1981 La Conseillante

The 1981 La Conseillante is a vintage tasted on five separate occassions and each time I have come away pleasantly surprised. It often sports a loose-knit, menthol-tinged bouquet that might remind you of a mature Mourvèdre from Tempier or Pibarnon. That might tickle your fancy! The palate is rather austere and not exactly packed with fruit as you would expect, a leitmotif of stewed black tea that has been left too long in the teapot. Bottles can vary and my score reflects the best you could find nowadays. Tasted blind and taken from Neal Martin's book, "Pomerol".

Lustrous ruby. Lovely mellow nose with the scent of fading rose petals. Sweet start and very round and positive. Quite delicate. This is a wine on a tightrope. It's fragile and drying out. I feel that the old really wonderful New World Merlots of the 1980s or early 1990s may be tasting like this now. (JR)

This wine has just begun its slide down the slippery slope. It was an outstanding La Conseillante that drank beautifully young. Once the baby fat began to fade in the mid-nineties, the wine was less enticing, although still an excellent, and perhaps outstanding if drunk from larger format bottles (i.e., magnum). The wine possesses a deep ruby color with some lightening at the edge. The toasty, cherry and raspberry-scented nose is followed by smoky, roasted herb, sweet cherry and raspberry flavors judiciously infused with spicy oak. The acidity is adequate, and the tannin and fat have faded away. Anticipated maturity: Now. Last tasted 11/97