Estate information
Area under vines : 70 hectares
Soils : Deep, fine gravel. Layers of clay at different levels
Average age of the vines : 27 years
Planting density : 6600 to 10 000 vines/ha
Production : 110,000 bottles a year
Ageing : in 50-60% new oak barrels for 18 to 20 months
Grape varieties :
Second wine : Segla
Grape varieties :
Learn more about Château Rauzan Segla
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Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Rauzan-Segla is youthfully reticent and closed to begin, slowly unfurling to offer notions of underbrush, black truffles, smoked meats and tar over a core of baked black cherries, prunes and creme de cassis plus touches of iron ore and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, concentrated and jam-packed with savory/earthy fruit, it has a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing with great length and expression. The blend this year is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 23rd and October 19th, at an average yield of 37 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 60% new. The alcohol is 14%, and the pH is 3.52.
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050
Tasted blind. Deep garnet. Sweetly fragrant with small black-berried fruits still showing on the nose, just slightly smoky and savoury too. The tannins are chewy but the fruit is rich and still lively even though it is entering its tertiary phase. Juicy and lithe. Dark, sober, so elegant. (JH)
Anticipated maturity: 2024-2040
The 2010 Rauzan-Segla is extraordinary deep, almost opaque in colour compared to the other vintages at this vertical. It was picked from September 23 to October 7. The bouquet is incredibly intense: potent blackberry and boysenberry fruit, a little richer than I recall, perhaps borrowing some of the luxuriance of the 2009 Rauzan-Segla. With time, there are touches of pencil lead that become more conspicuous. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin and a fine line of acidity. This is the most masculine Rauzan-Segla in recent years, a little drier and more serious. The palate is very closed at the moment, a Margaux with a large sign declaring that it is unwise to approach for another few years. Brooding and introspective, you can admire its balance and breeding, though it does not go out of its way to give pleasure at the moment, so I would recommend the previous vintage for that. Outstanding, but don t touch for now. Tasted at the Rauzan-Segla vertical at the chateau.
Anticipated maturity: 2022-2055
