Chateau Calon Segur 2000

Characteristics and tasting advice for Château Calon Ségur 2000

Tasting

Appearance
A deep ruby-red color with garnet highlights dresses this wine, reflecting fine development after more than two decades of aging. The visual intensity remains remarkable, with slight evolution at the rim, a sign of harmonious maturation.

Nose
The bouquet is complex and captivating, requiring one to two hours of aeration to fully express itself. It reveals aromas of ripe dark fruits, notably blackcurrant and black cherries, accompanied by notes of fresh red fruits. With time, secondary nuances emerge: tobacco, cigar box, cedar, and graphite. Tertiary touches of truffle, dried leaves, and fresh herbs add an extra dimension to this sophisticated bouquet.

Palate
This wine offers a medium- to full-bodied profile, structured by firm tannins that have softened considerably over time. The attack reveals dark-fruit flavors wrapped in tobacco, supported by remarkable acidity that brings freshness and balance. The mid-palate develops notes of bitter cherry through to a lingering finish, leaving an impression of bitter cherry, minerality, and lightly toasted notes.

Food and wine pairings

Château Calon Ségur 2000 pairs perfectly with grilled or roasted red meats, notably a rack of lamb or a rib of beef. It also complements, with elegance, a boeuf bourguignon or coq au vin. Mushroom-based dishes, particularly those featuring Bordeaux porcini, create remarkable harmony with the wine’s forest-floor notes. Black-truffle dishes—whether meat preparations or truffled potato gratins—also find an ideal match with this vintage.

Serving and cellaring

Château Calon Ségur 2000 is ideally enjoyed at a temperature between 15 and 17°C. Decanting for one to two hours is recommended to allow the bouquet to open fully and to remove any possible sediment. This wine can be enjoyed now, having reached its first maturity plateau, and will continue to evolve favorably until around 2040, or even beyond for perfectly stored bottles.

A classic Saint-Estèphe from the legendary 2000 vintage

The estate

Calon was the name given to the boat used in the Middle Ages to transport wood from one bank of the Garonne to the other. And at the beginning of the 18th century, the Marquis de Ségur, who received the estate on the occasion of his marriage, added his name to it, and thus the label of this Saint-Estèphe Third Growth (Grand Cru Classé) was born.

The Château Calon Ségur remained in the Capbern-Gasqueton family throughout the 19th century, until 2012, when the estate was acquired by Suravenir Assurances, which continues to produce wines with an inimitable style marked by the seal of the appellation.

Château Calon Ségur also became famous for the label adorning the estate’s bottles. Since the 18th century, the heart has been the symbol of the property, paying tribute to this phrase of the Marquis de Ségur: « I make wine at Lafite and at Latour but my heart is at Calon ». For nearly three centuries, Château Calon Ségur lovers have continued to remain faithful to this iconic estate of the appellation.

The vineyard

The Château Calon Ségur vineyard covers 55 hectares at the extreme northern end of the Saint-Estèphe appellation, making it the northernmost classified growth in the Médoc. Completely enclosed by a stone wall built in the 18th century, the estate benefits from an exceptional terroir composed of thick gravel on the surface over a subsoil of clay and marl. This unique combination of blue, yellow, and black clay gives the wine its distinctive minerality and remarkable aging potential.

The vintage

The 2000 vintage is considered legendary in Bordeaux. After a difficult start to the year marked by strong downy mildew pressure in spring and a cool, wet July, a high-pressure system set in at the end of July, bringing warm, dry conditions through to harvest. This period of dryness and heat allowed grape skins to thicken and enabled exceptional phenolic ripeness. The harvest took place under ideal conditions in September and early October, producing grapes of remarkable maturity with good sugar levels and balanced acidity.

Vinification and aging

Vinification of Château Calon Ségur 2000 took place in temperature-controlled enameled steel vats for three weeks. The wine was then aged in French oak barrels for 18 to 20 months, with 40 to 50% new oak. This extended aging period allowed the wine to develop its complexity while harmoniously integrating the oak’s contributions. The wine was fined with egg white according to the traditional method before bottling.