Calon Ségur 2018

An impressive, concentrated and powerful Calon that will win many admirers without a doubt, but I would be a little hesitant if you're a fan of the more classic balance found in the 2016. It has gorgeous chocolate and rich coffee notes, with complex exotic spices and even salted caramel on the finish, along with a lovely mouthwatering quality helped by a relatively low pH of 3.75 and a good yield of 41hl/ha. This will need long ageing, probably 20 months. I tasted it on several occasions and there are no arguments that it's a stunning wine but I would probably favour the 2016 if looking to cellar something, because it's more in character for what is one of my favourite properties in the appellation. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 100% new oak.Drinking Window 2028 - 2042

Tasted blind. Bluer than some of its peers. Rich but open nose. Thick and sweet with the sweetness almost distracting from the tannin. Dramatic. Just very slightly chewy tannins. 15%Drink 2030 – 2050

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot. pH 3.75. 100% new oak. Barrel sample.Darkest cherry colour. Lifted and fragrant, very Cabernet Franc on the nose. Both black and dark-red fruit, almost raspberry, but pencil shavings too. Super-fine tannins, so silky already, so fluent, though there is clearly a density and concentration here in the texture as it builds in the mouth. Lovely dry texture on the finish, dark-fruited but full of life – I would not have thought this had so much new oak as it is swallowed by the fruit. (JH) 14.9%Drink 2028-2040

Delivers a laser beam of cassis, bitter plum and cherry reduction notes, with an extremely fine-grained structure carrying this through a long finish. Accents of iron and violet are piercing in their purity and definition. A very complete and precise wine.

(65 Cabernet Sauvignon, 17 Merlot, 15 Cabernet Franc, 3 Petit Verdot) | 100% new oak – will be matured for 20 months |14.9% alc | 70 IPT All of the Cabernet Franc in the property went in to the Grand Vin in this vintage and I have no doubt that it is this grape which has brought so much joy to this beautiful wine. Sexy and smooth Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create the beating heart of this wine, but it’s the Cabernet Franc, with its beguiling aroma, that adds the X-factor. The depth of colour and haunting, violet tones do so much to invigorate the Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose is sensational, layered and exciting and the palate is stuffed with ebullient fruit and fine-grained tannins. It was, apparently, an easy vintage to make according to winemaker Vincent Millet as each plot was either very good or excellent. I have never seen Vincent smile so much in a tasting and it is not surprising because he has made one of the wines of the vintage.

The 2018 Calon-Ségur was cropped at 41hl/ha and matured for 20 months in 100% new oak. The last racking had been done in mid-July, a couple of months before the tasting, when the barrels are transferred into the second year cellar. What I find fascinating is that comparing this with the 2017, they are actually quite similar, despite significant differences with respect to the growing season. Mainly black fruit, raspberry coulis, hints of leather and undergrowth, this is well defined and focused, disguising the 14.9% alcohol. The palate is less predisposed to disguise the warmth of the growing season, with ample confit-like black fruit, mulberry, fig and bilberry jam. This is a Calon-Ségur of considerable girth: quite muscular in style and grippy towards the finish. I do not find it as nuanced or as pixelated as other recent vintages. This opulent Calon-Ségur will provide plenty of drinking pleasure over the next 20 to 25 years but writing this has a massive fan for many years, I need to be more convinced that it truly ranks as one of the estate's all-time greats. We shall see. 2023 - 2045

The quality of the tannins is most notable here; they are present, but totally integrated and folded into the wine. Medium-to full-bodied with lovely savory fruit and a persistent and long finish. Very harmonious and fine. Yet, with air, it takes off with tannin power.

In the running for the wine of the vintage in Saint-Estèphe (if not the whole Medoc), the 2018 Château Calon Ségur is a tentative blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot that will spend 20 months in new French oak. In comparison to the more backward Montrose and more classically styled Cos d’Estournel, this beauty is as sexy and opulent as Saint-Estèphe gets, revealing a saturated purple color, awesome notes of crème de cassis, crushed rocks, spicy oak, and cedar pencil, full body, remarkable purity, and sweet, mouth-coating tannins. Checking in at 14.9% natural alcohol, it’s a big wine, no doubt, yet is perfectly ripe (not overripe or underripe), has terrific purity of fruit and a seamless texture, all making for a singular, thrilling 2018.