2008 Château Calon Ségur, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

2008 Château Calon Ségur, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

Product: 20088008756
 
2008 Château Calon Ségur, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

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Description

Tasted from an ex-chteau bottle at BI Wine & Spirits Calon-Segur dinner in London. I praised the 2008 Calon Segur when I tasted it blind in 2012 and I have no reason to change my opinion three years later. Here it has a surprisingly deep hue for a 2008. The nose is very detailed and lively, more breezy and carefree than the 2009 with vivacious blackberry, cedar and graphite scents. The palate is medium-bodied and slightly brittle in texture on the entry. The acidity is beautifully judged here with superb balance: smooth and harmonious, though it just tapers in towards the edgy, maybe angular finish. This has a sense of joie-de-vivre perhaps not common in Calon-Sgur's wines. It is one of the best Left Bank wines in 2008 and given its price, one of its best values. Tasted March 2015.
Neal Martin - 28/10/2016

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate93/100
Tasted from an ex-chteau bottle at BI Wine & Spirits Calon-Segur dinner in London. I praised the 2008 Calon Segur when I tasted it blind in 2012 and I have no reason to change my opinion three years later. Here it has a surprisingly deep hue for a 2008. The nose is very detailed and lively, more breezy and carefree than the 2009 with vivacious blackberry, cedar and graphite scents. The palate is medium-bodied and slightly brittle in texture on the entry. The acidity is beautifully judged here with superb balance: smooth and harmonious, though it just tapers in towards the edgy, maybe angular finish. This has a sense of joie-de-vivre perhaps not common in Calon-Sgur's wines. It is one of the best Left Bank wines in 2008 and given its price, one of its best values. Tasted March 2015.
Neal Martin - 28/10/2016 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17.5/20
Deep crimson. Very different. Spicy sweet nose – very fluid. Quite a contrast to the austere Montrose we have just tasted! Quite rich and supple and fireworks. Round and rather glorious though not at all tarted up. Very fresh. Firm and with great spin though no compromises. Very classic. A very confident vintage for Calon-Ségur.
(Jancis Robinson MW - jancisrobinson.com - Apr 09) Read more
Robert Parker90/100

A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, this is an outstanding wine made in a classic style. The tannins are high, but the wine possesses abundant notes of cedar, licorice, underbrush, black currants and cherries. Medium-bodied and dense, but structured and backward (as are most vintages of Calon-Segur), give it 7-8 years of cellaring and drink it over the next 20-25.
(Robert Parker- Wine Advocate- May 2011)

...Its sweet perfume of black currants, tobacco leaf, and licorice is followed by a wine with superb purity, good freshness, and a full-bodied style with ripe tannin as well as a long finish. Somewhat reminiscent of the 1996, although this vintage carries a much higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2008 should be relatively approachable given the sweetness of the tannins, and will evolve for 20-25 years.Calon Segur's harvest took place between October 1-16, not particularly late in the context of this vintage.
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Apr-2009)

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Decanter18.5/20
Deep purple, pure, rich and aromatic blackcurrant fruit with a touch of wild roses, extremely elegant, harmonious with immense charm and sufficient depth to last a long time. The Lafite of Saint-Estephe. Read more

About this WINE

Chateau Calon Segur

Chateau Calon Segur

Château Calon-Ségur, the most northerly of all the Médoc Grand-Crus Classés, is the château with a heart on its label. That is because the former owner, Marquis de Ségur, though he owned such Estates as Lafite and Latour, he declared "My heart belongs to Calon". For the last century it has been owned by the Gasqueton family.

Calon-Ségur's 74-hectare vineyard, which is partly enclosed by a wall, is located just to the north of the village of St-Estèphe. The vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon 65%, Merlot 20%, Cabernet Franc 15%) lie on up to 5 metre deep gravel beds mixed with sand and, in parts, limestone and clay.

The wines are fermented for 3 weeks in enamel-lined steel vats and are then matured in oak barriques (40% new) for 18 months. Recently, Calon-Ségur has hit form with notable successes in 1995 and 1996 and 2000. At its best, Calon-Ségur produces meaty and concentrated wines displaying excellent depth of fruit and superb length. It is classified as a 3ème Cru Classé.

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Saint-Estèphe

Saint-Estèphe

Saint-Estèphe is the northernmost of the most important communes of the Médoc and borders Pauillac on its southernmost border, with only a gully and stream separates it from Ch. Lafite. To the north lies the Bas-Médoc.

Saint-Estèphe is defined by the depth of its gravel, which is ubiquitous but of varying depths and occasionally very shallow, when clay predominates. This keeps the soil cooler and wetter than its counterparts so that the wines can appear fresh in lighter vintages, but superbly successful in hot, dry years. 

The best châteaux in the south of the commune have the deepest soil and the thickest gravel. Cos d'Estournel has an exceptional terroir with its vineyards being located on a south-facing ridge of gravel with excellent drainage. 

Saint-Estèphe is the least gravelly of main Médoc communes and in the north of the commune the vineyards are heavier and more clay-based leading to a rustic style of wine being produced.

The wines can appear austere in youth with a discernable ferric note at some châteaux, but the best typically display good depth of colour, pronounced acidity an tannins in youth and are exceptionally long-lived. At their best, they are the equal of almost any Bordeaux. The well-regarded St Estèphe co-operative controls the production of about half the appellation.

Recommended Châteaux
Cos (Ch. Cos d'Estournel), Ch. Montrose, Ch. Calon-Ségur, Ch. Lafon-Rochet, Ch. Les Ormes de Pez, Ch. Beau-Site, Ch. Cos Labory, Ch. Phélan-Ségur

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Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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