Appellations

Phelan Segur 2018

St Estephe, Cru bourgeois

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Tasting Notes

he 2018 Phélan Ségur appears to have lost the green edge that I observed from barrel, now coming across fresh with blackberry, seaweed and light sea spray scents. It gently unfurls with aeration, though never slips into fifth gear. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, just a touch of dark chocolate infusing the black fruit and a cohesive, slightly peppery finish. This is a deftly crafted Phélan Ségur that will benefit from 3–4 years in bottle.

Score: 92 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2023 - 2039 Date: 23 August 2021

The 2018 Phélan-Ségur is often tricky to assess from barrel. This comes across rather awkward on the nose, a little green around the edges perhaps. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy, slightly rough tannins with an assertive, tarry finish that lacks a bit of grace. It often surprises once in bottle, but at the moment, it does not appeal as much as I anticipated, which means I wll probably be upgrading my score once tasted blind in bottle!

Score: 90 - 92 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Date: 01 November 2019

The flagship 2018 Château Phélan Ségur is a beauty based on 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Merlot. This was a great vintage for the Médoc, and the 2018 reveals a dense purple hue to go with powerful notes of blackcurrants, iron, smoked tobacco, chocolate, and earth. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it has beautiful tannins, remarkable purity of fruit, and just does everything right. It has some up-front appeal today (no doubt due to the high Merlot content), yet it builds with time in the glass and shows more and more structure with air. It deserves 5-6 years of bottle age and will keep for 20-25. It's every bit as good as the 2016, if not better.

Score: 95 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2026 - 2051 Date: 22 July 2021

The 2018 Château Phélan Ségur is another winner from director Véronique Dausse that does everything right. A blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Merlot, its deep purple color is followed by a deep, rich, medium to full-bodied Saint-Estèphe that has thrilling purity of fruit, terrific concentration, and ripe tannins. You can’t go wrong on this one. It will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and keep for 15-20 years or more. It should match or exceed the brilliant 2016.

Score: 92 - 94 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Date: 01 May 2019

The 2018 Phélan Ségur is composed of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Merlot, weighing in at 14% alcohol, 3.8 pH and has an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 77. Deep purple-black in color, it leaps from the glass with vibrant notes of crushed blackberries, blackcurrant jelly and kirsch, plus suggestions of menthol, Ceylon tea, forest floor and lavender. The medium-bodied palate delivers elegance and impressive vivacity with finely grained tannins and a refreshing line supporting the intense red and black berry layers, finishing long and perfumed.

Score: 93 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Decanter.com Maturity: 2023 - 2040 Date: 17 July 2021

The 2018 Phélan Ségur is a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Merlot, harvested from September 14 to October 4. The wine comes in at 14% alcohol, 3.8 pH and has an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 77. Deep purple-black in color, it springs from the glass with bright, vibrant notes of raspberry preserves, kirsch and ripe blackcurrants with hints of rose petals, tilled black soil, spice cake and warm plums plus a waft of star anise. Medium to full-bodied with a solid backbone of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, the palate sports a taut, muscular fruit profile with loads of bright red fruit sparks and a long, earthy finish.

Score: 93 - 95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 23 April 2019

This is good quality in 2018, as it has consistently been over the past few vintages. It has a silky texture and is powerful but restrained, displaying the freshness and power of the clay that underpins the soils here and demonstrating just how good the Merlots were when they were picked at full ripeness but not more - here they were also given one week less than usual for the extraction. There's plenty of concentration here but it's hidden, latent, reserving its energy for the long haul. Harvest took place between 24 September and 11 October, with a good yield of 49hl/ha. 60% of the production went into the grand vin. 3.8pH. 77IPT.

Score: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2026-2040 Date: 15 April 2019

This is the most powerful Phélan Segur I have ever tasted. A solid core of dense fruit and layered tannins that are so refined and polished. Remains fresh, energetic and bright. Yet, there’s plenty of harmony and balance.

Score: 95 - 96 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 11 April 2019

Lively, with juicy plum and black cherry fruit, supported by tobacco and toast accents in the end. An alluring whiff of incense swirls through the slightly dusty finish.

Score: 90 - 93 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator Date: 02 April 2019

The 2018 Phélan Ségur is another in a strong series of wines from this re-born property. Deep and persistent on the palate, the 2018 has a lot to offer. Dark cherry, plum, graphite, menthol, spice and licorice all build in a super-expressive, delineated yet dense Saint-Estèphe loaded with personality. The 2018 finishes with serious intensity and structure. Technical Director Fabrice Bacquey opted for cooler macerations and short cuvaisons, especially for the Merlots, as the fruit was especially rich and the wines extracted easily, while the Cabernets were fermented more or less as usual. Yields were 49 hectoliters per hectare, a bit higher than the 20-year average of 44 and inline with other recent vintages such as 2015, 2016 and 2017. The blend is 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Merlot. Tasted three times.

Score: 91 - 94 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Date: 01 April 2019