Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points
Beautiful black raspberries, cassis, violets, spicy herbs, and spicy oak all emerge from the 2021 Château Phelan Segur a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot brought up 18 months in 55% new French oak. It's medium-bodied, has a supple, incredibly elegant mouthfeel, ripe, polished tannins, and beautiful overall length and elegance. It's another polished, classy, and incredibly seamless wine from director Véronique Dausse and her team. It will drink well with just 2-3 years of bottle age and should see its 20th birthday in fine form.
Robert Parker Wine Advocate 92-93 Points
Unfurling in the glass with aromas of dark berries, plums and cherries mingled with notions of rose petals, pipe tobacco, sweet spices and loamy soil, the 2021 Phélan Ségur is medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with impressive depth at the core, ripe tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, saline finish. Concentrated and well-constructed, this is a serious wine with a bright future ahead of it. It's a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot. Tasted five times, twice at the estate.
This Saint-Estèphe estate has been one of the Médoc's rising stars for some years now, and director Véronique Dausse and her team have excelled themselves in the challenging 2021 vintage. Some 70 hectares are planted at this address, with parcels concentrated around the château, opposite Château Montrose and on a gravel outcropping near the Pauillac border. Viticulture is thoughtful, with experiments in organic farming and cover crops; and winemaking is intelligent, with a cuvier equipped with small stainless steel tanks that have permitted parcel-by-parcel vinification since 2014. Macerations last three to four weeks, and some 300 hectoliters are fermented in 500-liter barrels. Phélan Ségur made good wines in the past (the 1989 stands out as one of the high points of yesteryear), but today, the estate is hitting new levels of quality and consistency.
James Suckling 95 Points
Very refined with a mineral and chili chocolate twist to the fine spices and cassis with a touch of iron and pencil shavings. The juicy, medium- to full-bodied palate shows symmetry of chalky tannins and fruit concentration. More refined, layered and long than it is compact or broad. Still, the finesse and minerality are evident. Drink now or hold.
