Château La Conseillante, Pomerol, 2012

80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. There are many exceptional wines from the plateau of Pomerol in 2010, but Conseillante really stands out as one of the superstars. A muscular, intense example, but true to its terroir and the vintage. The charming Jean Michel Laporte was clearly delighted at the 140th anniversary of the Nicholas family’s tenure at the Chateau. This is a monumental wine. A perfumed bouquet of cedar, spice, violets, ripe plums and dark cherry fruit. The palate is multilayered, with wave after wave of decadent Pomerol fruit. It is both muscular and intricate, balancing immense power with suave detail and exquisite tannic structure. An epic wine.