2009 Château Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
The 2009 Rauzan-Ségla has a very fine bouquet with tightly packed blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, melted tar and pencil shavings, leaning a little towards Saint-Julien in style (like the Giscours.) The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, gorgeous red berry fruit laced with all spice and cumin, gently fanning out towards the grippy but precise finish that is pure class. This is the best bottle that I have encountered, though the less said about the late Karl Lagerfeld's designed label the better!
Drink 2021 - 2040
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (March 2019)
Ruby red. Perfumed aromas of currant, spices and flowers show an intriguing candied quality. Light and lively on the palate, with suave, peppery dark berry and mineral flavors lifted by a spicy element on the back. Finishes long and pure, with noteworthy inner-mouth energy and fragrance. This wine's very polished tannins make it deceptively delicious to taste today, like so many 2009s.
Ian D'Agata, Vinous.com (May 2010)
Grilled sandalwood and spice set against elegant and cool blue and black fruit, giving a lovely contrast in terms of flavours and textures, and an excellent reflection of a vintage that keeps getting better and better. This feels balanced and finessed and full of Rauzan-Ségla signature. 50% new oak, 41hl/h yield, harvest September 22 to October 11.
Drink 2023 - 2042
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (January 2023)
Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Rauzan-Ségla bursts from the glass with bold, vivacious Black Forest cake, blackberry pie and warm blueberry scents plus nuances of cardamom, candied violets, smoked meats and Chinese five spice with a waft of dusty soil. Full-bodied, rich, plush and decadent, it completely coats the palate with densely packed preserved black berries layers, finishing very long and spicy.
The blend this year is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot, harvested between September 22nd and October 11th, at an average yield of 41 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 50% new. The alcohol is 14%, and the pH is 3.69.
Drink 2020 - 2035
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (April 2020)
Dark shaded crimson. Some sweetness and admirable complexity initially but the savoury finish is one of this wine's distinguishing marks, accompanied by some tannin still and a little salinity.
Drink 2019 - 2035
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (February 2024)
Deep, spicy and earthy, but with plenty of cabernet sauvignon cassis aroma and solid tannins giving it a serious structure. It's not the most polished Médoc of the vintage, but there's plenty of concentration and energy driving the long firm finish. Give it more time.
Try after 2021
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (March 2019)
A classic Margaux, this blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Merlot reveals a dense plum/blue/purple colour in addition to a sumptuous perfume of subtle new oak interwoven with underbrush, black currants, black raspberries, spring flowers, and a hint of dusty, loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied with sweet but abundant tannin, and beautiful purity, texture and equilibrium, the 2009 Rauzan Segla will provide enjoyable drinking over the next three decades.
About the only thing controversial about the 2009 Rauzan Segla will be the label designed by Chanel’s artistic director, Karl Lagerfeld, for the estate’s 350th anniversary.
Drink 2012 - 2042
Robert M. Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate (December 2011)
I continue to just love the 2009 Château Rauzan-Ségla. It's such a classic Margaux, remarkable for its elegance and purity yet still showing classic 2009 depth, richness, and sexiness. Giving up loads of crème de cassis, green tobacco, cedar pencil, chocolate, and hints of incense, it's flawlessly balanced and has sweet tannin, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's drinking at point today yet has another two decades of longevity ahead of it. It's a beautiful wine.
Drink 2020 - 2040
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (November 2020)
Bright red-ruby. Lively aromas and flavors of boysenberry, violet, chocolate and spicy oak. Juicy, sweet and elegant, with sound acidity and a firm spine of tannins keeping the wine's fruit under wraps now. Not an opulent style for the vintage; in fact, this solidly structured Margaux is tough going today. Finishes chewy and chocolatey, with noteworthy persistence. I'd cellar this for at least seven or eight years; it should enjoy a slow evolution in bottle.
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com (July 2012)
About this WINE
Chateau Rauzan-Segla
Château Rauzan-Ségla and Mouton Rothschild were considered the leading 2emé Cru Classé Bordeaux properties during the 19th century. However, while the fortunes of Mouton prospered in the 20th century, culminating in its elevation to 1er Cru status in 1973, Rauzan-Ségla`s reputation dwindled and a succession of disappointing wines were produced.
In the early 80s the Rauzan-Segla was sold and the renaissance began. The eminent Professor Peynaud was appointed as a consultant and the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend was increased, as was the proportion of new oak used in the maturation process. In 1986, a brand-new cuverie was built.
A succession of eye-catching wines were produced at Rauzan-Ségla in the mid to late 80s and early 1990s. Rauzan-Segla was bought by Chanel in 1994.
There are now 45 hectares of vineyards at Rauzan-Ségla and the grapes (63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc) are fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. The wine is then matured in barriques (60% new) for 18 months.
Margaux
If Pauillac can be seen as the bastion of ‘traditional’ Red Bordeaux, then Margaux represents its other facet in producing wines that are among Bordeaux’s most sensual and alluring. It is the largest commune in the Médoc, encompassing the communes of Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labaude, in addition to Margaux itself. Located in the centre of the Haut-Médoc, Margaux is the closest of the important communes to the city of Bordeaux.
The soils in Margaux are the lightest and most gravelly of the Médoc, with some also containing a high percentage of sand. Vineyards located in Cantenac and Margaux make up the core of the appelation with the best vineyard sites being located on well-drained slopes, whose lighter soils give Margaux its deft touch and silky perfumes. Further away from the water, there is a greater clay content and the wines are less dramatically perfumed.
Margaux is the most diffuse of all the Médoc appelations with a reputation for scaling the heights with irreproachable wines such as Ch. Margaux and Ch. Palmer, but also plumbing the depths, with too many other châteaux not fulfilling their potential. There has been an upward shift in recent years, but the appellation cannot yet boast the reliability of St Julien. However, the finest Margaux are exquisitely perfumed and models of refinement and subtlety which have few parallels in Bordeaux.
Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Margaux, Ch. Palmer, Ch. Brane-Cantenac, Ch. Rauzan-Ségla , Ch. Dufort-Vivens, Ch. Ferrière, Ch. du Tertre, Ch. Giscours, Ch. d'Angludet.
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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Description
The 2009 Rauzan-Ségla has a very fine bouquet with tightly packed blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, melted tar and pencil shavings, leaning a little towards Saint-Julien in style (like the Giscours.) The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, gorgeous red berry fruit laced with all spice and cumin, gently fanning out towards the grippy but precise finish that is pure class. This is the best bottle that I have encountered, though the less said about the late Karl Lagerfeld's designed label the better!
Drink 2021 - 2040
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (March 2019)
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