Château Calon Ségur

Chateau Calon Segur is a long-established estate in AOC Saint-Estephe, in the northern Medoc of Bordeaux. The blend is led by Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a touch of Petit Verdot, a classic left-bank recipe in which the Cabernet brings cassis and structure, the Merlot flesh and the Petit Verdot colour and spice. The vineyards lie on deep gravel over clay and limestone, soils that drain freely and warm quickly, ripening Cabernet fully while the cooler Saint-Estephe clay holds water and lends the wines their firm backbone. After fermentation the wine ages 20 months in French oak, where slow oxygen exchange through the barrel softens and builds the tannin and adds cinnamon, vanilla and cedar. It pours deep red, opening with ripe plum, cassis and cherry over vanilla, cinnamon and a floral, tobacco-edged background. The palate is structured and elegant, with fine, firm tannin and a long savoury finish that rewards cellaring. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees, decanted at least an hour ahead. It suits roast lamb, beef and game.