Chateau Phelan Segur 2019

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is a very classically structured Bordeaux with blackcurrant, walnut, cedar and hints of toasted oak. It’s reserved now, but shows very serious, polished tannins. Persistent and powerful with fantastic length. Very precise. Try after 2025."

WEINWISSER: "56 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 42 % Merlot, 2 % Cabernet Franc. Purpur mit rubinrotem Rand. Dicht verwobenes, blaubeeriges Bouquet gepaart mit edler Cassiswürze, dahinter zarter Veilchenduft, warme Pflaumentöne, frischer Thymian, Pumpernickel und Lakritze. Am fleischigen Gaumen mit engmaschigem Tanningerüst und drahtigem Körper, fein sandiges Extrakt, hier spürt man das Potenzial. Im gebündelten, dichten Finale schwarze Johannisbeeren, endet mit dieser typischen St.-Estèphe-Adstringenz. Hier ist alles am richtigen Platz, hat bewusst eine elegante Variante und damit eine perfekte Symbiose zwischen Kraft und Finesse gewählt. Der wird noch zulegen und ist eine der Top-Kauf - empfehlungen für preisbewusste Bordeaux - lieb haber!"

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2019 Château Phelan Segur from Véronique Dausse is another brilliant Saint-Estèphe in the vintage, and this estate plays in the top handful of Saint-Estèphes out there. Offering lots of darker currants, spiced plums, Iron, tobacco, and damp earth on the nose, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a concentrated, tannic, yet balanced mouthfeel, and a great finish. It needs to be forgotten for a good 5-7 years and will be a brilliant wine over the following two decades."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Is this the most over-performing estate in the Médoc? Director Véronique Dausse would surely riposte that it's simply performing at the level to which its well-situated vineyards and detail-oriented team entitle it; but in any case, the 2019 Phélan Ségur is a brilliant wine. Offering up aromas of cassis, sweet wild berries, rose petals, violets, licorice and spices, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with tangy acids, powdery tannins and a long, penetrating finish. This is another 2019 that en primeur purchasers can feel very pleased with."

DECANTER: "Serious and seductive on the nose, full of ripe black fruits and faint florality. A sophisticated style, clearly powerful and concentrated with a core of succulent blackcurrant and black cherry fruit but delivered with poise and refinement. Round, generous and juicy with lashings of slate, liquorice and menthol freshness with tannins that are both abundant and well integrated, cushioning the fruit and driving it through to a long finish. Excellent clarity and confidence here. A top buy."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Flowers, smoke, black fruit, red fruit, and blue fruit along with cedar and spice work well here. The wine has a solid depth of flavor packed with dark currants, polished, round textures, and a blast of chocolate-coated currants with mint and espresso in the rich finish. This could be the best vintage of Phelan Segur yet. Give it a few years in the cellar and it will be just great for 15 or more years after that. Drink from 2025-2042."

WINE SPECTATOR: " Solid, featuring a good punch of dark blackberry and black currant preserve flavors, with bay leaf, charcoal and warm paving stone notes that keep it very grounded through the finish. Shows ample structure for the cellar, too. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2038."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Würzig, schwarzes Beerenkonfit, tabakig, ein Hauch von dunklen Kirschen und Lorbeer, mineralischer Touch. Saftig, elegant, angenehme Fruchtsüße, reife Tannine, Nougat im Abgang, bleibt haften, sicheres Entwicklungspotenzial."