Segla 2016: a stellar vintage

Every year a group of critics, journalists and trade experts gather for the Bordeaux Ten Years On tasting. The spotlight this year was on 2016 and it lived up to very high expectations. In a first-class vintage like this, second wines are a great buy. Our pick of the bunch is Segla 2016, a wine which – as Neal Martin recently reported on Vinous – several tasters took for a grand vin.

Segla is of course the second wine of Ch Rauzan Segla. Many today put the grand vin alongside Palmer and Ch Margaux itself. Acquired in 1994 by the Wertheimer family, owners of Chanel, the property has benefitted from significant investment and expertise. The Wertheimers brought in John Kolasa from Ch Latour, under whose stewardship quality soared. Nicolas Audebert took over in 2015 and has continued to finesse both viticulture and winemaking.

In 2016, the grapes for Segla came as always from particular vineyard plots. It is made along the same lines as the grand vin, with manual sorting and vinification in small lots. The main difference is the elevage: Segla has a shorter maturation time of 15 months and sees a lower percentage of new oak. The wine shows the characteristic perfumed aromatics and silky texture of the grand vin but is approachable earlier.

2016 was an excellent – and significant – vintage in Bordeaux. As Neal Martin has noted, the year “augured a new era for Bordeaux in terms of style, with silkier tannins, more approachable wines, lower alcohol and less reliance on new oak.”  Wines like Segla show just how good Bordeaux 2016 can be.

This is a tremendous wine that you can drink now or over the next decade. We have bought some of the last remaining cases from the chateau. We recommend our clients stock up too.

read more