Château la Conseillante 2023

Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Vinum Wine Magazine

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Just as it was from cask, the 2023 La Conseillante is one of the vintage's most exciting wines in bottle. Offering up lavish aromas of ripe blackberries and mulberries mingled with hints of violets and mint, it's medium- to full-bodied, supple and fleshy, with an ample core of fruit, beautifully refined tannins and a long, perfumed finish. Readers who own both the deeper-pitched, elegantly muscular 2022 and the utterly charming, hedonistic 2023 will enjoy comparing and contrasting the two over the decades to come. The 2023 is a blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, some 30% of which is maturing in amphorae. Harvest began on September 7, lasting until October 2, block by block.

Under the direction of Marielle Cazaux, La Conseillante has only gone from strength to strength, and the 2023 stands out as one of the wines of the vintage in Bordeaux. The estate's parcels are harvested into 15-kilogram crates, spend the night in a cold room and are sorted the next day, before being vinified, parcel by parcel, with pump-overs by hand. Percentages of new oak have diminished, from 80% between 2011–2014 to only 70% from 2015 onward, but more importantly, the selection of barrels has changed, too, favoring lighter toasts—and cooler temperatures in the chai help too. Contemporary La Conseillante is an immensely sensual, seamless wine, exhibiting striking perfume and purity of fruit, and it's a strong candidate for the title of Pomerol's most elegant and viscerally immediate wine.

Jeb Dunnuck

Reminding me of the 2019 with its overall harmony and elegance, the 2023 Château La Conseillante reveals classic Conseillante darker blue fruits, spring flowers, violets, and iris petals on the nose. This cuvée is always about finesse and elegance, and the 2023 has it in spades, with medium to full-bodied richness, a seamless, layered mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. Based on 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc and aged 15 months in 70% new French oak with 27% one-wine barrels and 3% amphoras, this pure, seamless, ultra-classic Pomerol is already impossible to resist today yet should cruise for three decades. There are roughly 4,100 cases produced. Drink 2026-2055.

James Suckling

Extremely perfumed, with aromas of violets, sandalwood, licorice dark roses and a black cherry undertone. Medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannins that deliver superb length and balance. Wonderfully vivid texture and palate with electric length. Seamless, captivating and rather ethereal. Tangy. Reminds me of the gorgeous 1990. 88% merlot and 12% cabernet franc. Best after 2029.