MARQUIS DE CALON
2017 Saint Estèphe Château Calon Ségur
The 2017 Marquis de Ségur, the deuxième vin of Calon-Ségur, was cropped at 43.5hl/ha and matured in 30% new oak. It has quite a powerful bouquet that almost dwarfs the 2015 that I tasted alongside. Merlot dominates the aromatics, a mélange of black and blue fruit, later crushed violet making it almost Margaux-like in style. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet core of fruit and crisp acidity. It is quite saline in the mouth and then tapers towards a cedar-tinged finish that expresses the Cabernet Sauvignon. Good potential and a fine second label. Drinking range: 2020 - 2028 Rating: 88-90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
57% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. 17 months in French oak. Deep crimson with cherry rim. Intense dark fruit with some deep Merlot richness that is not that common on the left bank in this vintage. Fragrance of Cabernet Franc as well. Packed with fresh dark-red fruit in the middle. Great combo of Merlot and Cabernets. Lively and full of life, fresh and energetic but still well structured and long. Generous but crunchy too. Lively and juicy with very fine, chalky tannins. Fine tannins but the fruit is the star. Drinking range: 2024 - 2032 Rating: 17 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)
The tentative blend for the 2017 Le Marquis de Calon-Ségur is 57% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with bright, pretty red currants and black cherries with touches of cassis and Provence herbs plus a hint of pencil shavings. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh and juicy with plenty of vibrant fruit and soft tannins, finishing savory. Rating: 88-90 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2018)
This has a floral edge to it and a depth of blueberry fruit that's a little shy at first but comes through on the mid-palate. I like how this fits together, with carefully placed fruits and soft tannins. This isn't an especially powerful Marquis and should be ready to drink within 3 to 4 years, lasting for at least fifteen. There was no frost at Calon, just the dry summer interrupted by 40-50mm of rain at the end of June and then 80mm in September to contend with. This was around the same amount as in 2015, but in September 2015 it fell over two days, whereas this year the rain lasted around 10, which was fine for the Cabernets but a little trickier for the Merlots. 50% of production went to Marquis de Calon, and 10% to the third wine, St-Estèphe de Calon, not tasted here. 30% new oak. Yield of 43.5hl/ha. 3.6pH. Drinking range: 2023 - 2037 Rating: 90 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2018)
Looking first at the 2017 Calon Ségur Le Marquis de Calon Ségur, which is the second wine of the estate, it has solid density and depth, with pretty blue fruits, leafy herbs, and damp rock-like minerality. It’s a charming, fresh, classic Saint-Estèphe to drink over the coming decade. The blend of the 2017 is roughly 57% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Rating: 88-90 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Apr 2018)
Fresh and delicate with firm tannins and a crisp finish. Medium body and a bright currant and dark-cherry character. Second wine of Calon. Rating: 89-90 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)
The second wine of Calon-Ségur. The picking dates here are the same as for the grand vin, and this has taken 55% of the crop in this vintage, there being no third wine here. The blend is led by Merlot, at 57% of the total, including old-vine Merlot relegated from the grand vin, not that dissimilar to previous vintages, with 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, mainly young-vine fruit, and 5% Cabernet Franc. The analyses reveal the wine to have 13.3% alcohol and 3.55 g/l total acidity, while the élevage will be in just 30% new oak, for 17 months. I get notes of dusty icing sugar with sweet plum fruit, the Merlot leading the way on the nose, showing an expressive, fresh and tense character, quite perfumed, with a little dark cherry-stone vivacity. It has a quite elegant palate, fresh and pure, with polished cherry-stone and plum fruit, and it shows a quite charming pithy and phenolic backbone. It has an elegant style though, and seems much more fleet of foot than the Merlot-dominated Marquis de Calon of old. It is precise, pure, perfumed, very restrained and elegant. The tannins feel tightly grained, with a long and elegant grip. A very good second wine. Rating: 91-93 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)
Château Calon Ségur
St Estèphe Troisième cru 1855 Château Calon Ségur is the northernmost Grand Cru estate classified in 1855, sitting just north of the village of St Estèphe. It was once part, as the name suggests, of the vast holdings of the Ségur family, owners amongst others of Lafite and Latour. In the 18th Century, Nicolas-Alexandre Ségur is said to have remarked "I make my wine at Lafite and Latour but my heart is in Calon", and the label bears his heart to this day. In the early years of the 19th Century, the then owner Etienne Dumoulin became interested in an underdeveloped part of the estate, which was cleared and planted with vines. Such was the quality that the rump of Calon-Ségur was sold off, and Etienne's new estate went on to become Château Montrose. Calon-Ségur came into the hands of the Gasqueton family in 1894, and it is still owned by the family. A solid performer, especially recently, the Grand Vin is made with a relatively high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon (as high as 90% in some vintages). The vineyards are 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc and the wines spend 18 months in wood. The second wine is Marquis de Calon.
ORDERING VIA OUR WEBSITE:
- Add cases to your Wishlist (which appears in the sidebar and header separately from the main basket) which you can click to view and edit.
- Submit your Wishlist with your details.
- We will respond as quickly as possible with confirmation of your order and your invoice.
Alternatively please call or email the Primeurs team () or your normal Lea and Sandeman contact.
DELIVERY & STORAGE: Please specify in your order form notes where you would like the wines shipped on arrival. If you would like the wines duty paid your invoice will include duty and VAT at the prevailing rate. For more information on L&S storage services visit our Storage Homepage or contact our primeurs team for more information. Storage details can be arranged later so proceed with your order first in order to confirm the wines in question.
BRUNELLO PRE-SHIPMENT OFFER FAQ
PRICES: This is a primeur offer - all prices are quoted IN BOND ex-VAT by the case size stated.
DELIVERY COSTS: The in bond prices are for in bond delivery. Under bond delivery to an Elephant storage account at Octavian Corsham is free, but under bond delivery to third party bonds will incur a charge of £16.50 + VAT. If the wines are required duty-paid, a duty and VAT invoice will be raised and must be settled in full before delivery.
PAYMENT: Orders will be invoiced for immediate payment by cheque, cash, debit card or cleared funds to our account. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for pre-shipment or primeur orders.
DELIVERY TIMING: The wines are not yet physically available, but will be shipped over the course of the summer (2020). In most cases the wines will be delivered as they arrive with us, so if any are required by a certain date please advise us at the time of ordering.