Château La Conseillante

The estate's name traces back to Catherine Conseillan, an influential Libourne merchant who purchased the estate and gave it the feminine version of her surname. The property, then known as Domaine de Mautretat, was put up for sale in 1735 before Conseillan bought it; she undertook a programme of renovation and extended the surface area of the vineyard. The Nicolas family acquired La Conseillante in 1871, when the brothers Louis Nicolas and Nicolas Nicolas set up their own wine merchant house, Nicolas Frères, and became the owners. 2021 was the 150th vintage under the uninterrupted ownership of the Nicolas family. In 1953 the family modified the estate's statutes so that the property could be run jointly by two General Managers, and the Héritiers Nicolas company was created on 20 April 1960.

• Nicolas family ownership since 1871, through the brothers' wine merchant house Nicolas Frères
• Ranked 7th in Pomerol by quality in the 1868 Féret guide
• Louis Nicolas co-founded the Syndicat Viticole de Pomerol in 1900 and became its first president
• Louis Nicolas designed the label, with its cut-off corners, silver frame and 'N' initial, and gave the bottle its violet-coloured capsule
• In 1971 Francis Nicolas and his cousin Bernard Nicolas became co-owners and built new cellars

The cousins Jean-Valmy Nicolas and Dr Bertrand Nicolas, both of the fifth generation, are joint General Managers. Jean-Valmy Nicolas has devoted his energies to La Conseillante since 2003 and is in charge, with Marielle Cazaux, of the distribution of the wines. Bertrand Nicolas has been joint General Manager since 2001 and takes special charge of the wine production side. The Family Board is made up of the two General Managers and Henri Nicolas. Marielle Cazaux has been Managing Director since 2015 and holds the title Managing Director and Winemaker; her career took her to Château Petit-Village in Pomerol before La Conseillante. Patrick Argutti has been cellarmaster since 2001, after 15 years at Château Pavie. Eight people work at the estate. Michel Rolland joined the team as a consultant in 2013. Earlier consultant oenologists were Emile Peynaud, Pascal Ribereau-Gayon, Gilles Pauquet and Jean-Claude Berrouet. In 2001 Arnaud de Lamy became the estate's first non-family estate manager and winemaker; Jean-Michel Laporte replaced him in 2004.

• Jean-Valmy Nicolas and Dr Bertrand Nicolas: joint General Managers, 5th generation
• Marielle Cazaux: Managing Director and Winemaker
• Patrick Argutti: Cellarmaster since 2001
• Family Board: Jean-Valmy Nicolas, Bertrand Nicolas and Henri Nicolas

La Conseillante's vineyard covers 11.79 hectares (29 acres) in a patchwork of sixteen plots, the oldest of which was planted in 1958, and each plot is managed and vinified separately. Its soils are on the Pomerol plateau but also cross over into the Saint-Emilion appellation, with clay soils to the north-east and gravel soils to the south-west over subsoils containing iron oxide deposits; the split is 60% grey clay and 40% sandy gravel, and four soil-types have been categorised. Plantings are 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with an average vine age of 30 years, an average density of 7000 vines per hectare, and Single or Mixed Guyot pruning. The northern parcels border Petrus and Evangile and the southern and eastern parcels border Cheval Blanc and Beauregard; the northern-most parcels are clay over a sub-soil rich in iron deposits from the crasse de fer. When the appellation was created in 1936, the INAO boundary placed four of the estate's parcels (Tram, Dubuch, Cheval Blanc and Milieu) in Saint-Emilion; a time-limited INAO dispensation let them go into the Pomerol, that dispensation ended in 2021, and the parcels now belong to both the Pomerol and Saint-Emilion appellations. The fallow plot Les Cerisiers was slated for replanting with Cabernet Sauvignon, a variety not grown at La Conseillante since 1918. The estate has held ISO 14001 and HVE 3 certification since 2016, lists biodynamic farming and phytotherapy among its vine-growing undertakings, and plants clover, oats and radish in the vineyard.

• 11.79 hectares (29 acres) in 16 plots; oldest plot planted in 1958
• 60% grey clay and 40% sandy gravel, with iron oxide deposits in the subsoils
• 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc; average vine age 30 years
• ISO 14001 and HVE 3 certified since 2016

The late spring frosts of 1956 essentially destroyed the entire vineyard, leaving no income from the 1956 and 1957 vintages. In 1971 the estate installed a new winery with ten temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, the first of its type on the right bank. In 2012 the fifth generation built a vat room that enabled plot-by-plot vinification; architect Bernard Mazières was commissioned for the remodelling, and 2012 was the first vintage made in the new facility. The cellar now has 22 concrete vats, each one corresponding to a plot, and four plots are dedicated to integral vinification. Ageing uses 70% new barrels from selected cooperages, 27% second-fill barrels and 3% amphoras. Annual production is 3,500 to 4,500 cases per vintage.

• 1956: spring frosts destroyed essentially the entire vineyard
• 1971: ten temperature-controlled stainless steel vats installed
• 2012: new vat room for plot-by-plot vinification
• 22 concrete vats, each one corresponding to a plot
• Ageing: 70% new barrels, 27% second-fill barrels, 3% amphoras

The estate makes two wines, both Pomerol: Château La Conseillante and Duo de Conseillante. Created in 2007, Duo de Conseillante is produced from two of the vineyard's sandier plots and has an ageing potential of two to ten years. The estate's online directory of vintages covers Château La Conseillante back to 2001 and Duo de La Conseillante back to 2012.

• Château La Conseillante (Pomerol)
• Duo de Conseillante (Pomerol): created in 2007 from two of the vineyard's sandier plots

The estate describes Château La Conseillante as "a very aromatic wine with great finesse", with floral notes of peony, aromas of red berry fruit and spices, and violets, which it calls "the inimitable hallmark floral characteristic of this wine". In the estate's description, the palate offers a creamy, silky texture with wonderful freshness and soft tannins, and after ten years the wine develops aromas of black truffles. In the words of Pascal Ribereau-Gayon, consultant oenologist at La Conseillante from 1980: "The finest qualities of La Conseillante are its elegance and its finesse". Duo de Conseillante, in the estate's words, "reveals fresh fruit on the nose and a silky mouth-feel enhanced by delicious freshness". Writing in Wine Spectator in 2007, James Suckling praised the wine's "refined, subtle and fresh style" and wrote that he often thinks of it "as a hybrid of Pomerol and St.-Emilion"; at the same tasting he scored the 1989 at 95 points and the 1998 at 94 points.

• In the estate's words: floral notes of peony and violets, red berry fruit and spices
• Black truffle aromas after ten years, in the estate's description
• James Suckling, Wine Spectator (2007): "refined, subtle and fresh style"

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.la-conseillante.com/en/histoire/, https://www.la-conseillante.com/en/le-domaine-de-la-conseillante/, https://www.la-conseillante.com/en/les-garants-du-style/, https://www.la-conseillante.com/en/notre-vin/, https://www.la-conseillante.com/en/le-repertoire-des-millesimes/. Secondary sources: https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2022/01/the-nicolas-family-marks-150-years-at-chateau-la-conseillante/, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/conseillantes-subtle-seduction-14852. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.