CHÂTEAU CALON SÉGUR
2020 3ème Cru Classé Saint Estèphe
Market Insight: With its unquestionable rise to desirability, Calon got the pricing really right in 2019. Let's hope for a repeat this year, with quaity to follow.L&S (May 2021)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Blueberries, blackberries, spearmint, currants and sweet spices on the nose. Mocha and walnuts, too. Lots of flavor here, with a medium to full body and muscular yet velvety tannins that melt seamlessly into the wine. Long, polished and delicious already. Keeps going. Better from 2025. Rating: 96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)
The 2020 Calon Ségur is a powerhouse. A blast of dark cherry fruit, menthol, tar, licorice and gravel infuse the 2020 with remarkable depth. Sumptuous and full-bodied, the 2020 shows all the richness and textural depth of the year. The tannins are imposing, but there's a good deal of fruit too. This is an especially opulent Grand Vin, in line with vintages like 2018 stylistically, but with 1% less alcohol. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2030 - 2050 Rating: 96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
The 2020 Calon-Ségur is allowed to open for over 90 minutes, unfurling in the glass with blackberry and bilberry scents, cedar and floral scents (almost identical to how it showed in barrel.) It just oozes pedigree. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins and quite plush red fruit. It is very well balanced without the backbone and depth of say, Montrose or Cos d'Estournel. It has gained a bit of heft on the finish during its élevage. However, it fans out in assured fashion. This should drink beautifully for 25 to 30 years. Drinking range: 2024 - 2048 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
This is among the more backward wines of the vintage, showing a slightly burly mix of chestnut, warm paving stone, bay leaf and burnished leather notes amid a densely packed core of black currant and bitter plum reduction. Really riveted, with a warm cast iron spine and a mouthwatering savory edge driving the finish. Lovely character in this wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 95 The Wine Spectator, www.winespectator.com (Dec 2022)
The 2020 Calon Ségur is deep, dark and massively concentrated. Huge, brawny tannins give the Grand Vin a brooding, rustic feel. Quite frankly, it is hard to see the 2020 being in balance. There is too much of everything - too much ripeness, too much tannin and too much heaviness. Perhaps this sample was not perfect. We will see. Drinking range: 2035 - 2050 Rating: 88-90 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Calon Ségur was picked from 24-30 September at 33hl/ha and after a 3-day cold soak at 10°C it underwent a 18-21 cuvaison. Matured entirely in new oak, it is backward on the nose, well defined, but broody and requires coaxing from the glass. It eventually reveals blackberry, cedar, wild mint and pressed iris petal aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, a little angular on the entry, good acidity. The second half, though, feels just a little brutish at the moment, granular and grippy on the saline, briny finish. I appreciate the way in which the DNA of this estate comes through, though the 2019 showed far more finesse and panache. It may end up at the top of my banded score if it can pull together more clarity and complexity. Drinking range: 2027 - 2040 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)
The flagship 2020 Château Calon Ségur is also brilliant and certainly brings up the intensity, depth, and richness, although it’s nowhere near the exotic, almost over-the-top style of the 2018. Gorgeous crème de cassis, tobacco, roasted coffee beans, lead pencil, and sappy herbs all define this beauty, which is full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and has incredible purity of fruit. It might have some up-front appeal as well, yet smart money will hide bottles for at least 7-8 years. Rating: 95-97 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)
The 2020 Calon-Ségur is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. It is aging in 100% new French oak barrels for an anticipated 18 to 20 months. The alcohol is 13.8%. Displaying a deep purple-black color, it straight away springs up with bright scents of freshly picked black raspberries, kirsch and blackberries, needing considerable swirling to reveal a vast array of nuances—rose oil, cardamom, iron ore, graphite, lavender and aniseed. The medium-bodied palate has a solid structure of firm, ripe, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness supporting the tightly wound red and black fruit layers, accented by lots of mineral and floral sparks, finishing with impressive length and depth. Beautiful, beautiful wine! Drinking range: 2026 - 2060 Rating: 95 - 97+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (May 2021)
A return to form in my eyes for Calon Ségur after the atypical 2018, rippling with elegance, balance and savoury blue fruits of Cabernet, with rose and peony flowers. Concentrated, chiselled and juicy, this has clear personality and equals the great, classically balanced vintages of Calon like 2016. A yield of 33hl/ha, 3.85pH, 100% new oak. Vincent Millet is now overall director as well as technical director, since the departure of Laurent Dufau in 2020. Drinking range: 2029 - 2048 Rating: 98 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)
Tobacco and tea aromas with currants and wet earth. Full-bodied and chewy with blackcurrant flavor. Tannins build on the finish with lots of structure and intensity. Quite muscular. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2021)
This is a completely single-minded Calon with the most amazingly determined cassis flavour I can remember on both the nose and palate. The oak is extraordinary – so discreet and yet so critical to this wine’s complex array of deeply satisfying nuances. This is an all-encompassing performance from Calon and it grows in the glass exponentially with the nose filling the room with the most exquisite Cabernet perfume. The palate lengthens at the same time and as it does so it then widens and courses across every taste bud filling them with astounding flavours. This is a truly monumental creation and the tannins are as majestic as I have seen in 2020. While this is a sensationally grand wine it is not in any way showy or posturing and this makes it even more enviable and worthy of respect. This is not a blockbuster but a medium-weight wine drenched in the most extraordinary concentration of fruit. I tasted it six times over two days and it maintained its astounding determination throughout these rigorous assessments. This is, without a doubt, one of the wines of the vintage. Rating: 19+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2021)
78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Cask sample. Classically structured and Cabernet-driven without the opulence of 2018 or the finesse of 2019. Pure and precise on the nose with cassis notes prevalent. Crunchy fruit on the palate with powdery tannins that build and drive to a dry finish. Verticality as in 2019. Perhaps a little chew but clean and saline on the finish. Drinking range: 2030 - 2050 Rating: 18 James Lawther MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)
Château Calon Ségur
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.