Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
23 years old and yet one of the best wines in the vertical, this has real power and grip, still with a tannic buildup through the palate that's packed full of the Left Bank signatures: menthol, cassis, dark brambled fruits, cedar, cold ash and liquorice. It has great freshness on the nose, and it's still so young and full of beauty. Easily one of the most exciting wines here.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Anther elegant wine from this estate is the 1996 Rauzan-Ségla, based on a 60/40 split of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Its medium ruby color is followed by a complex bouquet of cedar spice, menthol, saddle leather, and earth, and it has sweet, mature fruit. Nicely balanced on the palate, with a resolved, elegant texture, it’s certainly drinking at point today yet will keep nicely going forward.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 1996 Rauzan-Ségla is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Medium to deep brick colored, the nose is fully mature with notes of old leather, dried herbs, unsmoked cigars and cedar chest plus a waft of menthol and dried figs. Medium-bodied, firm and chewy with some good dried berries and exotic spice flavors left to give on the mid-palate, it finishes just a little puckering and rustic. It makes for a nice glass now, for those that like wines on the mature side, but needs drinking-up within the next 5-6 years.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.