We left the Hotel Hilton Garden Inn in Bordeaux City at 08.30 am and drove to to the “Right Bank”. During the next days we explored Saint-Émilion, Pomerol and the Côte de Castillon.
Our first stop was Château La Conseillante, one of the estates belonging to the upper echelon of Pomerol. When we got there, they had finished the harvest of the 2021 vintage just a few hours before our arrival. We spent some time in the vineyard, toured the wine cellar and finished the visit with a tasting of the 2021 Château La Conseillante.
Pomerol
Pomerol is a tiny winegrowing region with only 2000 acres of vineyards, located on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela. Wine has been produced here since Roman times. Later the Knights of the Order of Malta cultivated the vines. In the Middle Ages, these knights established the Commanderie de Pomerol, which still exists today. With its provincial character, it forms a stark contrast to the other far more glamorous Bordeaux appellations. The small properties that could easily be confused with residential homes make clear that architectural glitz and glamour were never a concern here. It all centers around wine; around the deep clay and loam soil that provides for the Pomerol style: dense and powerful, yet rich in finesse, highly aromatic, silky, almost creamy.
Château
La Conseillante
Château La Conseillante is one of the estates belonging to the upper echelon of Pomerol. The beginnings of Château La Conseillante go back to the mid 18 th century. Madame Catherine Conseillan was owner and in charge of the estate and gave it its name. She had no heirs and the estate passed to relatives, was sold and bought a couple times and finally found its masters in the Nicolas family. It was Louis Nicolas, owner of a négociant business in Libourne, who purchased Château La Conseillante in 1871. Since then it has been continuously passed on to the next generation of the family and today the 5 th generation is at the helm. In 1971 the estate underwent a thorough renovation and it was here that stainless steel, temperature controlled vats for fermentation were introduced. A second major renovation was completed in 2012 and concrete tanks were installed. This estate is relatively small – but typical for the right bank – compared with the châteaux on the left bank. 30 acres of vineyards belong to the château and 80% is planted with Merlot and the rest predominantly with Cabernet Franc.
In 2015 a new director came on board, Marielle Cazaux, who studied enology at Bordeaux and was the director at neighboring Chateau Petit-Village before joining the team at La Conseillante. I personally love the La Conseillante wines; they are elegant, sensous and harmonious.
Château La Conseillante (Berry Bros and Rudd)
Château
La Conseillante is amongst the crème de la crème of Pomerol producers.
It can trace its history back to 1735 and has been in the hands of the
Nicolas family since 1874.
La Conseillante's 13 hectares of
vineyards are located on a plateau in eastern Pomerol on the boundary
with the St-Emilion appellation. Its vineyards border those of
L`Evangile, Petit-Village, Vieux Château-Certan and Cheval Blanc.
La
Conseillante is a blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5%
Malbec. The grapes are harvested by hand and are then fermented in
temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. The wine is then aged in
small oak casks (90% new) for 18-20 months. It is bottled unfiltered.
Wine-searcher Prices
2021: US$ 224
2020: US$ 245
2015: US$ 253
2010: US$ 306
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