Chateau la Conseillante 2016

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Spell-binding in every sense of the word, you know this wine is a future legend from the initial sniff of its delicate floral, truffle, dark cherry and cocoa infused perfume. Silk and velvet-textured, ripe, sweet, fresh fruits with a beautiful sense of purity hit you next. The finish keeps all its themes going. This is an incredibly sexy bottle of wine that belongs in every Pomerol fans cellars. Give it perhaps 12 years of sleep and it should start revealing its true potential at that point."

JAMES SUCKLING: "The aromas of violets and dark berries with licorice and sweet black tea are so attractive. What really impresses is the sweet fruit in the dense middle palate. So attractive. At the same time, there’s plenty of plush and ripe tannins that give the wine form and brightness. And it still remains bright on the finish, as the tannins roll on. A great Conseillante. Try after 2024."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Bottled in June of 2018, the 2016 Château La Conseillante is a beautifully seamless yet powerful version of this cuvée that has the hallmark fragrance and elegance of the estate front and center. Complex blackberries, cassis, flowers, incense, forest floor, and floral notes all soar from this full-bodied, pure, and polished Pomerol that has an undeniable class as well as wonderful purity of fruit, perfect integration of its tannins and acidity, and a blockbuster finish. It's an incredibly complete wine that flirts with perfection and will keep for 30-40 years. The blend is 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, aged in 70% new French oak, with the balance in once-used barrels. There are less than 4,000 cases made, but this is a wine you want in your cellar."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2016 La Conseillante is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc aged in 70% new and 30% one-year-old French oak for 17 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, it slips provocatively out of the glass with a lifted perfume of roses, candied violets and lavender over a core of warm red and black plums, chocolate box, unsmoked cigars and baked cherries with wafts of wild thyme and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, the palate exudes polish and sophistication with bags of fragrance, freshness and energy, sporting exquisitely fine-grained tannins and finishing very long and minerally. Around 3,808 cases produced."

WEINWISSER: "80 % Merlot, 20 % Cabernet Franc, 39,5hl/ha, 70 % neue Barriques, 14 vol %. Purpurgranat mit violettem Rand. Komplexes, blaubeeriges Bouquet mit Brombeerblüten und Veilchen, dahinter Röstaromen und Heidelbeergelee. Am kräftigen Gaumen mit viel Souplesse, stützendem Tannin und cremig-seidiger Textur. Dann explodiert der Wein dank guter Rasse und mündet in ein unendlich langes Finale mit verführerischem Cassis und Schattenmorellensaft – Formidable!"

DECANTER: "The aromatics leap out of the glass, utterly luscious and on a tightrope between power and elegance, displaying notes of rosemary, spice and rich liquorice alongside bursts of minerality. It stretches out through the tight palate, becoming juicy on the finish, This is one of the best of the tasting, so fine is its tannic structure - you almost overlook them at first, but the tannins slowly build. It's just as gorgeous as during en primeur, but with an extra kick. It will clearly age well. 70% new oak. They follow biodynamic practices in the vineyard. Michel Rolland consults."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Beautifully perfumed and rich, this wine comes from the eastern edge of the great plateau of Pomerol. It shows the density and concentration of impressive Merlot. Offering powerful fruits as much as tannins, the wine also has a mineral edge plus fresh acidity to give it a lift. Drink from 2024."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Features a terrific core of dense and winey cassis, blackberry and plum reduction notes that will need time to unfurl, during which time the flickers of alder, tobacco and black tea lurking throughout should emerge further. Shows a solid graphite element through the finish. Best from 2022 through 2038. 3,333 cases made."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, zart floral unterlegtes schwarzes Beerenkonfit, kandierte Veilchen, reife Kirschen, angenehme Edelholzwürze, zart mit Nougat unterlegt. Komplex, rund und extraktsüß, elegante Textur, feine Tannine, frisch strukturiert, ein Hauch von Schokolade und Dörrzwetschken im Abgang."