Château La Conseillante, Pomerol,

A blend of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 La Conseillante has a pH of 3.65 and is aging in 70% new oak. The yield was 33 hl/ha. It starts off with an opaque purple color, then POW! It explodes from the glass with a spectacular nose of rose oil, star anise, garrigue, and candied violets, giving way to a powerful core of blueberry preserves, juicy black plums, and Morello cherries, plus a waft of Sichuan pepper. The medium to full-bodied palate is bright, vibrant, and impactful, delivering layer upon layer of intense flavors with a super-plush texture and fantastic tension, finishing epically long and wonderfully perfumed. A masterpiece—brava, Marielle!

The 2022 La Conseillante was picked at 33hL/ha between 5 and 20 September and raised in 70% new oak plus 30% in amphorae. There is 13.9% alcohol. This is quite discrete on the nose, just like L'Évangile, only really opening after several minutes. Blackberry, blueberry, hints of iris flower, perhaps more floral than L'Évangile and Cheval Blanc. The palate is medium-bodied with velvety tannins plus a fine bead of acidity. Fresh and focused, this is maybe less concentrated on the mid-palate than expected but that maintains an unerring sense of equilibrium. Tensile and very smooth with an underlying sense of strict like its aforementioned neighbors. A rough decant prizes this Pomerol open and reveals its inner core of mineralité. Anyone spending less than 15 minutes tasting this Pomerol is likely to have totally missed it. Saline both on the finish and aftertaste, Marielle Cazaux has crafted one of the most intellectual La Conseillante wines in recent years.