Farr Vintners Logo

Rauzan Ségla 2017

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Margaux
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

Now comfortably established in the super-second league. Huge efforts have been made by owners Chanel to make great wine at Rauzan, with production of the first wine only around half of the total harvest. The rest is used for their excellent second wine - Ségla. The 70 hectare vineyard is planted with 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot with a touch of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Average vine age is 37 years. In our view this 2nd growth is consistently the top wine of the appellation after Palmer and Chateau Margaux itself - and it is frequently the winner of the Margaux appellation in our blind tastings. New winemaker Nicolas Audebert arrived following stints at Krug and making Cheval des Andes for LVMH in South America. He certainly had a terrific debut here with a quite outstanding 2015.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Rauzan-Segla

Label

Tasting Notes

Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Fleshy red fruits after some coaxing – it is tightly wound at this stage. The palate reveals greater potential but focuses on brighter, red fruit for now. There is a creaminess to the texture despite the firm, fine tannins. This is a tight knot which is hard to read at this stage but the depth and length of finish suggest good potential.
Drink 2026 – 2036

17+
Thomas Parker MW, JancisRobinson.com, October 2021

There’s a very balanced feel to this wine with ripe blueberries and red plums, as well as dried flowers. The palate has a supple, smooth build of rich, blueberry and cassis flavor and a long, fine-tannin finish. A blend of 62% cabernet sauvignon, 36% merlot and 2% petit verdot. Drink or hold.

94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, January 2020

The 2017 Rauzan-Segla has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It needs a lot of coaxing to reveal notes of crushed red and black currants, black raspberries, and fragrant soil, plus hints of candied violets and cumin seed. The elegant, medium-bodied palate has a great intensity of red berry and savory layers, framed by firm, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long.

95
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2022

A little less concentrated than the vintages on either side, with sculpted black fruits and floral character, red pepper spice, black truffles, grilled damson and smoked earth. Enjoyable, well balanced. Plenty of estate signature, but no need to wait as long as the more exuberant years. 40hl/h yield, 60% new oak, harvest September 12 to October 2. Nicolas Audbert director, Eric Boissenot consultant.

94
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, March 2023

At this stage more intense crimson than the 2016! Smells of macerated raisins. I wonder how they made this? A bit sweet-and-sour. Less beautifully integrated than other recent vintages here – I even got a flash of the taste of English mustard! Not forced – quite nicely rounded tannins – but very non classical. Sort of very obviously assembled rather than organically grown. Slightly awkward scrawniness on the end.
Drink 2023-2032

16
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, May 2018

Inky core and purple rim. Not much on the nose, a touch of black olive as well as black fruit and a woody oak note. Relatively subdued on the palate but juicy and with more energy than some. Juicy fruit right through to the sustained finish.
Drink 2023-2037

16.5
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2018

The black fruits on the nose are ripe depth of flavour the palate has sweet fruit mid suppleness a fleshy mix of damson and black cherry. There is balance underling bilberry but it is the sweet fruit that comes through and gives richness and depth on the finish. Drink 2024-2038.

89/93
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, May 2018

This is another success for Rauzan-Ségla with rich, chocolatey fruit and some good power behind the oak. Always fairly demonstrative, this is a hedonistic wine in a vintage which rarely uses this descriptor, so there is a kind of anomaly here and it will not quite work itself to a conclusion so there will inevitably be a few flaws in its finished article, but regardless of this it is a success.

17.5+
Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2018
Read more tasting notes...

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Rauzan-Ségla rocks up with vibrant notions of cherry pie, warm cassis, blackberry preserves and red roses with hints of cinnamon stick and cloves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is completely filled with wonderfully pure red and black fruits, framed by firm, very ripe, fine-grained tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy. Yum! The blend is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot.
Drink Date
2024 - 2050

96+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, March 2020

This is tight and focused with a super precise palate of blackberries, blackcurrants and hints of flowers. Full body, linear tannins and a long finish.

94/95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2018

Composed of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot and sporting a deep garnet-purple color, the 2017 Rauzan-Segla (Rausan-Segla) has a profound nose of cassis, warm blackberries and black plums with touches of baking spices, violets, mocha and smoke plus a waft of garrigue. Medium to full-bodied with a great core of sustained, energetic black fruit, a frame of fine-grained tannins and a lively backbone, it finishes with great length.

94/96
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (236), April 2018

Rich, tight and deep, this wine has been extremely well handled in a vintage that suits this elegant style. There isn't the depth and complexity of expression that was seen in the previous two vintages, but it gets across the signature of the estate in an earlier drinking form - the absolute essence of what you want in a trickier vintage. If priced well, it's a buy.
Drinking Window 2026 - 2038

93
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2018
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.