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 | 2021 Ch. Calon Ségur - Saint Estèphe GCC | € 95,20 (€ 115,19) |
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Lezen we het goed ? Een Calon Ségur klokt af op slechts 12,9%vol… Klanten die hunkeren naar fruitigheid en een lagere graad worden naar hun wenken bediend. De attaque is fris en typisch Saint Estèphe. Daarop volgt lichtvoetigheid op het palet en een complexe finale bekroont het geheel. De heerlijk zachte en rijkelijke 2021 Calon Ségur verpakt materie in een innemend geheel dat sappig en ziltig overkomt mét fraîcheur. De kwaliteit van de tannine is op-per-best. Wat een plezier is om dit jong vatstaal nu al niet te proeven maar te drinken... Calon Ségur 2021 is allerminst ruig of rustiek, maar uiterst verfijnd en indringend. Onze felicitaties aan Vincent Millet en zijn team ! Het vriest zelden of nooit hier op Calon Ségur, zo dicht bij de Gironde. De oogst van 2021 startte pas op 28 september om in ideale omstandigheden de sécateurs op te ruimen op 13 oktober. Met een assemblage van 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc en 8% Merlot, verdween het grootste deel van de Merlot in de tweede wijn, le Marquis de Calon Ségur. “Omdat de trouwe klanten hun geliefde tweede wijn zouden herkennen” volgens Vincent Millet. Het rendement bedroeg slechts 36hl/ha en 43% daarvan werd gebruikt voor de Grand Vin. Dieppurper tooit het glas. De rijpheid verraadt helemaal niet het uitdagend klimaat: cassis en sombere kersjes, ceder en getoaste vanille struikelen over zich heen over de tong. We vinden het somber rijp fruit onmiddellijk terug op de brede milieu de bouche, getemperd door sappige zuren en massa’s beblijvende tannine. 2021 Calon Ségur belooft zowel “matière” als “fraîcheur” in sappig fruit verpakt met een vederlichte eiktoets. Calon Ségur is één van de best wijnen van Bordeaux op vandaag en een Indrukwekkend succes in 2021. Het hart van Calon Ségur klopt dus weer sinds verzekeringsmaatschappij Suravenir zich over deze schone slaapster ontfermde in 2012. Vincent Millet, toen al zes jaar aan het roer, herplant de wijngaard geleidelijk, maar nu op hogere densiteit. Nieuw GPS-geleid materieel circuleert op deze wijngaard van 55 hectare en verzorgt élke wijnstok volgens gedetailleerde cartografie. Het mysterie van Calon Ségur blijft nochtans geheel. Het blijft onzichtbaar voor het blote of digitale oog : onwezenlijke charme en intensiteit zijn eigen aan Calon Ségur en aan Saint Estèphe als geheel. IN PERS 94 Neal Martin - vinous.com (Februari 2024) Tasting the 2021 Calon Ségur out of barrel, I opined that there was a gulf in quality between it and the Le Marquis, and that remains the case since it was bottled in mid-July. This has an absolutely exquisite, beautifully defined bouquet that possesses an almost Burgundy-like purity. Blackberry, raspberry coulis and hints of crushed strawberry blossom in the glass, very focused with seamlessly integrated new oak that is impossible to teel is completely new. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, modest weight and a very smooth texture - perhaps not quite as enthralling as the aromatics, though it is pure and, atypically for this Saint-Estèphe, quite sensual in style. Maybe it is missing just a touch of complexity on the finish, but otherwise, this is a very capable wine that should age with grace over the next 25 tot30 years. Drink 2027-2055. 95-97 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Mei 2022) The 2021 Calon Ségur was cropped at 36hL/ha and aged entirely in new oak for a planned 20 months. This year, the gap between the Grand Vin and the Marquis is blatantly obvious, to the extent that they are practically different wines, which is how Vincent Millet and his team treat them. The Cabernet is firmly in the driving seat here, with detailed, graphite-infused black fruit and a background florality that comes through with aeration. The medium-bodied palate displays very fine tannins, superb acidity (pH 3.65) and impressive harmony. This has exemplary build in the mouth, fine weight on the finish and a persistent aftertaste. An outstanding Calon-Ségur, elevated by the risks taken in de-leafing in June and waiting to pick. Bravo. 12.9% alcohol. Drink 2027-2055. Winemaker Vincent Millet explained the growing season from his perspective when I called in at Calon-Ségur. Perhaps, for the first time, in my 24-years of visiting this appellation, I believe that the gambles Millet took have produced the best Saint-Estèphe in 2021. Tasted in between Cos d’Estournel and Montrose, it had more precision, more completeness. So how did he throw the dice? “We had to make a lot of action in the vineyard, especially in June,” he explained. “At Capbern and Calon-Ségur we did not suffer frost damage because of the protection afforded by the Gironde. In June, we de-leafed on both sides to increase air circulation, which is something we had not done before. That was a risk because it might have been hot and sunny afterward [thereby burning the berries]. We removed 25-30% of the Merlot bunches and 10-20% for the Cabernet Sauvignon. But in the end, we had to conduct a green harvest in August because it was not very sunny or warm. The third element is that we had the nerve to wait for the picking as there were storms forecasted, which prompted some people to pick early. Waiting was beneficial for the maturity of the Cabernet, so we ended up picking on 28 September, one of the latest harvests ever, finishing on 2 October for the Merlot; the Cabernet and Petit Verdot were picked from 4 to 13 October. The last vintage picked that late was 2012. The alcohol is low, 12.8% for Capbern and 12.9% for the Calon-Ségur. The Merlot did not suffer dilution because we conducted a green harvest, and consequently, quality between clay and gravel soils was not different. In the end, around 43% of the fruit was selected for the Grand Vin, which contains 7% Merlot. But the Cabernet is the star of the vintage.” 97 Antonio Galloni - vinous.com (December 2023) A Saint-Estèphe of stature and vertical intensity, the 2021 Calon Ségur dazzles from the very first taste. Spice, menthol, licorice, black cherry, mint and expresso are some of the many notes that build with a bit of coaxing. The 2021 clocks in at a modest 12.9% in alcohol, yet it possesses tremendous density and textural resonance. What a wine! Tasted two times. Drink 2031-2061. 94-96 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Mei 2022) The 2021 Calon Ségur is a gorgeous wine that is going to need a number of years to fully come into its own. Aromatic, punchy and croquant, as the French say, the 2021 is a vibrant, mid-weight Calon that will delicht readers who enjoy classically built claret. Don’t look for the size or opulence of recent vintages. The 2021 is a cool, classy Saint-Estèphe to savor for years and decades to come. I loved it. Drink 2031-2061. Calon Ségur has been quite the roller coaster in recent years. I am not sure if that is more a question of its location in the northern Médoc or choices made by the technical team, but the wines here of late have been highly variable in interpretation. To be clear, I am talking more about style than quality. As for the 2021s, they are magnificent. Readers will find a set of super-classic wines that have little in common with the wines of the preceding three vintages. We had good weather at the end of May and early June. As a result, flowering was fast and homogenous. Rain was abundant in June. We saw lower sun levels in the summer, unlike the preceding three vintages, and no heat spikes, unlike 2019 and 2020. Rain in July and August was normal. Harvest ran from September 28 to Oct 2 for the Merlot, then October 4 to October 14 for the Cabernets. Yields were 36 hectoliters per hectare and alcohols around 13%, a significant departure from recent vintages. "We deleafed in June rather than July to encourage air circulation, which helps promote health in the vineyard," Technical Director Vincent Millet explained. "The last 20 days were warm and dry. They really shaped the vintage." In tasting, it is pretty clear the 2021s are special wines. 93 William Kelley – robertparker.com (Februari 2024) Revisited in bottle, the 2021 Calon-Ségur opens in the glass with aromas of dark berries mingled with aromas of violets, pencil shavings, lilac, Indian spices, cigar wrapper and grilled meats. Medium to full-bodied, dense and suave, with powdery tannins, lively acids and a penetratingly sapid and discreetly carnal finish, it appears to have lost a touch of aromatic precision during élevage, but it remains a compelling Calon-Ségur. Drink 2027-2051. Calon-Ségur is in the midst of a renaissance. A true "clos," this walled 55-hectare vineyard, the first to be cultivated in Saint-Estèphe, was long planted at a low density of 6,000 vines per hectare. When the cahier des charges (appellation rules) for Saint-Estèphe changed in the recent past, mandating a higher minimum density, the Gasqueton family had already begun replanting at 8,000 vines per hectare. Now estate director Vincent Millet is replanting at 10,000 vines per hectare, and each individual vine has been geo-referenced so that treatments and amendments can be adapted on a vine-by-vine basis within each parcel: the latest in high-tech precision viticulture! The varietal breakdown is changing too, with Cabernet Sauvignon on the increase, currently amounting to around 60% of the estate's holdings and with a target of around 75%. In addition to clones, a massal selection, from parcels near the small chapel just to the east of the château, is underway. Winemaking, too, has been revolutionized: in an entirely new cellar and winery, the grapes are rapidly chilled by passage through a cold tunnel and undergo a three-day cold soak, before a co-inoculated 18- to 21-day maceration with micro-oxygenation. Maturation follows, in new barrels, for 20 months with a traditional racking every three. If all this sounds very detail-oriented, it's because Millet, who boasts a PhD in wine microbiology and spent several years at Château Margaux, is an extremely serious, forward-thinking estate director, and I have no doubt that he is going to unleash all of Calon-Ségur's latent potential. 95-96+ William Kelley – robertparker.com (April 2022) A brilliant effort that will delight Médoc purists, the 2021 Calon-Ségur wafts from the glass with aromas of rose petals, wild berries, plums, Indian spices, woodsmoke and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, it's deep and lively, with beautifully ripe tannins and an exquisitely balanced profile. In spirit, this blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot is reminiscent of the 1996 vintage, though the 2021 won't go through such an extended period of hibernation and will attain a much higher peak of quality. It attained 12.9% alcohol without any chaptalization, saignée or osmosis. Tasted twice. 93-94 James Suckling – jamessuckling (Mei 2022) Polished and perfumed already, with very fine, powdery tannins. So silky. Bright red and black berries here with sandalwood and orange-zest notes. Medium-bodied. Refined. 81% cabernet sauvignon, 11% cabernet franc, 7% merlot and 1% petit verdot. 95 Jane Anson – janeanson.com (April 2022) This is delicious, refined, poised, one of the wines of the vintage. Has the signature of 2021 in terms of cool and savoury fruits, with graphite and gunsmoke aromatics. A cool climate Calon, very different from the style of wines you have found here in the trio of 2018-2019-2020, but it is successful, and a fine example of the savoury, sculpted wines that were possible within the conditions of the year. Understated power, juicy finish, old school elegance. You can begin drink in around 6 or 7 years, but will age. On questioning, there were a few reasons for their success - they deleafed on both sides at the end of June for the first time since director Vincent Millet arrived at Calon in 2006 to aerate the grapes, and together with the dry August were able to get some natural concentration. Harvest September 28 until October 14, 100% new oak. 43% 1st wine, 36hl/h yield. Potential upscore when in bottle. 17+/20 James Lawther – jancisrobinson.com (Mei 2022) 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. Cask sample. Fine, floral bouquet. Density on attack, the oak a touch present but plentiful tannins that are smooth and honed. Plenty of matière and freshness from beginning to end. Clearly has potential. 12.9%. Drink 2029 – 2048. 95-97+ Yohan Castaing - anthocyanes.fr (Mei 2022) 98 Terre des Vins (Mei 2022) 96-98 Alexandre Ma (Mei 2022) Calon SégurCalon Ségur is de meest Noordelijk gelegen Grand Cru Classé van de Médoc en één van de mooiste terroirs van Bordeaux. De wijngaard omvat 50 hectare uit één stuk, ten noordwesten van het gehucht Saint Estèphe. Er is een bovenlaag van Graves argilo-sableuses, die werd gedeponeerd door de Gironde, en een kleihoudende onderlaag. 45 hectare zijn beplant met 56% Cabernet Sauvignon 35% Merlot, aangevuld met Cabernet Franc en Petit Verdot. De Cabernet Sauvignon gedijt er prima en omvat dan ook doorgaans ¾ van het assemblage. Densiteit van aanplanting is voor hen primordiaal en ze mikken op 8.000 wijnstokken per hectare. De gemiddelde leeftijd van de wijngaard is slechts 22 jaar in 2017. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||