1996 Ch. Calon-Ségur, St Estèphe

After the success of the 1995 vintage, another classic wine from Calon-Ségur. Full bodied, robust, with masses of sweet fruit, complex palate of dried herbs and Asian spices intermixed with truffles and chocolate overtones. This wine is a sensational effort, fully approachable now, but it will continue to improve with further ageing.Château Calon-Ségur

Strongly mineral nose. Very fresh and sappy. Good integrity of fruit right through the beginning, middle and end of the tasting experience. Lots of tannin there still which is very slightly dusty. Correct St-Estèphe. Sweet start and then glossy.
17/20 - Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com, 18 Oct 2006

This is a wine with real punch. Deep crimson colour with some evolution at the rim. It spreads impressively and beguilingly over the palate. Very confident, typical St Estephe although it is not yet ready. Medium weight with relatively high acidity and still perceptible tannins. In no way sweet.
17.5/20 - Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com, 12 Oct 2005

The 1996 may not be as profound as I had predicted from cask, but it is an exceptional wine. Dark ruby-colored, with a complex nose of dried herbs, Asian spices, and black cherry jam intermixed with cassis, it possesses outstanding purity, and considerable tannin in the finish. This classic, medium to full-bodied, traditionally made wine improves dramatically with airing, suggesting it will have a very long life.
92/100 - Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Apr 1999

He has gained weight, revealing even more flesh and depth than in 1997. The wine is opaque ruby/purple colored, full bodied, ferociously tannic and crammed with fruit and extract.This wine will require a decade of partience.This appears to be a profond classic muscular, and powerful Calon-Segur that will age effortlessly for 30-40 years. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2035. Readers should remember that this estate possesses one of the greatest terroirs of Bordeaux, and produced a bevy of legendary wines in the twenties, late forties, and early fifties. Since then, it has been something of a hit or miss property, but under her administration, Madame Gasqueton has produced consistently outstanding wines. The 1996, a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, was made from extremely low yields of 35 hectoliters per hectare.
92-94/100 - Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Feb 1998