Calon Segur 2018 (750ML)

99 JD / 99 DE / 98 WCI / 97 JS / 97 WE / 97 FS / 96-99 VM / 96-98 WA / 95 WS / 18 JR

Easily the greatest example from this château that I've tasted, the 2018 Château Calon Ségur checks in as 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot aged 20 months in new French oak. This dense purple-hued beauty boasts a stunning nose of blackcurrants, crème de cassis, tobacco, baking spices, chocolate, and cedarwood. With full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, gorgeous tannins, and one seriously long finish, it hits that palate with 15% alcohol, yet you wouldn't know it by tasting it, and the wine is perfectly balanced, has incredible purity of fruit, and stays fresh and lively, with a clean finish. This magical Saint-Estèphe can be drunk any time over the coming 20+ years.-Jeb Dunnuck

Deeply colored, everything here is intense starting with the perfume. The nose rocks with its espresso, boysenberry, blackberry, spice, tobacco leaf, thyme and cocoa. Full-bodied, powerful, dense and intense, the wine lingers for over 50 seconds on your palate, which is a good thing, because you want to hold on to all those, creamy, opulent, voluptuous, ripe, sweet, pure fruits for as long as possible. The wine was produced from 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, 14.9% ABV, with no touch of heat.-Jeff Leve, Wine Cellar Insider

Aromas of redcurrants and plums with blueberries and black licorice, following through to a full body that’s so refined and polished, the tannins integrated wonderfully into the fruit. Fresh, linear and persistent. Real clarity and purity to this. Try after 2025. - James Suckling

This is a dense, generous wine. Swathes of black fruits are packed with concentrated tannins. Its power is palpable, as is its luxuriously rich future. The wine will take plenty of aging, so don't drink before 2027.-Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast

Dark ruby with purple reflections, brightening at the rim. The mineral bouquet has savoury smoky oak notes, with nuances of cassis and liquorice, fresh tangerine zest, and a hint of juniper leaf. Complex and juicy, with pronounced ripe cherry fruit texture, fine, well-integrated tannins, and fresh acidity. Very long, with blackberries on the finish. Certain ageing potential (2020-2060).-Peter Moser, Falstaff

A stratospheric, regal wine, Calon Ségur embodies all the best qualities of the vintage. Rich to the point of being exotically ripe, 2018 reminds me of the 2014 in its composition, but with more of everything. On the palate, the 2018 is towering and statuesque, with soaring structure and tremendous overall intensity. Striking aromatic top notes and bright saline underpinnings give the 2018 its energy, tension and nuance. As in 2014, the entirety of the château's Cabernet Franc went into the Grand Vin. Inky, powerful and explosive, Calon Ségur is a headspinning wine. Don't miss it!- Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

The 2018 Calon-Ségur is blended of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot (14.9% alcohol). It is anticipated to age for 20 months in barriques, 100% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs just a little coaxing before it reveals seductive notes of baked cherries, warm cassis, licorice and smoked meats with nuances of hoisin, camphor, Chinese five spice and dried roses with a waft of cardamom. Full-bodied and completely packed with concentrated black fruit and spice layers, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and a wicked backbone of freshness giving an energetic lift to the very long finish. There's lots of brightness coming from the Cabernet Franc component in here, but it is nonetheless a decadent expression. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate

Ripe, fresh and well-defined from start to finish, this lets cassis and dark plum notes race through, carried by a graphite edge and backed with dark tobacco, warm earth and chestnut accents on the finish. Has serious grip and drive. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2038.- James Molesworth, Wine Spectator