A brilliant effort from this property, known for the sheer elegance and finesse of its wines, the 2010 La Conseillante offers back-to-back monumental efforts, particularly given the remarkable 2009. This estate has been on a hot streak of late. The 2010 is a slightly bigger, richer wine, but without losing its floral, elegant mulberry, black raspberry and sweet kirsch notes. Combine those with some licorice, subtle new oak and a hint of forest floor, and the result is a medium to full-bodied, rich, complex wine that has striking aromatics and perfect balance in the mouth. Forget it for 3-5 years and drink it over the following 30.

Score: 96 Robert Parker (RP), The Wine Advocate (WA), February 2013

Beautiful nose with cocoa powder, exotic flowers, candied violets and loads of dark berries. Great aromatic complexity. Amazing texture on palate with a superb precision and silky tannins. So beautifully composed showing already great harmony. Difficult to wait! Better in 2018.

Score: 98 James Suckling (JS), JamesSuckling.com, November 2013

The 2010 La Conseillante is stellar. Dense and extracted, the 2010 reflects the style of a decade ago, but that is merely an observation and not a complaint. Inky purplish fruit, lavender, spice, mocha and a kiss of French oak infuse the palate with remarkable depth.

I was delighted when one of our private clients reached out to schedule this celebratory dinner for a small group of friends and co-workers. Our guests took care of the arrangements with Wheeler Farms, and I chose several of my favorite wines, presented in thematic flights. Executive Chef Tom Harder, whom I had first met years ago at Mustard’s prepared a fabulous meal. The hospitality team led by Philip O’Conor and Patrick Memmott took care of every detail of service with the same precision. It was a fabulous night of wine, food and conviviality.

Score: 97 Antonio Galloni (AG), Vinous Media (VM), February 2023

The 2010 La Conseillante has been spellbinding since I first tasted it from barrel. It has an intense nose with black plum, cedar and graphite. It is vibrant and compelling with scents of camphor intertwined. Wonderful delineation; there are layers of aromatic complexity. The palate is beautifully knit with a touch of black pepper and thyme filtering through the black fruit. It retains so much energy on the finish as it fans out with class and verve. Magnificent. Tasted from an ex- château bottle at the Icons of Bordeaux dinner at Legacy Records in New York.

Score: 98 Neal Martin (NM), Vinous Media (VM), February 2024

The 2010 La Conseillante is a tour de force that will rival the 2005, 2000 and 1990 at maturity. Just loaded with notions of blackcurrants, damp earth, tobacco leaf, violets and toasty oak, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, building, ripe tannin, and a huge finish. Sexy and opulent, yet also classy and elegant, it’s a sensational Pomerol that has another three decades of life ahead of it. 

This tiny, yet brilliantly run estate covers 11.8 hectares of sandy, gravely soils located between Vieux Château Certain, Château L’Evangile, and Cheval Blanc. Managed by the talented and vivacious Marielle Cazaux, they produce one of the most exotic, perfumed, and elegant wines of the appellation, yet it never lacks for fruit and/or texture. Harvest is all by hand and done block by block, the grapes are fermented in concrete tanks, and the wine spends roughly 18 months in 70% new French oak, from a number of different coopers including Seguin-Moreau, Taransaud, Baron, and Darnajou. Production is around 3,200 cases. While all of the recent vintages showed beautifully, I suspect the 2016 will be the finest wine to date from this estate.

Score: 97+ Jeb Dunnuck (JD), JebDunnuck.com (JD), November 2017

A little darker and deeper in colour than the 2009 at this stage, but both remain young, fresh and full of promise. The depth to the fruit is evident, black cherry, chocolate shavings and black truffles with great shots of acidity through the entire body of the wine. Just dripping with succulent fruit and seduction, this is the most Pomerol of the lineup, surprisingly, perhaps, taking that crown from the 2009. Still young even at 11 years old, will settle in and open further over the next few years. Violet aromatics curl out of the glass as it opens. 85% new oak. A yield of 39hl/ha.

Drinking Window 2021 - 2044

Score: 98 Jane Anson (JA), Decanter (DEC), January 2021