2020, Château La Conseillante, POMEROL

Bordeaux Blend: Merlot, Cabernet Franc

Fabulously situated alongside Cheval Blanc and L'Evangile, this property has a long track record of making outstanding Pomerol that is never forced or over-extracted. Rich and full of structure - this is a muscular 2020. Bold blue and red fruit form the intense fruit core but the plentiful, chewy tannins immediately form a powerful structure that persist through to the finish. The result is a wine of real texture - the brilliance is that despite their power all the tannin is ripe and fine grained. This is sweet and savoury in equal measure, and a real vin de garde. It will need at least 10 years in bottle before broaching, but should be one of the longer lived wines of the vintage. 94-96 Farr Vintners, London.

The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, ripe tannins that disguise the backbone of this exquisitely balanced Pomerol. A discreet crescendo leads to a pixelated finish of awe-inspiring persistency. The old "iron fist in a velvet glove" cliché rings true here. A deeply impressive and quite profound La Conseillante courtesy of Marielle Cazaux and her team. 96-98 Neal Martin, Vinous.

The medium to full-bodied palate is an exercise in elegance, delivering a quiet intensity of pure, energetic red and black berry layers with gorgeous floral and mineral sparks, framed by perfectly ripe, finely pixilated tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length and the most breathtaking perfume. Simply mind-blowing. 97-99 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate.

The balance and energy to this is very impressive with blackberry, black-olive, tar and walnut character. It’s full, but very compact with superb tannin quality that is intense, yet so fine-grained, building layers on the palate. A subtle and structured young wine. It really goes on and on. 98-99 James Suckling.

There are some beautifully fragrant floral aromatics here with concentration through the mid palate and effortless balance. A little more width and opulence in the 2019 perhaps, but here you get precision and purity, and a feeling of 2010 levels of concentration. An elegant 2020, bright, confident, bursting with life. 70% new oak. A yield of 39hl/ha. 3.67pH. Gravel and clay soils, and to keep freshness they left crop cover on the old vines but on the young ploughed it into the soil so as not to have too much competition for the water. Lowered canopy also but kept shade and leaves around the bunches to protect from the sun. Picked early morning from 7am to noon, harvest of Merlot September 4 to 17, and the Cabernet Franc on September 21 and 30. 96/100, Jane Anson, Decanter. 

Drinking window: 2027-2043.