2020 Château Phélan Ségur
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Tasting notes
This offers aromas of dark plum, cassis, as well as some more delicate floral notes, yet overarchingly it’s dark and savoury in style – with an earthiness and iron richness. There’s a ripeness and smoothness to the firm tannins from the warmth of the vintage, yet a refreshing leathery, savoury, saline twist to the palate. There’s plenty of acidity and the alcohol doesn’t stand out at all in amongst the concentrated fruit. There’s a crunch of redcurrant fruit on the finish to complement the otherwise more bramble profile.
Critic scores
James Suckling
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Darkly fragrant and just slightly leafy. Powerful tannins, though the texture is fine and there is all to play for. Savoury, dark and long. For the long term. (JH)
The 2020 Phélan Ségur has a very well-defined and seductive bouquet. There's real complexity here, with ebullient red fruit, crushed stone and dried rose petal scents, revealing more graphite aromas with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied, harmonious and poised, with very fine tannins, a keen line of acidity and a very svelte and persistent finish. This is a wine that seems unaware of just how good it is. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
The 2020 Phélan Ségur is rich and generous, unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet berries, cherries and plums mingled with hints of violets and spices and framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, it's a concentrated, structured wine underpinned by a chassis of generously extracted tannin that lends it a somewhat youthfully chunky profile.
About the producer
With 70 hectares under vine, Ch. Phélan Ségur sits on the eastern side of Saint-Estèphe – neighbouring Montrose and Calon Ségur. Owned by Philippe van de Vyvere since 2017, its gravel soils produce typically firm wines.