Farr Vintners Logo

La Conseillante 2015

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > Pomerol
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Franc

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château La Conseillante

Label

Tasting Notes

Aromas of tar, black olive skin and blackberries follow through to a full body. Ultra-fine tannins and a long, linear finish with super intensity. Well-crafted in every sense. A fabulous Pomerol for the future. Try in 2022.

98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2018

Composed of 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc and aged for 18 months in 70% new and 30% one-year-old French oak, the medium garnet-purple colored 2015 La Conseillante opens with reticent, earthy notes of dusty soil, garrigue, forest floor and iron ore with a core of warm plums, cassis, cigar boxes, star anise and dark chocolate plus a hint of violets. Medium to full-bodied with decadent fruit and a gorgeous plushness to the texture, the palate features impeccable poise and compelling depth, finishing on a lingering mineral note. 2022 - 2047

96+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Interim Fe), February 2018

Tasted blind. Really appetising and cool and fresh. Everything in its place. Sumptuous. Very serious for the long term but already delivering pleasure. Lovely pure finish. Several tasters remarked how much better this tasted than en primeur.
Drink 2022-2050

18.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2019

Mid crimson with ruby rim. Seductive aroma of dark-red fruits, a hint of violets, and the scent carries through onto the palate, where the tannins are super-smooth but compact. A long, complete wine. (JH) 14.5%
Drink 2024-2040

17.5
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, November 2017

Reminding me of the 2009, the 2015 La Conseillante is more overt and sexy compared to the 2016, offering a huge nose of mulled black fruits, spring flowers, chocolate and gravely/clay-like earthiness. This is a full-bodied, complex, elegant and layered 2015 that has a singular character and the class to drink well for 20-25 years. 2020 - 2040

96
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2017

The nose has concentrated richness the start of the palate power with depth of black fruits. Rich ripe black plum on the mid palate is backed by firmer fresher black cherry layers of complex flavours. Meaty and rich at the back supple and velvety the finish has power and depth. 2025-40

92/95
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2016

There’s less of a gap in quality between the Grand Vin and the second wine (Duo) in 2015,
partly because the latter is so good, but also because this is just a little OTT. Serious, tannic
and quite extracted with a hint of jammyness on the finish. Needs a polish in barrel.
Drink: 2022-30

93
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2016

A very dense and more focussed wine than in the past, the wider shoulders and more grip mean that this is going to be
a longer-lived wine with more potential glory in the future. This is a highly perfumed La Conseillante with more size and
power and yet there is no exoticism here, just deep, dark concentration. Fabulously strict and tense, very long and noble
this is a quietly confident and very centred wine without a trace of boastfulness or front. I was transfixed with this wine,
finding is rather amazing and it just started to open up as I swirled vigorously with magical fruit peaking over the rim
of the glass.

19+
Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2016
Read more tasting notes...

The 2015 La Conseillante, a blend of 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc, is extraordinarily pure and elegant on the nose. Here, I find a little more red fruit than black fruit, extremely elegant and articulating the terroir with great clarity. At first, wild strawberry and cranberry, then crushed stone, a touch of black truffle and tobacco. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh and elegant with fine tannin on the entry. This is one of the most approachable La Conseillante wines that I have tasted in barrel, the acidity very well judged, "classic" in style, good backbone here with a structured finish. It does not quite possess the bravura of the 2010 La Conseillante and I would agree with winemaker Marielle Cazaux that it bears more semblances to the 2005 La Conseillante at this stage, and even bore common traits with its neighbour, Vieux Château Certan. This is an intellectual and to put it prosaically, "delicious" La Conseillante. Drink 2021-2045.

95/97
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (224), April 2016

This is the most powerful La Conseillante I have tasted with lots of muscle and intensity. Full and savory. Chewy. Agile and formed. Beautiful ripe fruit in the center palate. This is a little pushed to the limit like the great Conseillants of the 1960s and 1970s.

96/97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2016

Direct, savoury nose. New winemaker wants to keep the aromas of Conseillante but they want to add a little more grip. Sweet and fresh with some tea leaf aromas. The oak tannins are just perceptible but it should all calm down. Definitely quite grippy now! 14.5%
Drink 2026-2040

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2016
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.