Winemaker Notes
The 2012 Rauzan-Segla may turn out to be as strong an effort as their 2010. A brilliant blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot (which accounts for the wine’s ripeness and intensity), and the rest a tiny dollop of Petit Verdot, it boasts an inky/blue/purple color as well as gorgeous aromas of black and blue fruits, spring flowers, and hints of background toast and forest floor.
Blend: 54.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 1.5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The brilliant 2012 Rauzan-Ségla is unquestionably one of the successes in the Médoc in 2012. Its still youthful ruby/purple color is followed by impressive notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, cedar, graphite, and some earthy, underbrush-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and balanced, it builds with time in the glass and has plenty of tannins as well as length. While it offers pleasure today, it’s going to benefit from another 4-5 years of bottle age, and it should be long-lived.
Rating: 95+ -
Wine Enthusiast
This is a chocolate-inflected wine with a full mouth feel, and a very dark character. The palate is concentrated in tannins and a powerful, extracted feel. The aftertaste brings out more black-currant fruitiness.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet in color, the 2012 Rauzan-Ségla reveals evolving notions of new leather, cigar box and stewed tea over a core of blackcurrant cordial, plum preserves and blueberry compote with touches of cumin seed and fenugreek. Medium-bodied, the palate has a lot of spritely zip with red fruit accents lifting the mature savory and spice notes, framed by grainy tannins, finishing with great tension. The blend this year is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 27th and October 20th, at an average yield of 36 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 70% new. The alcohol is 13.5%.
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James Suckling
A full and silky wine with a slightly hollow center-palate now but it’s very pretty and chewy. Needs two or three years to soften. Very persistent and structured.
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Vinous
The 2012 Rauzan-Ségla is super-classy from start to finish. Sweet floral notes meld into spice, dried flowers, lavender and black cherry. This is a distinctly racy, open Rauzan-Ségla that should drink well with minimal cellaring. Today, the new oak is a bit prominent, but a little more time in bottle should take care of things.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Spectator
A toasty, fleshy style, with a cocoa note pulling and pushing the core of blackberry, black currant and plum fruit. Picks up more range through the finish, with black tea, alder and loam accents, boding well for cellaring.
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.