Château Rauzan Ségla, 2ème Cru Classé, Margaux, 2022
Nicolas Audebert and team have produced one of the wines of the vintage at Rauzan Segla, full of enticing, polished dark fruits, which sparkle and dance alongside nuanced, wonderfully aromatic, floral notes of violets, rose, herbs, earth and liquorice. This is a powerful, baritone Rauzan with a deep core of creme de mûre, but also displays lots of detail with blood orange and delicate spices. The fruit is wonderfully pure and refined with a certain classicism, yet the texture is polished and speaks of modern winemaking. Virile, refreshing and very exciting, there's lots of complexity and crackle to the tannins. A ravishing Rauzan. 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot
critic reviews
The 2022 from Rauzan-Ségla is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot, with a 2% splash of Petit Verdot. I find a rather classy nose here, with finely poised dark fruits, swirled with tobacco, toast, crushed chalk, liquorice and tar, nuanced with white flowers, the floral element strongly evident and setting it apart from many of its peers at this stage. A very finely poised palate follows the lead of the nose, with dark and fragrant fruits, fresh with notes of tar and liquorice, draped over a frame of brooding and finely grained tannins. This is a brilliantly composed Rauzan-Ségla, with a more light-footed frame than the nose suggests, but with dark substance and a long finish of integrated and powdery grip. An impressive wine built for the long haul. Tasted twice. The alcohol on the label is 14.5%.
An accomplished wine that has been steered skilfully through ageing, and delivers the exceptional quality that it showed En Primeur. Cocoa bean, espresso, tar, ink, campfire, finesse, powerful but understated tannic architecture, cassis fruits laced with black tea, incense, graphite and peony. 50% new barrels, Nicolas Audebert director
Rauzan Ségla has included more Cabernet Sauvignon in recent vintages due to new plantings and selection in recent years, according to Nicola Audebert. The 2022 has a dense nose that has dispensed with some of the opulence observed during primeur two years ago. There is plenty of concentration allied with less exoticism and extravagance than you might have expected. Scents of black cherries, bilberry, touches of peony and violet are later joined by subtle graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with wonderful balance and concentration, actually not a million miles away from Palmer in style this year. Quite saline and offering a dash of cracked black pepper on the Cabernet-driven finish, this lives up to expectations. It should mature marvelously in bottle.
The 2022 Rauzan-Segla is a beautifully sensual, charming wine, bursting with aromas of cherries, dark berries and plums mingled with hints of violets, sweet loamy soil and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's fleshy and enveloping, with an ample core of vibrant fruit, supple tannins and a long, succulent finish. The 2022 is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot; and in 2022, the east-facing sides of the vines, which see the afternoon sun, were picked separately, along with anything that showed signs of stress.