Château La Conseillante, 2025

"Dark ruby garnet, opaque core, violet reflections, subtle edge brightening. Delicate floral nuances of candied violets, a hint of blackberries and sour cherries, some cloves, a hint of sour cherries and mandarin zest. Juicy, highly elegant, delicate extract sweetness, silky tannins, finesse-rich acidity, harmonious and already so well developed that one would like to start enjoying it immediately, great length, finesse and sure maturity potential. Fascinating."

"The 2025 La Conseillante is another brilliant wine in the making for this Pomerol reference point. Wafting from the glass with aromas of ripe mulberries and blackberries mingled with hints of violets and truffle, it's medium- to full-bodied, deep and unctuous, with lively acids, ultra-refined tannins and a long, floral finish. It's a blend of 87% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon (from new plantings that already make it into the blend) that attained 13.5% alcohol. Fermentations were capped at 26 degrees Celsius, the coolest ever, to extract selectively, and the entire production is maturing in barriques this year."

"Violets, lilacs, and chocolate drizzles, followed by plums, black cherries, blue fruits, licorice, smoke, and truffles, create the aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine is pure silk, velvet, and cashmere, perfectly suited to the seemingly endless waves of sweet, bright, plush fruits, with their freshness, elegance, and stunning sense of purity. The finish lingers past the 60-second mark and keeps going long after the wine has gone where it needs to be. One of the keys to the success of the dry 2025 vintage began a few years in advance, with the addition of compost to the vineyards, aiding water retention, helping the fruit gain maturity, and increasing yields. The wine blends 87% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon along with 8% press wine. 13.5% ABV, 3.66 pH. The harvest took place from August 28 to September 17. Yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2030 to 2065."

"The 2025 La Conseillante is shaping up to be magnificent. Rich and luscious in the glass, the 2025 offers up an exotic mélange of inky dark fruit, cloves, new leather, licorice and mocha. This is the first vintage that sees the return of Cabernet Sauvignon, historically a part of the blend from at least 1871 to 1956, when frost devastated many vineyards in Pomerol. The 2025 is impressively deep, but also quite vibrant. I can't wait to see how it ages. It's a superb effort from Technical Director Marielle Cazaux and her team. Cazaux made an immediate impact when she arrived in 2015, starting with a move to lower-intervention farming that was immediately apparent. I will have more to say about that and other related subjects in a separate article we will publish later in the year. Tasted two times."