Chateau Rauzan Segla 2022

WEINWISSER: "72 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 26 % Merlot, 2 % Petit Verdot, 30 hl/ha, pH 3.7, 14.5 Vol.-%. Dicht verwobenes Bouquet, verführerischer Irisduft, Wildkirsche und Estragon, dahinter edle Cassiswürze und Graphit. Am komplexen, durchtrainierten Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, balancierter Rasse und engmaschigem Tanningerüst. Im konzentrierten, sehr straffen Finale Johannisbeere, tiefschürfende Terroirwürze und erhabene Adstringenz gepaart mit pfeffrigem Extrakt. Ein klassischer Rauzan-Ségla mit hohem Lagerpotenzial, der noch zulegen kann. 2030 – 2060."

JEB DUNNUCK: "This château has been firing on all cylinders of late, no doubt due to the talents of technical director Nicolas Audebert, and a wine that's going to flirt with perfection is their 2022 Château Rauzan-Ségla. Powerful notes of black cherries, currants, smoked tobacco, chocolate, and leafy herbs all define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered, concentrated texture, ripe yet building tannins, and a great finish. This is a legit great wine that's going to rival the 2010, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2020."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Frische Kirschen, zart nach Cassis, ein Hauch von Nugat und Pflaumen, feine Edelholzwürze und Orangenzesten, einladendes Bukett. Komplex, saftig, reife Frucht, feine Extraktsüße, feiner Säurebogen, elegant und sehr lang anhaftend, mineralisch, schokoladiger Abgang, lange und voller vielversprechender Zukunft, zeigt Balance und Delikatesse."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: „Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2022 Rauzan-Segla is made from 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot, aging for 18 months in French oak, 50% of it new. A little swirling unleashes an explosion of black and red currant jelly, wild blueberries, and chocolate-covered cherries, giving way to a fragrant undercurrent of violets, underbrush, and crushed rocks with a touch of star anise. The full-bodied palate is built like a brick house and crafted like a Chanel suit, with a firm backbone of super-ripe, grainy tannins and impressive tension supporting a gorgeous array of floral, spice, and black fruit layers, finishing very long and with impeccable grace. pH 3.7."

JAMES SUCKLING: "The freshness and clarity of the fruit is really something with black currants and cherries. Brilliant. Full-bodied, layered and round with polished tannins. I like the intensity and focus with such precision and gorgeousness. Is this the 2016 plus more?"

DECANTER: "Gorgeously fragranced on the nose with perfumed black fruits and pink flowers - smells very Margaux. Clean and crisp, a beautiful precision from the start with ripe and rich fruit but cool fresh acidity and sleek, fine tannins. A little shy, still compact and tightly knitted, but lovely detail, so well worked, almost delicate but there's still quite fleshy, plush fruit. Excellent concentration but delivered with an easy sleight of hand, expanding with time in the glass. Glamorous, scented, inviting, deep and seductive. A brilliant and totally moreish wine. Yield of 30hl/ha. 3.7pH. 17% press wine. Harvest 2-28 September. Ageing in French oak for 14-16 months, 15% new. In organic conversion."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Dark in color, the array of floral notes shoot out with violets, lilacs, and roses. From there you find truffle, red and black fruits, cigar box and cedar also come through in the nose. While the perfume is catchy, it is on the palate where the wine takes off. Texturally, the wine is drenched in velvet. There is intensity, richness, and concentration, as well as weightlessness on the palate. With this wine, the seamless finish must be felt, as well as tasted. The wine is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot. This marks the highest percentage of Cabernet in the blend and with 17% press wine in the blend, it is the highest portion of press wine as well. 14.5% ABV, 3.7 pH. The harvest took place September 2 - September 28. This is the earliest start to a harvest for Rauzan Segla. Yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare. The Grand Vin was produced from 50% of the harvest. Drink from 2027-2065."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2022 Rauzan-Ségla is a beautifully sensual, charming wine, bursting with aromas of cherries, dark berries and plums mingled with hints of violets, sweet loamy soil and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's fleshy and enveloping, with an ample core of vibrant fruit, supple tannins and a long, succulent finish. The 2022 is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot; and in 2022, the east-facing sides of the vines, which see the afternoon sun, were picked separately, along with anything that showed signs of stress."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Very deep glowing crimson. Broad, welcoming nose with fragrant top note. This is more obviously Margaux than the Ségla. Gentle and sweet but with a massive charge of tannin underneath. Very subtle and mineral, tense and contained. There will obviously be some opulence eventually but not for some time! Dry, neat, very persistent finish for the moment. Very concentrated."