2020 Calon Segur
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Tasting Notes
This has a lovely interplay of earthy, mineral notes with a touch of smokiness, fresh leather and concentrated berry fruit aromas, all beautifully compacted on a focused nose. The wine starts surprisingly supple with the soft, ripe yet detailed tannins slowly building on the palate. This wine takes you by surprise, becoming more and more focused on the palate. There is a lovely pristine quality to the fruit, an equilibrium and tension to the wine. Alongside the fruit are sweeter dark chocolate notes and green herbal tones providing a complex flavour spectrum on the mid-palate. It finishes with great energy, verve and vibrant acidity. The more clay-like Saint Estèphe minerality really comes through on the finish. Excellent.
Critic Scores
Average Score
James Suckling
James Lawther MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
A return to form in my eyes for Calon Ségur after the atypical 2018, rippling with elegance, balance and savoury blue fruits of Cabernet, with rose and peony flowers. Concentrated, chiselled and juicy, this has clear personality and equals the great, classically balanced vintages of Calon like 2016. A yield of 33hl/ha, 3.85pH, 100% new oak. Vincent Millet is now overall director as well as technical director, since the departure of Laurent Dufau in 2020.
The 2020 Calon-Ségur is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. It is aging in 100% new French oak barrels for an anticipated 18 to 20 months. The alcohol is 13.8%. Displaying a deep purple-black color, it straight away springs up with bright scents of freshly picked black raspberries, kirsch and blackberries, needing considerable swirling to reveal a vast array of nuances—rose oil, cardamom, iron ore, graphite, lavender and aniseed. The medium-bodied palate has a solid structure of firm, ripe, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness supporting the tightly wound red and black fruit layers, accented by lots of mineral and floral sparks, finishing with impressive length and depth. Beautiful, beautiful wine!
The flagship 2020 Château Calon Ségur is also brilliant and certainly brings up the intensity, depth, and richness, although it’s nowhere near the exotic, almost over-the-top style of the 2018. Gorgeous crème de cassis, tobacco, roasted coffee beans, lead pencil, and sappy herbs all define this beauty, which is full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and has incredible purity of fruit. It might have some up-front appeal as well, yet smart money will hide bottles for at least 7-8 years.
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About the producer
Wedding gift lists traditionally include wine glasses or cutlery, but in 1718, Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur, the owner of Château Lafite and Château Latour and president of the Bordeaux parliament, received a rather more impressive present: Château Calon.