Chateau Phelan Segur 2016

Everything about this bottle is superb: the aromatic complexity, the masterful maturation, the density, the finesse, the length, the precision—truly top class.

This is a touch old-school, with bay and tobacco notes up front followed by alder, warm earth and steeped black currant flavors. The grippy finish lets the fruit and earth notes wrestle a bit, leaving a chewy feel. Will settle with cellaring, but this is not for fans of finesse. Best from 2022 through 2035. 15,000 cases made.

A very serious St.-Estèphe with excellent concentration, firm tannins and a dark soul. I love the earth, walnut, bark and smoke aromas that pour out of this. Very long, dramatic, dry finish. Better from 2021.

Tasted blind. Concentrated crimson. Interesting, subtle nose. Very juicy for a 2016 St-Estèphe initially and then the tannins step in. Needs a lot of time! [GV] (JR)

The 2016 Phélan-Ségur has a more exotic but controlled bouquet, with brambly red fruit, star anise and cassis scents that blossom in the glass. Quite seductive. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit. Granular in texture, with strong pencil-shaving notes coming through on the Pauillac-like finish, I would afford this another couple of years in bottle. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting.

Coming along nicely, still youthful, the wine is packed with ripe, sweet fruits, soft, polished tannins, and roundness in the finish. The fruits are polished, fresh, and taste as good as they feel. The wine needs a few more years before it is fully ready to go. This is a steal in today's marketplace! Drink from 2024 - 2043.

Finely toasted nose with some new oak, caramel, tobacco, ripe dark fruit, cassis, black cherry, and a dense, concentrated palate; plentiful tannins with fine polish and an underlying freshness; savory dark fruit and a very long, pure finish.

Showing beautifully on multiple occasions, the 2016 Château Phélan Ségur is incredibly impressive and reveals a saturated purple as well as pure cassis, violets, damp earth, lead pencil, and spice-driven aromas and flavors. Beautifully layered and textured, concentrated, with fine tannins and the purity and elegance that make the vintage so compelling front and center, it’s a high-class Saint Estèphe to enjoy over the coming 20-25 years or more.

From the “crazy” yet magnificent vintage. First a great deal of drought, then timely rainfall in just the right amount. A clear, focused bouquet with blue fruits, cassis, blue flowers, and juicy plum skin. Very precise and linear on the attack and through the palate, while remaining very elegant and extremely well balanced, endowed with plenty of finesse, freshness, and fine-grained tannins. A great wine, still young.

Kunz barrel sample 17: (55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot) Dense, deep, dark bouquet, cassis, black berries, currants, fine woods, licorice. Tightly knit, elegant, multi-layered, classic palate with plenty of fine tannins, concentrated dark aromatics, velvety fruit, elegant structure, very long, powerful finish.

Fragrant, silky, powerful, fresh bouquet of cassis, mint, herbs, cedar, fine licorice. A densely knit, classic, elegant palate with a silky texture, plenty of fine tannins, dark aromatics, and a long, full finish. Has room to improve. 18/20 2023 - 2045

Last tasted in 2022, now more than time to revisit. Still muscular in its tannic frame but the creamy fruits are starting to expand and become dominant. Blackberry, espresso, cocoa bean, pomegranate, now in its early drinking window, already storming with a short carafe, perfect for sharing over the holidays. We also had a wonderful visit here during Mentor Week 2023 at this 70ha vineyard, owned by Philippe Van de Vyvere, director Veronique Dausse, consultants Michel Rolland and Julien Viaud.

Deep garnet colored, the 2016 Phelan Segur requires a little swirling to unlock bold scents of crushed red and black currants, black raspberries, and cedar chest, plus wafts of cardamom and damp soil. Medium-bodied, the palate is taut, youthful and refreshing, featuring firm, grainy tannins and loads of savory layers, finishing with great length.

The 2016 is full of brightness, with juicy fruit and a structured palate showing great potential. The 2015 is rounder, minty, exuberant and very seductive.

A beautiful symbiosis of freshness and maturity. A very serious bouquet that unfolds slowly, revealing classic nuances of graphite and black berries. Dense and refined on the palate. Powerful, monolithic, with very fine-grained tannins in tune with the pedigree of the acidic structure. A superb wine that needs time… and it has plenty ahead of it!

I tasted this vintage on several occasions, and it delivers lush, pure cassis fruit, freshness with concentration, velvety tannins, and a kind of glossiness along with a peppery spiciness. A late harvest took place from September 29 to October 21. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot, aged in 50% new barrels, but they are moving to lighter toasting. In recent years, this estate consistently performs above its unclassified status in terms of complexity, character, and personality. 2016 was the last vintage from the Gardinier family; the new owner plans even more investment and is farming part of the vineyards organically.

Dark, intense color. Moderately intense nose with fresh, ripe fruit. Soft on the attack, juicy as it develops, the wine unfolds on an upward profile. It evolves with length, very good, flavorful, sapid, with fine tannins and good substance. Good length.

There is a much better balance between fruit and the wood aging in this vintage from this estate than in the past. This wine offers richness and structure from fruit tannin. Dark fruits give the wine rich intensity. Drink from 2025.