Chateau Calon Segur 2015

With quite stunning fruitiness, yet also delicate floral spice; dense, full and long; subtle and elegant; sensual and refined: worth committing a sin for.

As Vincent Millet points out, in the context of St-Estèphe, ‘2015 is the opposite of 2014, marked by a very wet growing season’ that included 180mm of rain from August to September. Although the first nose expresses caramel, spice and slightly woody notes, a quick airing of the wine reveals its elements of black fruit, liquorice, and graphite. More expressive is the lovely satin-like mouthfeel possessing real power, shaped by finely etched tannins and harmonious yet energetic acidity. Without a doubt, this is a superb wine that will require cellaring before unfurling all it has to offer in the coming years.

Aromas of blackberries, currants, cedar and tobacco. Full-bodied, layered and dense. Great fruit yet tight and structured. A classically proportioned red with so much intensity. A wine for the future. Try it in 2022.

The 2015 Calon-Ségur has an attractive bouquet with black olive-infused blackberry, bilberry and a whiff of the estuary coming through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with smooth tannins and fine depth. It's a little grainy toward the finish with that marine theme lingering in the mouth. This is promising. Tasted blind at the 2015 Bordeaux Ten-Year-On tasting at Farr Vintners.

The past few years have added a lot of complexity and richness to this wine. Now you find some development with nuances of tobacco leaf, cigar box, mint, plums, blackberries, and currants. On the palate, the wine is opulent, lush, round, and polished, with a showy, attention-seeking character, finishing with creamy tannins, freshness, and layers of sweet, ripe, lush, Asian-spiced fruits. Give it a few more years for additional secondary development and it will be even better! Drink from 2026–2055.

Deep ruby with purple reflections and subtle rim brightening. Ripe sweet cherry, orange zest and delicate nougat, an inviting bouquet. Juicy and elegant with fine fruit sweetness, round tannins, freshly structured, ripe cherry on the finish, already easy to drink, a wine with charm.

The 2015 Calon Ségur checks in slightly behind the 2014 and is a more sexy, rounded, forward effort that displays fabulous sweetness in its cassis and black currant fruits, spice, graphite, and floral aromas and flavors. With soft tannins, a lovely, elegant texture, and medium to full body, drink it any time over the coming 2+ decades.

82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot. An early harvest. Deep purple-garnet. A slender, floral-fresh bouquet, dark berry tone, rose petals, complex with medium drive on the attack. On the palate, a peerless package of finesse: ultra-fine tannins, integrated acidity, and a very delicate texture on the tongue. Perhaps this wine is underestimated for precisely that reason. It seems almost silent in its modest manner. But in 20 years, it will silence its heretics. An oenological violin concerto! In any case, you don’t notice at all that it was aged in 100% new barriques.

82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot. An early harvest. Deep purple-garnet, dense at the core, with lilac glints on the rim. Sleek, floral-fresh bouquet, dark berry tone, rose petals, multi-layered with moderate drive on the attack. On the palate, a peerless bundle of finesse: ultra-fine tannins, integrated acidity, and a very delicate fabric-like texture gliding over the tongue. Perhaps this wine is underestimated precisely for that reason. It seems almost silent in its modesty. But in 20 years it will prove the doubters wrong. An oenological violin concerto! In any case, you don’t notice at all its élevage in 100% new barriques. (18/20). 18: Deep purple-garnet, showing very little lightening at the edge. Slowly opening bouquet, roasted notes, cedar scent and Dominican tobacco. It already shows a certain spice in the fruit. On the palate, noble, with a balanced astringency. It clearly marks the beginning of a new Calon era. It wants to return to its former hierarchy and will soon have a serious say alongside Cos and Montrose. Even if in a different, calming, less demanding style. (19/20).

(82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 47 hl/ha) Silky, dense, fresh bouquet of cassis, damson plums, tobacco, currants, nougat and fresh herbs. Elegant, tightly knit, powerful palate with intense fruit, plenty of fine tannins, an elegant, finely muscled structure, powerful, multifaceted aromatics and a very long, full finish. 18/20 2024 - 2045

Captures the texture and power of great St Estèphe, with aromatic fragrant spice, blueberry and cassis fruit, and has plenty of joy to deliver. Great quality at the ten-year mark, just about ready to drink now but with decades ahead. Crushed rose on the finish, lighter framed than the 2016 but this is a lovely wine. Aged in 100% new oak. Vincent Millet, director.

The 2015 Calon Segur is medium to deep garnet colored. It reveals delicate cassis and plum preserves notes followed by hints of dusty soil, dried leaves, and bay leaves. The medium-bodied palate is a little hollow and chewy, with subtle savory flavors on the finish.

The color is black with blackberry aromas. The wine is dense, oaky, with substance and depth, attractive oak, charm, a slight dip mid-palate. For the first time, it includes Cabernet Sauvignon planted in 2007. It will come around a bit faster than usual. 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot. 47 hl/ha, pH 3.75, 13.3°.

The nose is racy, tightly knit and offers delicate power, depth, lovely harmony and beautiful elegance. It reveals notes of red berries, blackberry, strawberry and fine touches of blackcurrant, along with discreet hints of liquorice stick and tobacco, as well as a very subtle hint of violet, Sichuan pepper and toast. The palate is fruity, juicy, delicate, mineral, gourmand and elegant, offering fine tension, energy, harmony, a subtle acidic backbone, lovely delicacy/finesse, a touch of roundness, a lovely guideline and a beautiful expression of fruit. On the palate, this wine delivers notes of juicy blackberry and juicy blackcurrant, with fine touches of crushed raspberry and ripe crushed strawberry, together with a discreet hint of plum, subtle notes of mocha, caramelised oak, sweet spices and a discreet touch of Bourbon vanilla. The tannins are fine, elegant and straight. Long, beautiful finish.

It is hard to resist the charm of this particularly aromatic wine. It started out a little easy, and today its tannic structure is becoming more defined, leaving a very pleasant, sappy character on the palate.