Yeah, not for me either. Got enough, otherwise I would be backfilling.
Mark,
Which vintages of VCC and La Conseillante did you have together? 1998? I’ve only had the '85, '89, '90 and '99 La Conseillante, and for the earlier three I was lucky to have begun buying wine just before the big price escalations began in the mid-'90s, so they were all in $50-60 range. The '85 is my one of my all-time favorite wines, from anywhere.
Frank, I have tasted VCC extensively, while I have had far fewer la Conseillantes. They did a large vertical of la Conseillante at the Chateau about 4 yeas ago, and overall very impressed with the overall quality, and loved the 1989/1990 combination. The 2005 was young and powerful but hard to gauge, and the 1998 there was also a tad green, close to and probably slightly overstepping my limits. The star was the bottle of 1945 which they threw in at last minute.
Since then, apart from the 1998 flight, the only real time I have tasted Conseillante was at the Burdigala event in NY, where I sat at La Conseillante table.
Mark, I remember your thread on the Burdigala evening.
I believe that La Conseillante doesn’t always realize the potential of their terroir.
It is interesting how close L’Evangile, Conseillante and Cheval are too each other, and how different the wines are.
I will say that 1946 Conseillante was unbelievably good, and I did not want to say too much about it as it was my bottle, but it is among the greatest Pomerols (wines) I have ever had. The 1945 was amazing too. We know how great the potential is, but even the better vintages like 1989/1990 still fall a little below that extraordinary duo.
Happy to have picked up a case of the 2004 for $78 all in per a few years after release. Have not cracked the case yet. Thanks for the note - sounds like a good one is waiting in the wings.
Was able to backfill a few of these at a good price, so opened one. Just delicious. Sultry and spicy red fruit, but kept in check by the Cab Franc and acid. Wet earth, truffle and florals. The only knock is the slight dryness of the tannins on the finish. Maybe just entering a youthful peak. Shooting myself in the foot since I’m a buyer of more, but seems way undervalued due to the 2004 vintage.
Thanks for the note. I own some since it’s my anniversary year but haven’t opened one yet. Sounds great
The re-surfacing of this thread got me searching, but I ended up buying other stuff. Prices definitely up. I’d love to grab some 2000, 01, 04 and 11.