2016 Château Phélan Ségur, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

2016 Château Phélan Ségur, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

Product: 20161014147
 
2016 Château Phélan Ségur, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

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Description

This has an intense colour with a pleasing nose. The palate is unctuous, with round, sweet, blackberry and blue fruit. It fills the mouth, displaying the property’s trademark power and structure, and ending with a persistent, saline finish.

Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 58%, Merlot 39%, Cabernet Franc 1.5%, Petit Verdot 1.5%

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Critics reviews

Jane Anson94/100
Some wines are just about pure pleasure, and from the first glass you know that this is begging you to sit back, enjoy, and pour a glass for a friend. Not as long living as some of the other wines on this list, but it's a 2016 that shows the beauty of the vintage without having to wait another five years to enjoy. Cocoa bean, espresso and tar dominate on the first nose, then bristling blackcurrant fruits appear, with tension through the palate and a mouthwatering finish. 50% new oak.

Drink 2021 to 2040

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (November 2021) Read more
Wine Advocate92-94/100
The 2016 Phelan-Segur has a really quite superb bouquet, quite Pauillac-like in style with graphite-infused black fruit, subtle tertiary notes and later, pressed flowers. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is plenty of tobacco-infused black fruit here, crisp and focused with a lovely salinity on the finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a strong follow-up to the excellent 2015 and may even surpass it. This is a Saint-Estephe that is getting better and better.
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate #230 - 28th April 2017 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17/20
Comfortable, well-balanced, bone-dry rendition. Very appetising. Very dry finish. Classical build. Far from heavy. Meaty and spicy and very agreeable to drink! Drink 2025-2040.
Jancis Robinson - 19th April 2017 Read more
James Suckling94-95/100
A super fragrant red with blackberry and blueberry aromas plus hints of blackcurrants. Full-bodied, powerful and structured. Tannic. Very long finish. A muscular and intense wine.
James Suckling - April 2017 Read more
Decanter94/100
They finished picking here on 25th October, one of the latest ever harvests at Phélan. Feathery tannins and a fresh, ripe but crunchy aspect to the fruit gives a real sense of vivacity and grip. I love the dark pepper spice that clamps around the fruit on the second half of the palate. This is an excellent vintage for Phélan, for me better than both the 2015 and 2014. It's full of life with silky, extremely pliable tannins (the IPT comes in at 89, but they reflect the signature of the vintage by being soft and lush) and a slow build up to a juicy frame that catches the fruit. Blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, aged in 50% new oak. Drinking Window 2024 - 2042.
Jane Anson - Decanter, 3rd April 2017 Read more

About this WINE

Château Phélan Ségur

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.

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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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