2007 Château Rauzan-Ségla

Deep garnet colored, the 2007 Rauzan-Ségla is scented of cigar box, baking spices and preserved plums with nuances of pencil shavings, leather and bay leaves. The medium-bodied palate is delicately styled with maturing earth and spice flavors plus a chewy frame, finishing with an herbal lift. The blend this year is 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 21st and October 10th, at an average yield of 43 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 60% new. The alcohol is 13.5%.

I also loved the 2007 Rauzan-Ségla. It has a Château Margaux-like bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, incense, flowers, and saddle leather. A classic blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, this medium-bodied, precocious, complex effort has loads of character, resolved tannins, moderate acidity, notable balance, and a great finish. I’ve always loved the charming style of the 2007s, and this is drinking at point today yet will unquestionably keep for another decade or more.

The 2007 Rauzan-Ségla is a very fine contribution to an otherwise middling vintage. There is plenty of brambly red fruit on the nose that is briskly entering into its secondary phase: sage, undergrowth and light lavender scents emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with those same grain tannins I observed before. It is not the most finessed Rauzan-Ségla at the beginning although, there is more breeding towards the savory finish. I would not hesitate cracking one of these open now as I cannot see any benefit from further ageing, nor do I expect it to deteriorate rapidly. Tasted from a bottle from my own cellar.