Château Calon Ségur 2020

This is among the more backward wines of the vintage, showing a slightly burly mix of chestnut, warm paving stone, bay leaf and burnished leather notes amid a densely packed core of black currant and bitter plum reduction. Really riveted, with a warm cast iron spine and a mouthwatering savory edge driving the finish. Lovely character in this wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2026 through 2040.

Very deep perfumed nose; the 1% Petit Verdot is quite potent and intense with ripe fruit aromas. Super-smooth and silky on the palate however, just so juicy and lovely with ample balance. A lovely energy and freshness comes across as both sharp and well defined – succulent but remaining intense and linear in terms of structure. The weight comes from plump, ripe fruit – the blackcurrant, black cherry and plum offset by a cooling minerality and wet stone, pencil lead minerality. It has richness for sure, the concentration is there, but also sleight of hand, so well executed and long. Really very impressive.

Blueberries, blackberries, spearmint, currants and sweet spices on the nose. Mocha and walnuts, too. Lots of flavor here, with a medium to full body and muscular yet velvety tannins that melt seamlessly into the wine. Long, polished and delicious already. Keeps going. Better from 2025.

The 2020 Calon Ségur is a powerhouse. A blast of dark cherry fruit, menthol, tar, licorice and gravel infuse the 2020 with remarkable depth. Sumptuous and full-bodied, the 2020 shows all the richness and textural depth of the year. The tannins are imposing, but there's a good deal of fruit too. This is an especially opulent Grand Vin, in line with vintages like 2018 stylistically, but with 1% less alcohol. Tasted two times.

Powerful, rich, deep, long, and packed with layers of dark, red, and black fruits, Asian spice, boysenberry, black currants, cedar, licorice, cocoa, tobacco leaf, lead pencil, and a refreshing hint of mint on the nose. The wine offers intensity, depth of flavor, power, ripe tannins, vibrance, blackberry, and a currant-lingering finish with nuances of spice, chocolate, and crème de cassis on the back end. Give it a few years in the cellar, and enjoy it for up to three decades after that. Drink from 2026–2055.

Deep dark ruby garnet, purple reflections, opaque core, delicate rim brightening. Juicy black cherries, delicate liquorice, chocolate touch, fine herbal savouriness in the background. Freshly structured, red berry touch, mineral, quite tight tannins, cherries on the finish, medium complexity, already offers some drinking pleasure, will increase in structure with maturity. (2028-2050).

The 2020 Château Calon Ségur is pure gold and another masterpiece from this estate. Harvested entirely in September and drawn from their 48 hectares of vines, the blend is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, with the rest Petit Verdot, aged 20 months all in new French oak, and it came in at 13.2% natural alcohol. My notes began and ended with “wow,” and this riveting Saint-Estèphe offers a heavenly bouquet of red and black currants, truffly earth, iron, espresso, and tobacco leaf. With incredible purity of fruit, full-bodied richness, and ultra-fine tannins, it’s a deep, pure, layered 2020 that deserves at least 7–8 years of bottle age and will cruise for 40–50 years in cold cellars. Hats off to the team at Calon Ségur.

Charming bouquet, fresh Morello cherry juice, raspberry jelly and violet perfume, with Burley tobacco and milk chocolate notes in the background. On the juicy palate, a silky texture, lively drive, tight-knit tannic framework and an athletic body. In the concentrated finish, a basket of red cherries, light fine wood and fine-grained extract. Impressively repeats its en primeur result!

Kunz barrel sample 2021: spicy, powerful, fresh, dense bouquet, cassis, plums, walnuts, tobacco. Tightly knit, elegant, multi-layered palate with intense fruit, plenty of fine tannins, diverse aromatics, finely muscular structure, long, powerful finish.

Spicy, powerful, fresh, dense bouquet, blackcurrant, plum, nuts, tobacco. A tightly knit, elegant, multi-layered palate with intense fruit, plenty of fine tannins, varied aromatics, a finely muscular structure, and a long, powerful finish. 18/20 2027 - 2048

Even visually this stands apart with its inky, glass-staining ruby colour. Rich and powerful but restrained, this is a brilliant Calon Ségur, more old school than the past few vintages in that there is tight cassis, eucalyptus and mint leaf restraint, but still utterly luscious black cherry and damson fruits, concentrated, supple and chiselled tannins with a touch of crème de cassis and incense. Exceptionally impressive. 47% of overall production, 33hl/ha yield, 100% new oak, pH 3.85. Vincent Millet director as well as technical director.

The 2020 Calon Segur has a deep garnet-purple color. It comes bounding out of the glass with crème de cassis, blueberry pie, and kirsch notes, followed by hints of garrigue, cedar chest, and forest floor. Full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and bright acidity supporting the generous, muscular fruit, finishing long with lots of minerally sparks.

96-97

A wonderfully clean, pure nose—vibrant and ultra-fresh—with blue fruits, notes of cassia bark, sweet fruit, and a hint of smoke. On the palate, the texture is sumptuous, like brushed silk. Lots of precision, lovely minerality, and slightly chalky tannins.

When we think back to the first day of school after the summer holidays, we automatically remember chatting with classmates. We talk about the holidays, everyone recounts, with enthusiasm and excitement, everything they experienced. And then there’s this young man who arrives, very calm, smiling, takes his seat and gets straight to the point. His name is Calon Ségur. He has plenty to share, so much so that he prefers to start by sitting down—something I also recommend you do when you taste it! This wine finds its place with precision and rare composure. Its bouquet is subtle and complex, with nuances of tea leaves, licorice, and blueberries. Looking at its tannins—pertinent and perfectly integrated—it highlights its exceptional capacity for aging. It’s a marathoner, a muscular, enduring athlete, with obvious density and depth, but above all precision and a very linear character. It just needs time to express itself. He stands up, goes to the blackboard, and starts writing an equation. If I’ve calculated correctly, the result is within a few decimals of 100. He’ll get there. In the meantime, he goes back to sit down… in the cellar!

It is among the great emotions of the en primeur season. With a bouquet of great floral delicacy—lilac, violet, peony, marshmallow—its juicy mouthfeel delivers savory notes of stone kernel, graphite and small black fruits, immediately marked by a combination of finesse and density; the tannic framework is defined, elegant, and integrated. A great success right through to the creamy, lifted finish that stretches out on very fine, refreshing bitters. “Our only frustration is the yield: 33 hl/ha in 2020 instead of 40 last year,” says Vincent Millet, estate director.

95–97. Barrel Sample. The powerful tannins of this wine cannot mask the beautiful fruits and acidity. Rather the tannins enhance them, giving structure to the wine's fine blackberry fruitiness that leaves a refreshing character at the end. With this structure the wine will take its time and will need to age for many years.