CHÂTEAU LA CONSEILLANTE
2014 Pomerol
78% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc. This is the highest proportion of Cab Franc that they have put in for more than 20 years, simply because it is so good this year. The result is fantastic. There is a lovely freshness, a herbal, eucalyptus note which adds a piquancy to the lovely deep, purple fruit. There is a lovely gently gripping suedey feel here, an almost chalky, dusty minerality - but the plump fruit sits perfectly in this frame. Aromatic and joyous Pomerol. Sadly this is Jean-Michel Laporte's last vintage here, and he has made the wine, but someone else will 'finish' over the next 2 years - we hope they can preserve the super effort so far. Rating: 94 L&S (Mar 2015)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2014 La Conseillante has a wonderful bouquet with wild strawberry, cranberry, wilted rose petal, salted licorice and violet-like aromas. As I wrote previously, it gains intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins and a keen line of acidity, the new oak now entirely subsumed with a precise and reasonably persistent finish. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10-Year-On tasting. Drinking range: 2024 - 2045 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2024)
Old school charm, but this is a little underpowered, soft rose petals, finely spun tannins, blackberry, raspberry, undergrowth, soft baked spices, this is ready to drink, and will keep delivering for another decade. Jean-Michel Laporte's last vintage as director. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2024)
Softening and opening up at 7 years old, although still in primary fruit territory. Supple gourmet texture, rich and supple with shots of butterscotch, blueberry and raspberry. Plenty of tannic pressure on the finish, great quality, plenty of Pomerol character. The finish combines salinity and sweetness, real push and pull. 75% new oak, 25% one year old barrels. Last vintage under Jean-Michel Laporte, just 400 bottles left at the estate. 38hl/h yield, harvest September 23 to October 6. Drinking range: 2024 - 2046 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Nov 2021)
The 2014 La Conseillante has a very refined bouquet with expressive redcurrant, cranberry, rose petal and orange rind aromas that are very well defined. This seems to gain intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin that belies the structure underneath. There is still some new oak to be subsumed although it is totally in sync with the fruit, allowing the precision and detail to shine on the sophisticated finish. This is a strong showing for La Conseillante in a more challenging growing season that did not favour Pomerol as much as in 2015. Tasted at La Conseillante vertical at the property. Drinking range: 2021 - 2040 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)
The 2014 La Conseillante is a pretty wine, but it is also a bit light in the context of the vintage. Sweet floral notes, exotic spice and bright red-toned fruit are nicely pushed forward. As always, La Conseillante is one of the most delicate and elegant of Pomerols. Still, tasting the 2014 and 2013 side by side reveals a relatively small difference between the vintages, and certainly a smaller difference than most of the neighboring properties. Whether that is a function of the land or the result of winemaking decisions is the kind of question that will provide fascination for many years. Even so, this should age nicely. Drinking range: 2020 - 2039 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2017)
Winemaker Jean-Michel Laporte pits this between the style of 2006 and 2012. Shy at present but with freshness and elegance. Long and linear. Maturation will hopefully add a little more volume. (Highly Recommended Pomerol, Decanter.) Drinking range: 2022 - 2032 Rating: 90+ James Lawther MW, decanter.com (May 2015)
The Château La Conseillante 2014 is a blend of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, picked from 23 September to 2 October and 29 September until 6 October respectively at 35 hectoliters per hectare. There was just 2.5% vin de presse and the Grand Vin represents 88% of the total production this year. As you would expect, there is far more fruit intensity on the nose compared to the Duo, with dry tobacco-infused red and black fruit, hints of Provençal herb and black truffle - very Pomerol in style. The palate delivers the class. Supple in the mouth, very well judged acidity, poised and long, the Cabernet Franc drives this along and elevates the finish in terms of complexity. There are light spices entering the fray towards the finish that is feminine and nuanced with lovely salinity on the aftertaste that will urge you to take another sip. I was admittedly a little underwhelmed by the deuxième vin this year, but the grand vin makes up for it. It is another great Pomerol from ever-congenial winemaker Jean-Michel Laporte and his team. Drinking range: 2018 - 2035 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2015)
The 2014 La Conseillante is nicely supple and layered in the glass, with distinct cherry pit, plum, rose petal, wild flowers and subtle hints of spice are woven together in an open-knit, expressive Conseillante that is likely to start drinking well relatively early. The finish is decidedly silky and open-knit. The 2014 is quite pretty, but at this stage it is also lacking a bit in body. The blend is 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, with the Franc a bit higher than the 15-18% that is more typical. Rating: 90-93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2015)
Dark, healthy crimson. Intense, robust fruit with a sort of Pontet-Canet kind of chunkiness. Tannins are not the smoothest. Full marks for drama but not for subtlety. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2015)
The nose has a mix of black fruits some fresh bramble backed by richer black cherry the palate is sweet and ripe, fleshy and supple in the middle, the fruit supported by fine tannins. Rich and sweet fruited at the back depth of flavour the finish stylish long with lingering flavours. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 91-96 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Apr 2015)
Wow. This really kick in here with lots of subtle yet fresh fruit and a chewy and long finish. Muscular and long with a wonderful elegance. The winemaker says the cabernet franc gives the style and structure here. And he’s right. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2015)
Jean-Michel Laporte's last vintage at this impressive Pomerol property is one of the best he's ever made. It's all about perfume and finesse, with deftly used (75% new) oak, granular tannins, and acidity adding freshness and definition. Sappy and refined, this has more tannin than you think. (One of Tim's Top 10 Right Bank Reds.) Drinking range: 2020 - 2028 Rating: 95 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2015)
Château La Conseillante
Château la Conseillante’s origins lay in an estate called Domaine de Mautretat that was broken up in the early years of the 18th Century with reverend gentleman called M. Léglise purchasing the part that became Château l’Evangile whilst Catherine Conseillan took the other. In 1871 Château la Conseillante was bought by the Nicolas family who own it to this day. With only the addition of a small plot of vines in 2014, the estate has remained the same ever since. The 12ha of vineyard are planted with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The vineyards border Petrus to the north, and one can gaze across l’Evangile and see the vines of Château Cheval Blanc. Indeed, a small part of la Conseillante’s vineyard strays across into St Emilion, but is included in the main Pomerol cuvée. Château la Conseillante is a well-executed balancing act marrying tradition with modernity, something exemplified by the new cellar that opened in 2012.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.