Wines with Age

wines

I loved this bottle of 1982 Cos d’Estournel, and it was easily the best bottle I’ve had of this wine, which has always shown slightly tired and over the hill for me. It shows classic, even youthful notes of lead pencil, currants and saddle leather, was full-bodied, had beautiful depth of fruit, and a great, great finish, all pointing to a fully mature yet grand Saint Estephe. Drink up.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThis 1982 is still displaying a beautiful deep ruby/purple hue as well as a stunning set of aromatics consisting of blue and black fruits, loamy earth, flowers, licorice, and spice box. The wine is medium to full-bodied with sweet tannins, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and a silky finish. It appears to have hit full maturity, but it can easily be held in a cold cellar for another 10+ years.Robert Parker | 95 RPThe 1982 Cos d’Estournel is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. I have always fallen for the aromatics of this 1982: roasted chestnut and a touch of aniseed that combines effortlessly with the melted red berry fruit, touches of tar developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, perhaps not quite as extravagant as it showed a few years ago, but there is genuine depth and grip here. There is that lovely savory, lightly spiced finish and a very persistent aftertaste that is thoroughly enjoyable after 36 years. This is a wonderful 1982 that will give pleasure for many more years. Tasted at the Cos d’Estournel vertical at the property.Vinous Media | 95 VMBuilt for aging. Very dark ruby in color, with a garnet rim. Dried flower and berry aromas. Full-bodied and very solid, with masses of fruit and tannins. Still has plenty of time to go.--1982 Bordeaux horizontal.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

A dense, traditionally crafted wine for those with patience, the 2000 Calon-Segur rivals the estate’s finest wines of the last two decades, the 1995, 1988, and 1982. But be forewarned, this wine has already closed down, something totally in character with all top vintages from this estate. This blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc exhibits a plum/purple color along with gorgeous aromas of creosote intermixed with spring flowers, black cherries, cassis, licorice, and stony, liquid minerals. A powerful, tannic, full-bodied and opulent wine, it possesses considerable structure that is reasonably well-concealed by considerable glycerin and intensity. Look for it to be at its best between 2012-2040. Patience, patience, patience!Robert Parker | 94 RPThe 2000 Calon-Ségur still appears quite youthful on the rim. The well-defined nose offers brambly red fruit, red currant, crushed strawberry, rose petals and cedar, and some sous-bois just loitering in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with refined tannins. This has mellowed since I tasted it in London five years ago, and touches of tobacco and tart red cherries enliven the finish. I have always loved this millennial Calon-Ségur and now it is à point and drinking beautifully. Aged in 50% new oak and 50% one-year-old for 12 months (less than nowadays.)Vinous Media | 93 VMThis is a solid, huge wine, with rich but very dry tannins. With its dense, almost black color, and its sense of brooding power, it promises long aging. It will never be in the opulent Bordeaux camp, despite its prominent new wood flavors, but will probably outlive all but a handful top wines.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEThis shows a noticeable leafy edge, with tobacco, light cedar, bay and worn leather notes holding sway over a core of lightly mulled red currant and plum fruit flavors. Not as dense as the top examples, but everything pulls together nicely through the fine-grained finish.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2020.Wine Spectator | 90 WS(Château Calon-Ségur) The 2000 Calon-Ségur is a very closed, very grumpy wine at the present time, and this is a characteristic that it shares at the present time with a great many wines from this vintage. The blend here included forty-two percent merlot in 2000 and the wine offers up a very deep-pitched and adolescent bouquet of black fruit, inky tones, damp, dark soil, dried eucalyptus, coffee grounds and cigar smoke. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, closed down and quite dense at the core, with a gritty edge to its firm and chewy tannins, little generosity at the present time, but also with impressive grip on the closed, but very, very long finish. The length on the backend here really gives me some hope for the future of this wine, but it is really in a very difficult place for current assessment and I do not have a strong sense of whether or not this wine will always be a bit charmless, or if this is simply a passing phase and it will blossom to deliver some of Calons’ inherent breed with sufficient bottle age. (Drink between 2025-2065)John Gilman | 88-92+ JG

Blended of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2000 Cos d’Estournel is deep garnet in color with a touch of brick and sporting a lot of tertiary evolution on the nose. It leaps from the glass with opulent sandalwood, Chinese five spice, cigar box and leather scents over a core of prunes, baked cherries, dried mulberries and eucalyptus plus a touch of potpourri. Medium-bodied, the palate is laden with fragrant fruitcake and exotic spice layers, framed by wonderfully plush tannins and a refreshing line, finishing with an exhilarating menthol lift.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPFor a Saint-Estèphe this is surprisingly supple at this stage. The density is all in the exotic fruit, while the tannins are more of a background. That suggests this is a wine that will develop relatively fast, but it is going to give great pleasure along the way.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WENo written review provided. | 94 W&SA big, rich St-Estèphe that’s full of pleasure. It’s perhaps a little bit more evolved than I might have expected, displaying gently burnished notes of autumnal fruits. Open and ready to drink, the tannins are still solid but they are certainly caressing. Overall this is very good quality and well structured, displaying graphite and liquorice against the softness of the fruit. Harvest was 22 September to 9 October and 65% was used for grand vin production. Matured in 80% new oak. Drinking Window 2018 - 2030Decanter | 93 DECShows age now with aromas of tobacco, plums and smoked meat. Licorice too. Full-bodied, round and soft with plenty of attractive tertiary character. Needs drinking.James Suckling | 93 JSMature, with alluring tobacco and menthol notes, backed by a note of smoldering charcoal. The currant and blackberry fruit shows a decidedly mulled edge through the finish.—Non-blind Cos-d’Estournel vertical (December 2015). Drink now through 2020. 20,830 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe 2000 Cos d’Estournel, last tasted at the epic vertical, has much the same nose as it did three years ago. Bold and demonstrative, it delivers scents of blackberry, prune, fig, dark chocolate and perhaps a more East Asian tincture; I don’t know why, but there is something that reminds me of South Korean cuisine. Burnt honey? The palate is medium-bodied, and this bottle feels quite feral, offering exotic black fruit that hints at the Mediterranean, and some dry tannins toward the ever so slightly bretty finish. I actually found the previous bottle a little fresher and I wonder if we are beginning to see some variation in evolution.Vinous Media | 91 VM

The prodigious, fantastic 2003 Cos d’Estournel is a candidate for “wine of the vintage.” A blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon (unusually high for this chateau), 30% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, 17,500 cases were produced from low yields. An inky/blue/purple color is accompanied by a compelling perfume of black fruits, subtle smoke, pain grille, incense, and flowers. With extraordinary richness, full body, and remarkable freshness, elegance, and persistence, this is one of the finest wines ever made by this estate. The good news is that it will be drinkable at a young age yet evolve for three decades or more. Kudos to winemaker Jean-Guillaume Prats and owner Michel Reybier.Robert Parker | 98 RPA dense and powerful wine as always with very ripe fruit yet an underlying freshness and complexity with tobacco, dried fruit and fresh spices such as lemon grass and Thai basil. Layered and long. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2003 Cos d’Estournel is a total knock out. Super-ripe and opulent from the outset, the 2003 is a big, ample Cos that takes over all the senses and never lets up. The bouquet alone – with its alluring notes of tobacco, cedar, spice, dark roasted fruits, leather and smoke – is stunning in its beauty. All of those nuances follow through on the palate, where the 2003 is thick, dense and concentrated. The 2003 is just beginning to enter the very early part of its optimal drinking window. Despite its very ripe feel, the 2003 needs further time in bottle to fully come together. Interestingly, the 2005 is quite a bit more expressive and rewarding to drink now. The 2003 is a superb Cos that captures the essence of this freakishly hot, record-setting vintage. Although the 2003 is the product of a very warm vintage, the wine was remarkably fresh, even two days after having been opened. In 2003 the blend is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGWith its aromas of new wood, spice and black fruits, this promises from the start to be a powerful, polished wine. It is dense, very ripe (from the high percentage of Merlot in the blend), but still packed with tannins. It’s a massive wine, bringing together the heat of 2003 with the big tannins of Saint-Estèphe. Imported by Diageo Chateau & Estates.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThis sports a pretty juicy edge, with dark currant and fig flavors and a hint of bramble in the mix. Ample tobacco, ganache and humus notes add range and character, leading to a long, smoldering finish. The slightly grainy structure is the only blip here.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2030. 15,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSExcellent quality and surprisingly fresh given the vintage, this wine is clearly ready to drink now, however there’s no rush to drink this urgently - one of the key markers of a great Bordeaux wine is that, even if it evolves quickly, it reaches a point where it stops and sticks – and I feel that is what we have here. Expect the full array of soft leather, truffle, spice and fig. In early August, technical director Dominique Arangoïts remembers smelling cooked fruit in the vines at night-time. The levels of malic acid were one of the lowest on record, and the alcohol fairly reasonable also. This has aged far better than expected, no doubt helped by the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the clay subsoils of St-Estèphe and the old Merlot vines (between 80 and 100 years old). The harvest was finished by 25 September, earlier than most in the appellation. Drinking Window 2018 - 2028Decanter | 92 DEC

Beautiful, rich and incredibly softly textured, this is still very young. Also supremely measured and stately, with buttery tannins. The palate is just starting to show truffles and leather, but is still set against game, cassis and liquorice root. Great persistency and a real sense of lift on the finish. Drinking Window 2016 - 2038Decanter | 95 DECThe first vintage under new owner Martin Bouygues,who convinced Jean-Bernard Delmas to come out of retirement to produce this wine, the 2006 Montrose is an undeniable success. A blend of approximately two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, one-third Merlot, and a tiny dollop of Petit Verdot, the most dramatic difference between the 2006, and wines made by the previous administration is that Jean Delmas produces wines with sweeter, silkier tannins, although analytically, they are as high as those found in the great Montrose vintages of the past. The 2006 is extraordinarily elegant and finesse-styled, but it exhibits stunningly concentrated, sweet blackberry and cassis fruit with hints of flowers and minerals. Full-bodied with a savory, expansive mid-palate as well as sweet, noble tannins, this beauty will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age, and should drink well for 20-25+ years.Robert Parker | 94+ RPYes, this wine is tannic. To begin with it seems austere and mineral. But then the substrate of black berry juice asserts itself. The fruits are fresh rather than sweet, combining with leather, spice and a presence of new wood. Typical of Montrose, it is hard to appreciate this young, with those tannins needing to open out. But wait 10 years.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WELocated on one of the deep gravel promontories of the Médoc, Montrose has long been known for impenetrable wines on release. In 2006, the Charmolüe family, who had owned the vineyard since 1896, sold it to Martin Bouygues, a French construction magnate, and his brother, Oli­vier. The new owners brought in Jean Delmas, recently retired from his brilliant tenure at Haut-Brion, to direct winemaking. This first release from the new team is a lovely, fragrant cabernet, its deep earthiness and dark mushroom tones the only clues that it’s a Montrose. The wine may be compressed in its structure, but it’s supple and elegant, with purity and precision to its layers of currant, fennel, blueberry and blackberry. Lively acidity drives the fruit, its freshness lengthening the flavors. Built for 20 or more years of development, this young Montrose makes its beauty apparent from the outset.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SThere’s currant, spice, chocolate and berry character on the nose. Deep, complex and full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. A solid wine. Chewy. Best after 2014.Wine Spectator | 93 WSMontrose is so typically Saint-Estephe in 2006, with dried spices such cardamom and cloves as well as delicate currants. Full-bodied, with firm tannins and a dense center palate. It needs another three or four years of bottle age to soften.James Suckling | 92 JS

The 2009 Calon-Ségur is deep garnet in color and opens with a beautiful fragrance of redcurrant preserves, cassis, black cherry compote and red roses plus nuances of cigar box and cinnamon stick. Medium-bodied and wonderfully elegant in the mouth, it has a compelling line of very ripe, fine-grained tannins and oodles of freshness supporting the fragrant layers, finishing long and perfumed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPDelivers gorgeous aromas of blackberry, blueberry and licorice, with hints of tobacco and spice. Full-bodied, offering a lovely texture and refinement. Very long and beautiful, with tangy acidity and lively fruit. A rich, yet very balanced, Calon. This is almost all Cabernet Sauvignon instead of the normal blend with 40 percent Merlot. The château is now using 100 percent new wood. Like the changes.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThis strikes exactly the right note aromatically: it’s wonderfully sexy, smoky, intriguing and tantalising. On the palate it follows up these aromatics perfectly with silky-smooth tannins and well brushed damson and black cherry fruits. It’s fully ripe but still with give and subtlety. Great stuff! 2009 saw the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon ever included in this wine. Drinking Window 2020 - 2044Decanter | 96 DECA big step up over the 2008 and, I suspect, the finest wine from this estate in the 2000s, the 2009 Château Calon Ségur reveals a healthy ruby hue to go with textbook notes of red and black currants, tobacco leaf, damp earth, gamey meats, and Asian-like spices. This is classic, traditionally made Bordeaux, with full-bodied richness, a layered, structure mouthfeel, wonderful sweetness of fruit, and a great finish. A wine that starts out tight and reserved yet builds with air, don’t be afraid to give bottles plenty of air if drinking any time soon. It’s certainly in its drink window, yet also has another 30-40 years of longevity ahead of it.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDWith a lot of fennel and earth character this is a classic St.-Estèphe, but on the palate it has a suppleness that’s modern in the best sense. Needs time to soften. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JS(Château Calon-Ségur) Our vertical tasting in Washington was again the first time I had seen the 2009 Calon- Ségur, as I had not tasted the wine during En Primeur, and I was very, very impressed with the quality and style of this wine. The cépages is fully ninety percent cabernet sauvignon in this vintage, and the perfectly ripe, but not overripe cabernet has made this an instant classic. The beautifully ripe and pure nose wafts from the glass in a vibrant blend of black cherries, sweet dark berries, cigar smoke, dark soil tones, pungent violets and a suave base of nutty new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very classy on the attack, with a rock solid core of pure fruit, superb soil inflection, impeccable focus and balance, ripe, fine-grained tannins and outstanding length and grip on the seamless and youthfully complex finish. This is a great vintage of Calon-Ségur in the making! (Drink between 2022-2065)John Gilman | 94+ JGThe 2009 Calon-Ségur has a classic Saint-Estèphe bouquet with pencil box and freshly tilled earth on the nose, beautifully defined if not with quite the same pedigree that François Millet imparts into the Grand Vin nowadays. (Less Merlot here than other examples.) The palate is medium-bodied, masculine in style, a little closed at first, strict and detailed yet missing some flesh and density on the finish. Unlike the bottle poured blind a week later that was much more exuberant and higher-toned. It is a fine Calon-Ségur but it is shaded by say the 2014, 2015 and 2016. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits’ Ten Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The 2014 Calon Ségur is a real show-stopper. Unusually ripe, powerful and seductive, the wine exudes class. Myriad shades of plum, sweet red cherry, pomegranate, spice and blood orange are all on display. Wild flowers, tobacco and host of more aromatic notes develop in the glass. Above all else, though, the 2014 is a wine of pure power and breadth. This is yet another fabulous showing for the 2014 Calon Ségur, a wine that vies for top honors in this vintage. Don’t miss it. The blend is 67 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 19 % Merlot, 15 % Cabernet Franc and 2 % Petit Verdot.Antonio Galloni | 96+ AGThis is real powerful and sexy with a voluptuous style of ripe fruit, mushrooms and wet earth. Leafy. Full and seductive. Better after 2021 but already fantastic.James Suckling | 96 JS(Château Calon Ségur, Merlot, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) In Vincent Millet’s view, this is a vintage in which the St-Estèphe appellation really stood out for quality thanks to very fine weather conditions there from September to October. A nose of complex yet fresh aromatic intensity is composed of blackberry, black cherry, and cassis with a floral flourish to boot. The palate benefits from juicy and ample substance with the effect lengthened thanks to its fine-grained and finely-etched tannic structure. This is a quintessential Calon Ségur that already gives drinking pleasure, but it will also stay the distance for up to twenty years or more. (Drink between 2022-2035)Decanter | 95 DECThis is a beautifully perfumed wine. With a high proportion of ripe Cabernet Franc, it is not only structured but has a fine dried fruit character that gives the wine a memorable richness. The wine is tight with its tannins, likely to age over decades. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2014 Calon Ségur has to be considered an undeniable success in the vintage, offering the elegance, balance, and charm that’s the hallmark of this late growing season. Still relatively tight and reserved, with beautiful notes of black currants, smoked earth, graphite, and tobacco leaf, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, beautiful purity, and a layered, elegant style that opens up with time in the glass. It has more density than the 2015 and will keep for two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDOn the darker side of the spectrum, with dark currant, plum and blackberry fruit, inlaid with ample dried bay and tobacco notes. Pepper and charcoal details fill in the finish, adding range and energy. A touch [i]sauvage[n] in style, this will have fans for sure. Best from 2020 through 2030. 6,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2014 Calon Ségur has a much more reticent bouquet than either the 2014 Montrose or Cos d’Estournel. There is blackberry here, a hint of cassis and violets, fine purity but bolshie and withdrawn at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannin, more red fruit than the Montrose with a smooth, quite silky Merlot-like, graphite finish. Tasted on two occasions in Bordeaux, the second bottle exuded more panache and joie-de-vivre, coming across a little more spicy with a longer aftertaste.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 92 RP-NM

If you want to know what St.-Estèphe smells like, this is it. Aromas of spices, black truffles, forest floor, dried strawberries and tar. It’s full-bodied yet pinpointed on the palate with fabulous density and richness. It’s opulent but in a reserved and checked way. This needs at least five or six years to come around, but it’s already fantastic. What harmony and structure. Try in 2022 if you can keep your hands off it!James Suckling | 98 JSThis is an immensely dense wine that is going to be a classic. The dark tannins are still lined with wood aging but that will go because the fruit underneath is also just as dense and intense. Blackberry, black plum and damson plum give power and sweetness. This is a great wine with huge potential. Drink from 2028.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2014 Cos d’Estournel is rich, powerful and seductive, with notable unctuousness but a medium-bodied frame. Plum, blackberry jam, bittersweet chocolate and lavender notes flesh out in an effortless, sumptuous wine that will provide superb drinking for the next few decades. The 2014 needs time to shed some baby fat, but it is quite impressive, even in the early going. The blend is 65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 % Merlot and 2 % Cabernet Franc.Antonio Galloni | 95+ AGThe grand vin 2014 Cos D’Estournel is gorgeous, and I think a step up over the 2015. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, this deep, inky-colored 2014 boasts a gorgeous perfume of ripe currants and cassis fruits, loads of chocolaty oak, cedar and scorched earth, full-bodied richness, and building, firm, yet ripe tannin. It’s certainly one of the gems in the vintage, as well as one of the more structured, opulent and age-worthy. Give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThere’s a clear consistency across Cos d’Estournel’s wines – the quality is absolutely unmissable, but don’t open the 2014 just yet. Remember that from the end of August the weather really favoured St-Estèphe, with the result that all those key elements - tannins, acidity and fruit - are here in force. It’s still young and closed, with tight tannins, but after 10 minutes or so in the glass olive paste and rosemary notes emerge, followed by graphite and bilberry fruit. Give it time, then reap the rewards. Drinking Window 2024 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DECA blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2014 Cos d’Estournel has a deep garnet-purple color and is a little closed at this stage, offering slowly emerging scents of fresh blackcurrants, black plums and blackberries plus nuances of pencil shavings, dried lavender, bay leaves and fertile loam with a waft of iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, it has a generous mid-palate of muscular, youthful fruit with a firm frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and savory.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPIntense, with a roiling core of luscious loganberry, blackberry and black currant fruit. Singed spice, apple wood and black tea accents emerge steadily on the finish. Has a rare combination of density and precision. Will cruise in the cellar. Best from 2020 through 2035. 14,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2014 Montrose is without question one of the standout wines of the vintage. Black cherry, plum, smoke, licorice and lavender are some of the many aromas and flavors that open up in the glass. But the 2014 is a much deeper wine than just a bunch of descriptors can conjure. In 2014, Montrose is a wine of exceptional finesse and polish. The late-ripening vintage allowed for perfect maturation of the tannins and resulted in a silky wine that exudes class and pedigree. The 2014 is not an obvious or bombastic Montrose, but rather a wine of sublime enchantment. Don’t miss it!Antonio Galloni | 97 AGIncredible aromas of currants, blackberries, slate and flowers. Full-bodied yet so tight and beautiful with superb polish and brightness. The length is fantastic. Truly superb. Drink in 2021.James Suckling | 97 JSThis is a very fine wine showing a new level of quality at Montrose. With its almost velvet tannins inside the intense black fruits, the wine is rich, smooth and generous. Blackberry and black-plum fruits are to the fore along with the fine acidity and great structure. A wine to age for decades, it will be ready to drink from Wine Enthusiast | 97 WETasted at the château, the 2014 Montrose builds on the promise it showed in barrel with gorgeous blackberry, raspberry, cedar and orange sorbet scents that are extremely pure and refined. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very precise acidity and layers of crisp black fruit laced with vanilla from the new oak at the moment. That will be subsumed in time. What you have here is a very precise, multi-layered, almost sensual Montrose that is going to delight many for years to come. This is highly recommended—one of the finest Left Bank wines this vintage. Tasted September 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 96 RP-NM(Château Montrose, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) The velvety texture of the fruit and the tannins seem to shine through here, even on the aromatics. It’s one of the wines of the vintage and is showing beautifully after four years. Of course, it’s nowhere near ready to drink, but the tannins have an astonishingly vibrant, tactile quality against the palate. This is coupled with concentrated flavours of cassis, bilberry, charcoal, liquorice, deep woodsmoke and cedar. One for the cellar, and then some. 1% Petit Verdot finishes the blend. Harvested through until 16 October as with many of these St-Estèphes, given the luxury of the beautiful October weather. (Drink between 2024-2042)Decanter | 96 DECThis is seriously built, with an admirable core of red and black currant paste and bitter plum fruit inlaid with notes of tobacco, bay and smoldering charcoal. The finish is ramrod straight thanks to an iron girder supporting everything with ease. A tremendous effort for the vintage. Best from 2020 through 2035.Wine Spectator | 95 WSI loved the 2014 Montrose and it has an incredible purity and elegance that sets it apart from its peers. A blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it offers a deeper, richer profile with gorgeous cassis and currant fruits intermixed with licorice, chocolate, graphite and beautiful minerality. A spitting image of class on the palate, with fine tannin, integrated acidity, and medium to full-bodied richness, this terrific 2014 is up with the crème de la crème of the Médoc and keep for two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD

An enticing nose oscillating between pure black fruit and fine spices that becomes more floral in character after airing and refreshed by minty notes. This is a wine of remarkable finesse thanks to the harmonious proportions of its tannic and acidic architecture that shapes its juicy substance. This is a vintage marking a change of style towards more precision and purity, as well as finesse, without losing the essential aging capacity that should impart even more delicacy to this outstanding wine. (Drink between 2030-2060)Decanter | 100 DECSuperb aromas of crushed berries, violets and sandalwood with hints of cedar and roses. Full body, very fine tannins and savory, delicious fruit. Vibrant acidity combines beautifully with the fruit and structure. Harmonious and attractive. Fine-toned. Try after 2024.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2016 Calon Ségur is dense and radiant on the palate, just as it was from barrel. Even with all of its intensity, the 2016 is distinguished by its sense of freshness, lift and nuance, much of which comes from the 18% Cabernet Franc in the blend. Sweet floral, spice and minty notes add aromatic intensity to a core of sweet red cherry and plum fruit. There is plenty of underlying structure, but the tannins are sweet, silky and perfectly ripe. In short, the 2016 Calon Ségur is a wine of pure and total sensuality. Technical Director Vincent Millet and his team did a tremendous job with the 2016. Tasted three times.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGA monumental wine in the making, the 2016 Château Calon-Ségur is blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot that spent a full 20 months in all new French oak. It offers an incredibly powerful, concentrated, classic style in its crème de cassis, graphite, scorched earth, tobacco, and lead pencil aromas and flavors. These give way to an inky, full-bodied 2016 that has perfectly integrated acidity and tannins, subtle background oak, thrilling depth and purity of fruit, and a great, great finish. My money is on it being the greatest wine ever made at this address. Although it shines even today on its purity and balance, it needs 5-7 years of bottle age to hit prime time and will keep for three to four decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2016 Calon-Ségur is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot aged in 100% new French oak for 20 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, it is a little closed to begin, slowly revealing warm red and black currants, kirsch and plum preserves with wafts of fragrant earth, violets, chocolate box and wood smoke. Medium to full-bodied, elegantly expressed and finely crafted, it has a wonderfully fine-grained texture and bold freshness supporting the densely packed black fruits, finishing long and mineral-laced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis sports a big, juicy core of delicious dark plum, blackberry and black cherry compote flavors streaked with violet, bay and tobacco notes that add energy. Loam and charcoal accents add the bass line on the finish, where the fruit really kicks into second gear. A no-brainer for the cellar. Best from 2025 through 2040. 6,667 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSFine perfumes from the 18% Cabernet Franc in the blend are balanced by the firm, dark tannins of the Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has weight and richness as well as a bold, dark structure. It is going to take its time and this powerful wine will not be ready before 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE