2021

Château Calon-Ségur

Saint-Estèphe AOP, 3ème Cru Classé

Im Norden des Médoc liegt die Appellation Saint-Estèphe. Hier sind die Böden von Kies geprägt – Garant für viel Klarheit und Frische in Weinen, wie dem Troisième Grand Cru Classé des Château Calon-Ségur. Der Jahrgang 2021 verfügt dabei über eine ganz eigene Charakteristik, denn die Assemblage enthält in diesem Jahr einen ungewöhnlich hohen Cabernet-Sauvignon-Anteil von 81 %. Nur 7 % Prozent Merlot schafften es in den Grand Vin, weil die Rebsorte 2021 in besonderem Maße von Mehltau betroffen war. Die Cuvée wurde stattdessen mit 11 % Cabernet Franc und einem Prozent Petit Verdot abgerundet. Das Ergebnis ist ein Wein mit charakteristischen Cassis-Noten und Tabakduft sowie einer großen Eleganz und Tiefe. In seiner Fruchtphase bereits jetzt ein großer Genuss, doch mit Potenzial für zwei weitere Jahrzehnte ausgestattet.

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A brilliant effort that will delight Médoc purists, the 2021 Calon-Ségur wafts from the glass with aromas of rose petals, wild berries, plums, Indian spices, woodsmoke and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, it's deep and lively, with beautifully ripe tannins and an exquisitely balanced profile. In spirit, this blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot is reminiscent of the 1996 vintage, though the 2021 won't go through such an extended period of hibernation and will attain a much higher peak of quality. It attained 12.9% alcohol without any chaptalization, saignée or osmosis. Tasted twice. Calon-Ségur is in the midst of a renaissance. A true "clos," this walled 55-hectare vineyard, the first to be cultivated in Saint-Estèphe, was long planted at a low density of 6,000 vines per hectare. When the cahier des charges (appellation rules) for Saint-Estèphe changed in the recent past, mandating a higher minimum density, the Gasqueton family had already begun replanting at 8,000 vines per hectare. Now estate director Vincent Millet is replanting at 10,000 vines per hectare, and each individual vine has been geo-referenced so that treatments and amendments can be adapted on a vine-by-vine basis within each parcel: the latest in high-tech precision viticulture! The varietal breakdown is changing too, with Cabernet Sauvignon on the increase, currently amounting to around 60% of the estate's holdings and with a target of around 75%. In addition to clones, a massal selection, from parcels near the small chapel just to the east of the château, is underway. Winemaking, too, has been revolutionized: in an entirely new cellar and winery, the grapes are rapidly chilled by passage through a cold tunnel and undergo a three-day cold soak, before a co-inoculated 18- to 21-day maceration with micro-oxygenation. Maturation follows, in new barrels, for 20 months with a traditional racking every three. If all this sounds very detail-oriented, it's because Millet, who boasts a PhD in wine microbiology and spent several years at Château Margaux, is an extremely serious, forward-thinking estate director, and I have no doubt that he is going to unleash all of Calon-Ségur's latent potential. 95-96+ Wine Advocate (William Kelley)

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The 2021 Calon Ségur is a gorgeous wine that is going to need a number of years to fully come into its own. Aromatic, punchy and croquant, as the French say, the 2021 is a vibrant, mid-weight Calon that will delight readers who enjoy classically built claret. Don't look for the size or opulence of recent vintages. The 2021 is a cool, classy Saint-Estèphe to savor for years and decades to come. I loved it. 94-96 Vinous (Antonio Galloni)

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Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Ockerrandaufhellung. Feinwürzig, dunkle Beerenfrucht, tabakige Nuancen, schwarze Kirschen, zarte Edelholznote. Straff, rotbeerig, rote Herzkirschen, feine Fruchtsüße, gut integrierte Tannine, lebendiger Säurebogen, zitronig-mineralisch, dezenter Nougattouch im Abgang. 93 Falstaff (Peter Moser)