Ch. Calon-Segur
3rd Growth Grand Cru Classe
Saint-Estephe
2009

The producer

Calon-Segur is the most northerly situated of all the Medoc Cru Classe estates. 74 hectares are located directly to the north of the small village of Saint-Estephe and are planted with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. The heart-shaped logo on Calon-Segur’s label is said to be there because the previous owner, Marquis de Segur, although he also owned Chateaux Lafite and Latour, is quoted for saying “I make my wine at Lafite and Latour, but my heart belongs to Calon”.

The modern history of Calon-Segur begins in 1894 when the chateau was acquired by Georges Gasqueton, whose family managed the estate until 2012. In 2012, Calon-Segur was bought by the French insurance company, Suravenir Insurance, who has invested heavily in renovating the property and replanting the vineyards.

Calon-Segur has 3^rd Growth status and today, the best vintages are left to mature in up to 90-100% new French oak barrels for between 12-18 months. These are beautifully structured wines that can age for decades. The annual production is on average close to 20,000 bottles.

The wine

Fruit for Calon-Segur is sourced from vineyards bordering the Gironde estuary and surrounding the chateau. The blend varies with vintage conditions but usually has around 70% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and a soupcon of Petit Verdot. Fermentation takes place in conical stainless steel tanks and is followed by ageing in 100% new French oak barrels for 18-20 months. With medium body, freshness and beautiful structure, layers of black fruit, mineral and floral notes; these are beautiful wines that can age for decades.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.