New owner, Philippe Van de Vyvere as of 2017. This is a wine that settles into the glass. It has confident, firm and rich fruit, good aromatics and structured tannins that have been well extracted. Bristling, young and a clear life ahead of it. The tannins vibrate through the palate but are very much at the front of the mouth right now, raring to go. Exceptionally good for the vintage. Retasted several times.
DecanterScore: 93/100Drink 2025-2037
This is tight and firm with a linear precision and dark fruit. Medium to full body. Bright and lightly juicy. Pretty center palate. A poised and focused young wine.
James SucklingScore: 92-93/100
The 2017 Phélan Ségur is powerful, brooding and intense, but also has more than enough fruit to stand up to the tannins. Dark red/purplish fruit, smoke, incense, charcoal embers and gravel give the wine much of its distinctive savory/earthy personality. Time in the glass brings out a more floral, red-toned quality that is hugely appealing. Phélan Ségur has the potential to be one of the dark horses of 2017. Certainly, this is a very strong showing relative to the vintage and where Phélan has been in the recent past. In 2017, the Grand Vin contains an unusually high amount of Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), much of which was able to hang until early October, with 34% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Winemaker Fabrice Bacquey opted to reduce exposure to oxygen during fermentation with the goal of maintaining as much freshness in the fruit as possible. Tasted two times.
Antonio Galloni, VinousScore: 90-93/100
The 2017 Phélan-Ségur, was harvested as late as possible, starting on 14 September with the Merlot and starting the Cabernet around 27 September and finished around mid-October. It is matured in 50% new oak. It appears to show more red fruit on the nose than its Saint-Estèphe peers, just a little disjointed at first but melding together with time, raspberry and briary scents mixed with dried rose petals. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin, quite foursquare and masculine, needing more flesh to come through on the finish.
Neal MartinScore: 89-91/100Drink 2020-2032
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Phelan Segur gives up notes of black plums and fresh blackberries with an earthy undercurrent of damp soil, truffles and mossy bark. Medium-bodied, soft, plush and with a good core of fruit, it gives an earthy finish. Apr 2018, www.robertparker.com
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine AdvocateScore: 87-89/100
Bordeaux / France