Chateau La Conseillante, Pomerol 2005

This really does have a wonderful texture that is reminiscent of great pinot noir while remaining obviously cabernet franc and merlot. It shows a seductive nose of cream, berries, chocolate and flowers. It's full-bodied, very intense and seamless in length. Pure class. Drink now and enjoy but will improve for years ahead.

Cassis, black raspberries, smoked tobacco, violets, truffle, and graphite are just some of the nuances in the 2005 Château La Conseillante, an incredibly pure, full-bodied, sensationally elegant Conseillante. It has refined, elegant, gorgeous, yet building tannins, and flawless overall balance. As I’ve written in the past, this is easily a match for the Chateau’s 1990 and 2000, and it’s up with the true superstars of the vintage. I’d be hard pressed to keep my hands off bottles, but this has another 15 years of prime drinking ahead of it.

Displaying spectacular aromatics of mulberry, blueberry and raspberry fruit, a dense ruby/purple color, and sweet floral notes, in the mouth the 2005 La Conseillante is not as broad and powerful as Petrus, Trotanoy, Hosanna or Lafleur, but it is gorgeously silky, elegant and stylish. This medium-bodied, savory wine is a graceful, provocative and compelling Pomerol to drink now and over the next 25 years.

The 2005 La Conseillante is a rich, heady Pomerol. Crème de cassis, lavender, chocolate, leather, espresso, licorice and sweet French oak infuse the 2005 with tremendous character. The 2005 is, naturally, a wine of its era. There is quite a bit of extraction and tannin, and yet the wine has aged impeccably. Time in the glass brings out energy and aromatic lift to round things out nicely. The 2005 just got better and better with time, so I suggest giving it a good bit of air. I would prefer to drink it over the next decade or so.

Beautifully creamy in texture, well balanced with some gentle white pepper spice, truffles and soft raspberries along with saffron and smoke edging. This is a great moment to drink, particularly because there was a little less density overall in La Conseillante during this era, and so it has reached a drinking window a little earlier than it tends to do in years from 2010 onwards. Effortless balance. A yield of 38hl/ha. 100% new oak.

The 2005 La Conseillante is blessed with a truly fabulous, multi-faceted bouquet with layers of redcurrant and cranberry, rose petals, truffle oil, orange rind and hints of Dorset plum. The aromatics here are the most impressive...thus far. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin and a keen line of acidity, fresh and more saline in the mouth compared to the 2004, also with greater mineralité towards the finish. Now we are beginning to see the precision that the property is known for today and you have to stand back and admire the persistence, residues of spice lingering forty-five seconds after the wine has bid adieu. This is evolving with consummate grace and style. Tasted at La Conseillante vertical at the property.

Deep garnet-brick in color, the 2005 La Conseillante is showing some evolution on the nose with notions of cigar box, Chinese five spice, and dusty soil over a core of prunes and figs. Medium-bodied, it delivers mature, exotic, spice-laced dried berry flavors with a chewy texture and a lively backbone, going earthy / savory on the finish. Already relatively evolved, this should continue to cellar to 2040+. La Conseillante is next to L'Evangile, just across the Saint-Emilion border from Cheval Blanc and, in fact, a portion of the vineyard is in Saint-Emilion.

(80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc) Good bright ruby-red. Subtle, fresh aromas of black cherry and violet. Sweet on entry, then juicy and pure, with a hint of menthol to the raspberry and spice flavors. Not particularly showy today, as the acids and the tannins have not yet harmonized, but the middle palate is quite suave and round. This initially struck me as like an underripe version of the 2005 Cheval Blanc, but the wine gained in texture and sweetness as it opened in the glass. A lovely combination of silky texture and floral lift. This will probably be slow to evolve in bottle: wait until 2014.