2011 Château la Conseillante, Pomerol, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 30/04/2014
Wine Spectator's 2011 Top-Scoring Red Bordeaux
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, April 10, 2012
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - April 2012
About this WINE
Chateau la Conseillante
Château La Conseillante is amongst the crème de la crème of Pomerol producers. It can trace its history back to 1735 and has been in the hands of the Nicolas family since 1874.
La Conseillante's 13 hectares of vineyards are located on a plateau in eastern Pomerol on the boundary with the St-Emilion appellation. Its vineyards border those of L`Evangile, Petit-Village, Vieux Château-Certan and Cheval Blanc.
La Conseillante is a blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec. The grapes are harvested by hand and are then fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. The wine is then aged in small oak casks (90% new) for 18-20 months. It is bottled unfiltered.
Pomerol
Pomerol is the smallest of Bordeaux's major appellations, with about 150 producers and approximately 740 hectares of vineyards. It is home to many bijou domaines, many of which produce little more than 1,000 cases per annum.
Both the topography and architecture of the region is unremarkable, but the style of the wines is most individual. The finest vineyards are planted on a seam of rich clay which extends across the gently-elevated plateau of Pomerol, which runs from the north-eastern boundary of St Emilion. On the sides of the plateau, the soil becomes sandier and the wines lighter.
There is one satellite region to the immediate north, Lalande-de-Pomerol whose wines are stylistically very similar, if sometimes lacking the finesse of its neighbour. There has never been a classification of Pomerol wines.
Recommended Châteaux : Ch. Pétrus, Vieux Ch. Certan, Le Pin, Ch. L’Eglise-Clinet, Ch. La Conseillante, Ch. L’Evangile, Ch. Lafleur, Trotanoy, Ch. Nenin, Ch. Beauregard, Ch. Feytit-Clinet, Le Gay.
Merlot
The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.
In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.
Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
I love this wine, and if I had listened to my parents, studied and got a ‘proper’ job I might possibly have been able to afford to drink it! OK, let’s pretend I didn’t do the job that I love for a moment and look at this little tinker. There are very few wines in 2011 that are sexy, Ch. la Conseillante really is. It has curves, elegance, vibrancy and laser like cool precision that makes it one of the superstars of the vintage.
When we cram ourselves back into the minibus between Châteaux tastings we always have a few minutes to chew things over, comparing and contrasting our notes. When we left Ch. la Conseillante there was a revered silence for a few minutes and one of my colleagues said “Scarlett Johanssen”. “Close”, I corrected “Salma”. What followed was a collective, sage like nodding of agreement from the bus and we moved on. Superb this year, as it is indeed most.
Simon Staples, Berrys’ Fine Wine Director
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