Consistently one of the glorious wines of the vintage and far better than its more renowned stablemate Petrus, La Conseillante's 1985 continues to hold at its magical plateau of maturity. The ostentatious aromatics of smoked herbs, sweet raspberry and cherry fruit intermixed with licorice, Asian spice, and truffle soar from the glass. On the palate, the wine is beautifully concentrated and silky textured. It is not a blockbuster, but more of an elegant, medium bodied style, with delicious fruit, impeccable balance, and fabulous purity and staying power in the mouth. This is what great Bordeaux is all about! RP Jan 2003

The 1985 La Conseillante is a vintage that I have tasted on several occasions and certainly it represents one of the highpoints of that decade for the estate. As I noted in my Pomerol tome, its fleshiness has dissipated in recent years, yet it still remains well balanced and fresher than say, the 1986 or 1988. Often notes for its warm gravel scents on the nose, the palate is like warming your hands at a fireside hearth on a cold winter's day. It just gives you a glow, so much so that you overlook its shortcomings, perhaps a lack of complexity and precision. Tasted and served blind at a private dinner in Bordeaux. May 2018

Just a super wine. There is sensuous, silky quality to the texture that gets your engines going. The truffle, mocha, wet earth and floral scents that show on top of the plums and cherries is just what the doctor ordered. There is no reason to age this any longer. July 2018