Château Phélan Ségur, St Estèphe,

Elegant and well balanced, a ton of St Estèphe signature, this is really impressive, well controlled, wuth purity and depth to the cassis fruits, sweetened by cherry pie, flaky pastry, cinnammon, a welcome bitter finish of aniseed and cocoa beans that gives balance to the overall richness of the palate. There are big tannins but also clean wet stone minerality, and things stretch out through the palate, giving grip and no let up in intensity. 55% new oak, 3.8ph, 28hl/h yield. Blend finished in March, 28l/h yield. Selected native yeasts.

The 2022 Phelan Segur is made from 56% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, with a yield of 28 hl/ha. Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out with rambunctious notes of kirsch, black cherries, boysenberry preserves, and garrigue, followed by suggestions of lilacs, Sichuan pepper, and cinnamon stick. The medium to full-bodied palate is laden with juicy black fruit and red berry sparks, supported by firm, grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, leading to a long and spicy finish on this very pretty wine. pH 3.8, TPI 96.

The 2022 Phélan Ségur was picked between 14 and 26 September, 9 out of 13 days with one plot immediately after another, using selected indigenous yeasts for around half the production. It was cropped at 28hL/ha with 14.2% alcohol at the moment, the pH is 3.8. This year contains higher Merlot (56%) due to its higher yield than Cabernet (frost and berry size). On June 20 at 8.15pm, three blocks were hit by hail that was horizontal accompanied by 25mm of rain within 10 minutes. This cost them 30% production overall. "We did less extraction at the end of the alcoholic fermentation and stopped the pumping over two days earlier at 1.010 [which without getting too technical is the Gravity of one liter of must relative to one liter of distilled water] and did more like an infusion." Aged in 55% new oak, it has an enticingly pure bouquet with blackberry and bilberry fruit, blackcurrant, iris flower and light iodine scents. Very intense and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins, a liberal sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper laced over the black fruit. A quintessentially Saint-Estèphe with a structured and very persistent finish. Allowing the wine to open in the glass, it reveals impressive depth (more so than the 2019 and 2020) and precision. This will require several years in bottle, but it will certainly be worth the wait.