Chateau Rauzan Segla 2016

JAMES SUCKLING: JAMES SUCKLING:"The aromas of blackcurrants, sweet tobacco and sandalwood are tantalizing. Then it turns to subtle, dried fruit. Full-bodied with dense and powerful tannins, yet ending with finesse and vertical nature. Very deep. Power with finesse. Try after 2025."

JEB DUNNUCK: JEB DUNNUCK:"I continue to love the 2016 Rauzan-Ségla, a thrillingly complete, flawlessly balanced, and borderline perfect Margaux that should be snatched up by readers. Notes of cassis, graphite, tobacco leaf, and earth all give way to a full-bodied effort that has building tannins, no hard edges, and a level of purity and elegance that’s just about off the charts. Given its purity and balance, it’s accessible today, but it will be best with 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: THE WINEADVOCATE:"Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Rauzan-Ségla drifts effortlessly from the glass with fragrant rose hip tea, candied violets and chocolate box scents over a core of fresh blackcurrants and black cherry compote plus wafts of tobacco and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers a great mid-palate of softly textured black and blue fruits with loads of floral nuances and a refreshing lift on the finish. The blend this year is 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 20th and October 15th at an average yield of 45 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 60% new. The alcohol is 13.5%, and the pH is 3.6."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER:"Still young, but you can find hints of tobacco leaf, truffle, herbs and flowers poke through the ripe, red and dark red fruits. The wine is concentrated, silky, uplifting and generous, as well as long, fresh pure. This wine will need 12-15 years before it really starts opening and showing its true essence."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: WINE ENTHUSIAST:"Barrel Sample. This wine is ripe, perfumed and firmly textured. It has balance, concentrated tannins and already just the right sense of wood and structure. It will obviously last; try it in 12–15 years."

DECANTER: DECANTER:"Right from the first nose it's clear just how good this 2016 is. This feels extremely Margaux in character, and extremely Rauzan Ségla. It's a great year for Rauzan because it plays to the strengths of the estate. Full of effortless elegance, its juicy, beautifully balanced black fruits are set off by coffee, cigar box, liquorice root and flint. It has smoke and lift on the finish. Harvested between 20 September and 15 October, this was a really late harvest. The yield was 45hl/ha, so a little higher than in 2018, which comes through in the wine as a sense of effortless appeal."

FALSTAFF: FALSTAFF:"Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, dezente Randaufhellung, attraktiver Duft nach vollreifen Herzkirschen, ein Hauch von Cassis, florale Nuancen. Saftig, elegant, feine Fruchtsüße, perfekt reife Tannine, anhaltend, ohne Ecken und Kanten, ein samtiger Margauxstil, finessenreich und mit gutem Reifepotenzial ausgestattet."

WINE SPECTATOR: WINESPECTATOR:"This has a lovely core of creamy anise-infused plum, blackberry and boysenberry flavors that showcase themselves a bit more vividly than many Margaux peers in this vintage do, with substantial but velvety grip and lots of extra violet, graphite and black tea notes adding to the long flow of a finish. Really beautiful feel. Best from 2023 through 2038."

WEINWISSER: WEINWISSER:"Sattes Purpur mit violettem Rand. Dichtes, vielschichtiges Bouquet mit blaubeeriger Frucht und viel floralen Schattierungen. Im Gaumen seidigelegant, mit gut unterlegten Tanninen. Er überzeugt durch Klarheit und Finesse. Im langen Finale Cassis und Brombeerblüten."