CHÂTEAU PHÉLAN SÉGUR

Showing beautifully on multiple occasions, the 2016 Château Phélan Ségur is incredibly impressive and reveals a saturated purple as well as pure cassis, violets, damp earth, lead pencil, and spice-driven aromas and flavors. Beautifully layered and textured, concentrated, with fine tannins and the purity and elegance that make the vintage so compelling front and center, it’s a high-class Saint Estèphe to enjoy over the coming 20-25 years or more. Drinking range: 2019 - 2044 Rating: 94 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Mar 2019)

Another sleeper from Saint-Estèphe, the 2016 Phélan Ségur is super impressive. An enticing bouquet laced with crushed rocks, graphite, iron, smoke, lavender, mint and inky blue/purplish fruit makes a strong opening statement. A wine of power, resonance and gravitas, the 2016 Phélan is remarkably expressive and also full of potential. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2024 - 2041 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

The 2016 Phelan-Segur has a really quite superb bouquet, quite Pauillac-like in style with graphite-infused black fruit, subtle tertiary notes and later, pressed flowers. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is plenty of tobacco-infused black fruit here, crisp and focused with a lovely salinity on the finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a strong follow-up to the excellent 2015 and may even surpass it. This is a Saint-Estephe that is getting better and better. Drinking range: 2022 - 2045 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

Comfortable, well-balanced, bone-dry rendition. Very appetising. Very dry finish. Classical build. Far from heavy. Meaty and spicy and very agreeable to drink! Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 17- Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)

This has a pronounced savory streak amid the mix of plum and cassis notes, giving way to a tobacco edge on the slightly muscular finish. Shows plenty of breadth and depth, and should round into form. Rating: 91-94 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2017)

A super fragrant red with blackberry and blueberry aromas plus hints of blackcurrants. Full-bodied, powerful and structured. Tannic. Very long finish. A muscular and intense wine. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)

They finished picking here on 25th October, one of the latest ever harvests at Phélan. Feathery tannins and a fresh, ripe but crunchy aspect to the fruit gives a real sense of vivacity and grip. I love the dark pepper spice that clamps around the fruit on the second half of the palate. This is an excellent vintage for Phélan, for me better than both the 2015 and 2014. It's full of life with silky, extremely pliable tannins (the IPT comes in at 89, but they reflect the signature of the vintage by being soft and lush) and a slow build up to a juicy frame that catches the fruit. Blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, aged in 50% new oak. Drinking range: 2024 - 2042 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2017)

The 2016 Phélan Ségur is one of the best recent versions of this wine I can remember tasting. Inky, powerful and explosive, it boasts striking inner sweetness and density. The high percentage of Merlot in 2016 gives the wine its striking texture and racy feel. Smoke, crushed rocks, savory herbs, licorice and crème de cassis notes develop with time in the glass, but it is the wine's voluptuous feel and palate intensity that are most remarkable today. I can't wait to see how the 2016 ages. Rating: 91-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

I can’t recall tasting a better young Phélan-Ségur than this rich, concentrated, abundantly perfumed 2016 release. It’s a confident, self-assured wine displaying all the good things about St Estèphe and none of the gruffness the appellation sometimes suffers from. Smooth, nuanced and refined with plush blueberry and blackcurrant fruit and fine tannins. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 95 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)

The 2016 Phélan-Ségur has a generous nose of pencil-lead-infused black fruit, plus touches of wild mint and damp earth/truffle aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with gritty tannins and a fine bead of acidity. It feels slightly pinched toward a finish that displays just a soupçon of dryness, but there is commendable persistence in situ. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2021 - 2036 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 1899)