La Conseillante 2018 (1.5L)

97-100 JD / 96-98+ WA / 97-98 JS / 95-98 VM / 97 DE

The 2018 Château La Conseillante checks in as a blend of 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new French oak, with a small amount in amphora. Yields here were a light 32 hectoliters per hectare, and the 2018 is a respectable 13.5% natural alcohol. Winemaker Marielle Cazaux commented that the secret to the vintage was to be a lazy winemaker (i.e. hands off). Her 2018 boasts a saturated purple color as well as incredible purity in its blue and black fruits, spice, liquid flower, and violet-like characteristics. Full-bodied, pure and seamless on the palate as well, it’s flawlessly balanced, with building yet sweet tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. It's going to flirt with perfection. Hats off to Marielle for another magical wine from this estate, which has quickly risen into the top echelon of estates in Bordeaux. - Jeb Dunnuck

The 2018 La Conseillante is a blend of 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc, with a 3.65 pH and 14% alcohol. Yields were 32 hectoliters per hectare; Merlot was harvested September 19 to October 1, and Cabernet Franc was harvested on October 4. Very deep purple-black colored, it comes charging out of the gate with energetic notes of wild blueberries, chocolate-covered cherries and warm black plums plus hints of lilacs, damp soil, cardamom and cloves with gentle wafts of cast iron pan and fragrant earth. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with elegant black fruit and earthy layers, framed by soft, velvety tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate

This is a forceful red, showing blueberry and blackberry character with violets and light wet earth. Clarity and beauty with so much transparency and focus. Full-bodied, firm and silky with lots of white-pepper and salt undertones. - James Suckling

The 2018 La Conseillante is magnificent. A wine of real vertical lift and explosiveness, the 2018 is distinguished by its spine of energy, freshness and purity of fruit. Inky blue/purplish berry fruit, mocha, lavender spice and mint develop in the glass, but it is the wine's overall sense of harmony that truly stands out. The 2018 showed tremendous vibrancy and vitality, with superb mid-palate richness and phenomenal balance all three times I tasted it. It is without question one of the wines of the vintage. The blend is 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc. This is the first vintage that includes a touch of wine aged in amphora, just 3%. Don't miss it!- Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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