2009 Château Phélan Ségur, St Estèphe, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Ideal with a two-hour carafe.
Ripe blackberry fruits with some powerful tannins and a ton of sandalwood and cedar oak. More exuberant than the sculpted wines that Phelan has been making in recent years, this is fully in the spirit of a ripe 2009. It is enjoyable and full of personality, a little overworked—50% new oak for ageing, Michel Rolland consultant.
Drink 2024 - 2040
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (September 2024)
The 2009 Phélan-Ségur has a more generous and slightly more exotic bouquet than its peers, with plush red cherry, redcurrant, soy and forest floor aromas that soar from the glass. Thankfully, it maintains ample freshness and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip, quite firm, and slightly chalky tannin, with unerring symmetry and tension towards the finish, which is pure class. This is an outstanding contribution to the vintage, and it surely constitutes one of the best wines ever made at the estate.
Drink 2024 - 2055
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (March 2019)
Deep garnet coloured, the 2009 Phélan Ségur leaps from the glass with scents of crème de cassis, molten chocolate, liquorice, and blueberry compote, with touches of cardamom, Morello cherries, and dried mint. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals beautiful poise with a fine frame of grainy tannins and a refreshing backbone, finishing long and mineral-laced.
Drink 2019 - 2036
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2019)
The best Phelan-Segur since the 1990, this is a rather dense, full-bodied, massive wine for a cru bourgeois. Sweet blackberry and black raspberry fruit intermixed with crushed rock and a hint of a subtle oak jump from the glass of this full-bodied, intense, attractive, and alluring wine. There is significant depth and substance to this Phelan-Segur, a sleeper of the vintage that should last up to 15 or more years.
Drink 2012 - 2027
Robert M. Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate (December 2011)
Tasted blind
Mid crimson. Some rather obvious – oak related? – sweetness on the nose. A strangely voluptuous wine that is atypical of the appellation. Something a bit charred about the finish. Non classic – almost right bank!
Drink 2022 - 2034
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (March 2019)
Solid wine. Bright blueberry and floral aromas follow through to a full body, with soft, velvety tannins and a long finish. Best since 1989.
Try after 2017
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (March 2012)
The 2009 Château Phelan Ségur is a big, rich, powerful wine from this terrific Saint-Estèphe. Revealing a ruby/plum colour as well as a complex nose of brambly red and black fruits, damp earth, chocolate, graphite, and a touch of truffle, this beauty hits the palate with a layered, full-bodied mouthfeel, ripe, silky tannins, and a big finish. It's in its adolescent years, where its baby fat has just started to melt away, and it's picking up more elegance and finesse. Balanced and just impeccably put together, enjoy bottles any time over the coming two decades.
Drink 2020 - 2040
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (November 2020)
About this WINE
Château Phélan Ségur
Château Phélan-Ségur is a St Estèphe property that produces textbook meaty, solid and long-lived St Estèphe. Founded by Irishman Bernard O’Phelan, the estate was developed by his son, Frank, and renamed Phélan Ségur in the early 20th century. It was bought by Xavier Gardinier in 1985 and run by his sons, Thierry and Laurent until 2018, when Philippe Van de Vyvere bought the property.
Phélan-Ségur's 70 hectares of vineyards are well-sited near the Grionde estuary, lying on well-drained gravel soils, bordered by those of Château Montrose and Château Calon-Ségur.
The grand vin is normally a blend of at least 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, with Merlot and a touch of Cabernet Franc and/or Petit Verdot. The grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats and the wine is then matured in oak barriques (maximum 50% new) for 16 months. Phélan Ségur usually requires at least five to seven years of bottle ageing to show at its best, and the finest vintages can continue improving for up to 15 years.
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
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.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
Ideal with a two-hour carafe.
Ripe blackberry fruits with some powerful tannins and a ton of sandalwood and cedar oak. More exuberant than the sculpted wines that Phelan has been making in recent years, this is fully in the spirit of a ripe 2009. It is enjoyable and full of personality, a little overworked—50% new oak for ageing, Michel Rolland consultant.
Drink 2024 - 2040
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (September 2024)
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee