Chateau Rauzan-Segla 2010

The wines of Château Rauzan-Ségla have captivated the minds and seduced the hearts of many for the greater part of three centuries. The American President and oenophile Thomas Jefferson was a fan of this beguiling Margaux estate and ordered several cases during his well-documented visit to Bordeaux in 1784.   Château Rauzan-Ségla was delineated as a 2nd Growth during the 1855 Classification, yet many will claim the wines from Rauzan-Ségla have a shot of standing up to the First Growth producers in terms of quality and sophistication during select vintages.  In the 1980s and early 90s, American wine critic Robert Parker Jr lamented that Rauzan-Ségla was not delivering on its potential.  That was bound to change.

Prior to the 1855 Classification, Château Rauzan-Ségla was a massive estate with sweeping grounds in both Margaux and Cantenac.  They were carved up into four smaller estates – Château Rauzan-Gassies, Château Desmirail, Château Marquis de Terme and the incomparable Château Rauzan-Ségla.  Ownership of the estate changed hands throughout the centuries until it was acquired by the Wertheimer family of the iconic women’s fashion brand, Chanel.  The family took the quality of Château Rauzan-Ségla to new heights and hired a winemaking team led by Château Latour’s David Orr and John Kolasa.  Since the Wertheimer family acquired the estate, the wines of Rauzan-Ségla have become more promising with each consecutive vintage.  The present winemaker Nicolas Audebert brings his skill from Möet Chandon and believes in producing wines that will last for decades.

Château Rauzan-Ségla is proof that great wine is a product of both exceptional terroir and winemaking technique.  With its gently sloping vineyards and mixture of soils, Château Rauzan-Ségla has arguably some of the best terroir in all of Margaux.  Nothing is left to chance at this estate, and the winemaking team carefully assesses the optimum terroirs to plant the vines.  Multiple clones of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot are planted in different parcels on the estate depending on the soil.  Merlot is planted on the vineyard sites with bluish clay and Cabernet Sauvignon is planted in the more graveled areas of the 79-hectare vineyard.   Berries are tasted individually for ripeness and then picked and vinified parcel by parcel.  The weather is fairly moderate due to the proximity of the Gironde.  Regardless, adaptability is key here, and the team of expert vignerons must pivot during extreme weather conditions in this ever-changing environment.  With the help of cutting-edge winemaking technology and expertise in the field, the Rauzan-Ségla team navigates the capricious weather and delivers consistently excellent wines.

There is an ethos of elegance at Château Rauzan-Ségla, and it permeates nearly every facet of the estate and its wines.  If one is fortunate enough to visit the Château, one will marvel at the richly furnished interior designed by the incomparable Karl Lagerfeld.  Just a sip of one of Rauzan-Ségla’s opulent wines is enough to envelop the drinker in a whirlwind of sophistication.  The grand vin, Rauzan-Ségla, promises a delightfully rich journey with the beautiful aroma of cigar box that is signature to the estate.  The sister wine, Ségla, is friendly, fresh and succulent.  It possesses some of the intensity of Rauzan-Ségla, but is a much more approachable wine that begs to be enjoyed immediately. 

"A wine that could easily be mistaken for a First Growth, the 2010 Rauzan-Ségla is an incredibly powerful, full-bodied wine by this estate’s standards, yet it nevertheless holds onto a terrific sense of elegance as well as perfect balance. A huge nose of blackcurrants, smoked earth, tobacco, lead pencil, and spice give way to a concentrated, blockbuster styled Margaux that has thrilling depth of fruit, masses of ripe tannins, and great length and finesse on the finish. This brilliant wine is just now seemingly on the edge of its drink window and offers immense pleasure, yet it has another 30-40 years of life ahead of it. Along with the 2015 and 2016, it’s the greatest wine made at this estate in the past two decades." - Jeb Dunnuck, (05/01/2019), Ratings: 98, Drink: 2019-2059

"Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Rauzan-Ségla is youthfully reticent and closed to begin, slowly unfurling to offer notions of underbrush, black truffles, smoked meats and tar over a core of baked black cherries, prunes and crème de cassis plus touches of iron ore and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, concentrated and jam-packed with savory/earthy fruit, it has a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing with great length and expression. The blend this year is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 23rd and October 19th, at an average yield of 37 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 60% new. The alcohol is 14%, and the pH is 3.52."- Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate, (04/09/2020), Ratings: 96, Drink: 2020-2050

"Tasted at the château, the Rauzan Segla has a delightful bouquet, tight at first but opening in the glass, offering gorgeous blackberry, cassis, violet and dark plum scents that are beautifully defined and are quintessential Margaux. The palate is very representative of how the wines showed in barrel. Svelte tannins, pitch perfect acidity, caressing texture, plenty of ripe black fruit infused with immense minerality. This is a magnificent Margaux, certainly one of the greatest Rauzan Segla’s to date...even if it does lack a crayon drawing on the label. Tasted November 2012" - Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate, (02/08/2013), Ratings: 96

"A stunning wine from Rauzan Segla, kudos go to administrator John Kolasa for turning out this profound wine, which should prove to be a timeless classic from the appellation of Margaux." - Robert Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate, (02/27/2013, Issue 225), Ratings: 95+, Drink: 2018-2043