firm, fine-grained tannins and tons of freshness, finishing long and with an impressive mineral and exotic spice firework display. It's an incredible expression of Pomerol that cannot fail to inspire a resounding "WOW" from whoever is fortunate to drink it. Tempting to broach now (albeit with a lot of air), try to keep your hands off it for a good 5 years and then drink it over the next 30 years or more. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate

A beautiful expression of this terroir, which always seems to yield a more elegant, complex style of wine, the 2018 Château La Conseillante is based on 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc that saw 70% new French oak. A brilliant perfume of blueberries, currants, spring flowers, violets, and graphite gives way to a medium to full-bodied Pomerol with flawless balance, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. It closes down rather quickly with time in the glass (I followed the bottle for multiple days), and it isn't for the instant gratification crowd, but it's unquestionably a gorgeous Pomerol. Give bottles a solid 8-10 years of bottle age, and it's going to evolve for 25-30 years in cold cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck

A dense, layered Pomerol with lots of chocolate, walnut, and plum character. Some coffee undertones. It’s full-bodied with chewy, polished tannins and a structured, muscular finish. Solid. Elegance with power. 2018. Try after 2025. - James Suckling

This is extremely good quality with a lovely persistency, luscious and luxurious with richly textured tannins that place you perfectly in the heart of Pomerol. It’s inky and concentrated with clear liquorice from the start and an abundance of flowers and fruit; violets and iris followed by black chocolate alongside subtleties of woodsmoke and coffee that curl out of the glass after a few minutes. It has bouncy tannins with a 95IPT but they're so hugely silky that you can be pretty sure this is going to age every bit as well as the 2016. They continued with all biodynamic and organic farming here except for one treatment during flowering against mildew which meant they had to stop the certification process. 3% will be aged in amphoras, the rest in barrel. Michel Rolland consults. A yield of 32hl/ha. 3.65pH. - Jane Anson, Decanter