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Thierry Gardinier, owner of Ch Phélan Ségur, has long been a close friend and it was a joy to taste this beautiful 2016 with him. Vibrant purple colour, with lovely floral aromas of violets and elderberries. A wine balancing its initial harmony with a degree of drive and black fruit intensity. The poise between sweetness and freshness is exemplary, showing a pedigree well beyond its non-classified status. DR
Thierry Gardinier, owner of Ch Phélan Ségur, has long been a close friend and it was a joy to taste this beautiful 2016 with him. Vibrant purple colour, with lovely floral aromas of violets and elderberries. A wine balancing its initial harmony with a degree of drive and black fruit intensity. The poise between sweetness and freshness is exemplary, showing a pedigree well beyond its non-classified status. DR
The 2016 Phélan-Ségur has a refined bouquet of earthy black fruit, black truffle and smoke, perhaps just needing a little more vigor. The palate is medium-bodied, with quite grainy tannin, and a little rigid at the moment. The linear, conservative, pencil-lead-infused finish needs more flesh to develop with bottle age. Not bad, but I think the 2015 is better. It feels as if it doesn’t want to go the extra mile like others in Saint-Estèphe. 2021 - 2036
The 2016 Phelan-Segur has a really quite superb bouquet, quite Pauillac-like in style with graphite-infused black fruit, subtle tertiary notes and later, pressed flowers. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is plenty of tobacco-infused black fruit here, crisp and focused with a lovely salinity on the finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a strong follow-up to the excellent 2015 and may even surpass it. This is a Saint-Estephe that is getting better and better. Drink Date 2022 - 2045
Another sleeper from Saint-Estèphe, the 2016 Phélan Ségur is super impressive. An enticing bouquet laced with crushed rocks, graphite, iron, smoke, lavender, mint and inky blue/purplish fruit makes a strong opening statement. A wine of power, resonance and gravitas, the 2016 Phélan is remarkably expressive and also full of potential. Tasted two times. 2024 - 2041
The 2016 Phélan Ségur is one of the best recent versions of this wine I can remember tasting. Inky, powerful and explosive, it boasts striking inner sweetness and density. The high percentage of Merlot in 2016 gives the wine its striking texture and racy feel. Smoke, crushed rocks, savory herbs, licorice and crème de cassis notes develop with time in the glass, but it is the wine's voluptuous feel and palate intensity that are most remarkable today. I can't wait to see how the 2016 ages. Tasted three times.
A super fragrant red with blackberry and blueberry aromas plus hints of blackcurrants. Full-bodied, powerful and structured. Tannic. Very long finish. A muscular and intense wine.
Comfortable, well-balanced, bone-dry rendition. Very appetising. Very dry finish. Classical build. Far from heavy. Meaty and spicy and very agreeable to drink! Drink 2025-2040
I can’t recall tasting a better young Phélan-Ségur than this rich, concentrated, abundantly perfumed 2016 release. It’s a confident, self-assured wine displaying all the good things about St Estèphe and none of the gruffness the appellation sometimes suffers from. Smooth, nuanced and refined with plush blueberry and blackcurrant fruit and fine tannins. 2026-38
St Estèphe is the most northern of Médoc communal crus. Its unique terroir is made up of layers of gravel which are supported by a dense clay base. This subsoil retains water in dry seasons and works particularly well with Merlot, a largely planted variety which is used to flesh out Cabernet Sauvignon. This clay base also creates powerful, textured tannins which enable St Estèphe to stand out from the pack. Like St Julien, it is one of the four most important communal appellations of the Médoc which does not contain any first growths, despite its southern border being a stone'sthrow from Château Lafite. Nonetheless, it is home to some excellent châteaux making fine wines such as Cos d'Estournel, Montrose, Calon Ségur and Lafon Rochet.
