| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Margaux |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
The 2009 Rauzan-Ségla has a very fine bouquet with tightly packed blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, melted tar and pencil shavings, leaning a little towards Saint-Julien in style (like the Giscours.) The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, gorgeous red berry fruit laced with all spice and cumin, gently fanning out towards the grippy but precise finish that is pure class. This is the best bottle that I have encountered, though the less said about the late Karl Lagerfeld's designed label the better! 2021 - 2040
A classic Margaux, this blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Merlot reveals a dense plum/blue/purple color in addition to a sumptuous perfume of subtle new oak interwoven with underbrush, black currants, black raspberries, spring flowers, and a hint of dusty, loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied with sweet but abundant tannin, and beautiful purity, texture and equilibrium, the 2009 Rauzan Segla will provide enjoyable drinking over the next three decades.
About the only thing controversial about the 2009 Rauzan Segla will be the label designed by Chanel's artistic director, Karl Lagerfeld, for the estate's 350th anniversary.
Complex aromas of dried citrus fruit, with very ripe plums and currants. Full and very dense, with lots of beautiful fruit and super velvety tannins. This is really long and caressing, with intense structure. A gorgeous wine. Muscular and powerful. Made for the long term. Try in 2020.
The 2009 Rauzan-Segla (Rausan-Segla) has a medium to deep garnet color and opens with notes of blackcurrant cordial, blueberry pie and redcurrant jelly with touches of sweaty leather, tilled earth, black olives and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied with a firm, chewy texture and oodles of freshness, it has a compelling mid-palate, though it finishes a little rustic. Drink 2019-2030.
Grilled sandalwood and spice set against elegant and cool blue and black fruit, giving a lovely contrast in terms of flavours and textures, and an excellent reflection of a vintage that keeps getting better and better. This feels balanced and finessed, and full of Rauzan-Ségla signature. 50% new oak, 41hl/h yield, harvest September 22 to October 11. John Kolasa director.
Very dark, shiny crimson. Composed, dense, fresh nose is intriguing and not immediately obviously 2009. Direct aroma – still quite youthful – much more youthful than most of these 2009s. Ripe tannins in evidence.
Drink 2019-2036
Now comfortably established in the super-second league. Huge efforts are being made by owners Chanel to make great wine at Rauzan, with production of the first wine only around half of the total harvest and the rest used for their excellent second wine - Ségla. Scotsman John Kolasa, formerly of Château Latour, is in charge here. In our view this 2nd growth is consistently the top wine of the appellation after Palmer and Chateau Margaux itself. The frequent winner of Margaux appellation blind tastings for recent vintages. Made from 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot. 50% new oak. Only 40% of the total crop was selected with 43% going into Segla and 17% into a third generic wine. A lovely perfumed nose with sweet vanilla, violets and ripe red fruits. Intense but elegant on the palate with a lovely supple texture. Silky with red cherry, vanilla and spice. Focussed with real purity and precision. A great Margaux with lift and vitality to balance the ripeness of fruit. Impeccable wine-making here.
The nose is power packed, sweet cassis and blackberry vying with black cherry. Dark chocolate on the mid palate enriches, the fleshy black fruits balanced by hints of red cherry. The tannins are in evidence but rounded and supple allowing the sweet fruit to flesh out the finish. Drink 2020-2040.
Benefiting from the inclusion of 11% press wine (albeit in a year when many people found they had more than enough structure without it), this provides further proof of on-going improvements at the château. This is richly oaked, but has the stuffing (even for a Margaux) to cope. Plums, liquorice and sweet tannins are the hallmarks of this fruit-laden wine. 10+ years
Fine dense red, beautifully poised, naturally concentrated wild roses Margaux nose, superb fragrance that leads to a finely polished palate with great depth and purity, a great vineyard expression, power and finesse all in balance, very good indeed. Drink 2015-35.
Deep, spicy and earthy, but with plenty of cabernet sauvignon cassis aroma and solid tannins giving it a serious structure. It's not the most polished Médoc of the vintage, but there's plenty of concentration and energy driving the long firm finish. Give it more time. Try after 2021. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)
Composed of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot, this large estate appears to have produced their greatest wine since the 1986. The alcohols came in at 13.9%, and the wine reveals extraordinary density, power, and richness as well as explosive fruit, and terrific acidity, intensity, and power. Yet it tastes like a crisp, delicate Margaux. Yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. This outstanding 2009 should age nicely for 35-40+ years. (Tasted two times.) Drink 2010-2050.
Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Rauzan-Segla '09 has a ripe, vivacious, floral bouquet with good fruit intensity: macerated dark cherries, cassis and a touch of bay leaf. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grip. This displays very good balance and good weight in the mouth, moving towards and slightly peppery, Saint Julien style finish. Tasted January 2013.
Tasted at the chateau and UGC. A blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot, with 10% vin de presse. The Merlot picked from 22nd to 25th September then 28th September until 1st October. The Cabernet picked 3rd October and from 5th until 11th October (no Cabernet Franc and the Petit Verdot, though ripe, just did not blend well), cropped at 41hl/ha. The nose is well defined, very classic in style with blackberry, black olive, graphite and an intriguing note of woodbines. This is a magnificent Rauzan-Segla, easily the best I have tasted at en primeur. Firstly, it is much more harmonious than usual at this nascent stage, the acidity level is just about perfect, there is a vibrancy that is really enthralling and the poise on the finish ranks alongside that of Chateau Margaux, tasted just before. The finish is very strong, slightly creamy in texture, but also superbly defined and with superb length. Very natural and refine, yet powerful. This may be the best Rauzan Segla that John Kolasa has made. Tasted March 2010
From Robert Parker's Hong Kong Tasting, 8th Nov 2011:
Gorgeous nose of raspberries and blueberries. Hints of chocolate and oak. Full bodied, but compacted and very racy. Lovely fruit with milk chocolate, but the texture of tannins is so beautiful. This is the best Rauzan ever made - except perhaps the great pre-phylloxera bottles of the 1800s. Try in 2019
Shows a lovely concentration of currant and blackberry. Hints of vanilla follow through to a full body, with layers of ripe fruit and fine, fruit-coated tannins. I love the ripe and pretty fruit to this. Very fruit-forward. The château cut back on the new wood, and went for a fruitier style. I like thatShows a lovely concentration of currant and blackberry. Hints of vanilla follow through to a full body, with layers of ripe fruit and fine, fruit-coated tannins. I love the ripe and pretty fruit to this. Very fruit-forward. The château cut back on the new wood, and went for a fruitier style. I like that.
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2009 Chateau Rauzan-Segla has a very fruity warm blackcurrant and blackberry preserve nose over hints of lilacs, cedar, cloves and cinnamon stick. Full bodied, rich and seductively fruited in the mouth, it has a solid foundation to support with a high level of velvety tannins and refreshing acid, finishing long.
Dark crimson. Light and fragrant. Thick on the palate, almost soupy! Should give lots of pleasure - does not need food. One to drink at the bar... Lots of care in tannin management, I would have thought. A wine with real intensity. Date tasted 31st March 2010. Drink 2016-2026.
