2025 Calon-Ségur, St-Estèphe

A blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2025 Calon-Ségur offers up a deep and incipiently complex bouquet of dark berries, rose petals and violets, framed by a deft touch of new oak. Full-bodied, deep and layered, with terrific energy, abundant but ultra refined tannins and a long, penetrating finish, it checks in at a very classically proportioned 13.6% alcohol and pH of 3.6. (WK)

The 2025 Calon Ségur contains just a little more Merlot this year at 17%, though it is still dominated by the 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, picked between September 4 and 20 over 15 days at 35 hl/ha. It represents 65% of the estate's total production this year. As usual, this is matured entirely in new French oak for a planned 20 months. This has immense clarity and precision on the nose, blackberry and cedar, a little sous-bois, beautifully delineated and more elegant than some recent vintages. The new wood is folded in and barely noticeable even at this early juncture. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy, slightly chalky tannins on the entry. There is quite a conspicuous marine/estuarine element with hints of Japanese nori infusing the black fruit, almost briny in style…I like that. It gives this Calon personality and bandwidth. Classical in style and lower alcohol at 13.6% compared with recent releases (the 2022 was 14.5%), this has a very promising future. (NM)