96-98pts Vinous
The 2023 Rauzan-Ségla is fabulous. Rich, dense and explosive, the 2023 soars out of the glass with captivating aromatics. Readers will find a vertical, deep Margaux endowed with tremendous character and nuance. All the elements are so well-balanced. Crushed rocks, plum, blood orange, spice and leather are some of the notes that explode into the finish. In the 2023, the Grand Vin is distinctly red-fruited and vibrant. Rauzan-Ségla is the most memorable wines of the vintage. It was nothing short of stellar on the four occasions I tasted it.
-Antonio Galloni
96-98pts The Wine Cellar Insider
Dark in color, the array of floral notes shoot out with violets, lilacs, and roses. From there you find truffle, red and black fruits, cigar box and cedar also come IT is It is the striking nose powered by violets, and lilacs that gets the wine going, before finding all the currants, black cherries, mint, and spice in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is lush, energetic, long, deep, and rich. There is purity, paired with opulence in the long, vibrant, velvet-textured finish, with just a hint of chalk that appears on the backend. The wine is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.5% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot. Once aging, this is a new, record-setting percentage of Cabernet in the blend. 14% Press wine. 13.5% ABV, 3.6 pH. The harvest took place September 7 - September 20. Yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare. The Grand Vin was produced from 50% of the harvest. Drink from 2029-2065.
95-97pts The Wine Independent
The 2023 Rauzan-Segla is deep garnet-purple in color. It prances out with flamboyant notes of Morello cherries, blackcurrant pastilles, violets, and licorice giving way to suggestions of rosebud tea, crushed rocks, and Sichuan pepper. The medium-bodied palate delivers amazing tension to offset the shiny black and red berry layers, framed by velvety tannins, finishing long and perfumed. This is gorgeous! The blend is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.5% Merlot, and 1.5% Petit Verdot, aging 18 months in oak, 55% new, with pH 3.61 and yield 30 hl/ ha.
96pts Jane Anson
Inkier and more luscious in texture than the Ségla, this has rich layers to its aromatic palate, showing rhubarb, savoury cassis and blueberry, peony, rose petals, soot, gunsmoke, graphite, flint, weight and texture, spiralling upwards. Wonderful expression of a wine that seems supremely Margaux and supremely Rauzan Ségla. 50% new oak.
94-96pts Wine Advocate
The 2023 Rauzan-Ségla shows considerable promise, unwinding in the glass with aromas of cherries, dark berries and plums mingled with hints of pencil shavings and violets. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's deep and fleshy, with terrific purity of fruit, supple tannins and a long, resonant finish. This classic in the making is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.5% Merlot and 1.5% Petit Verdot.
93-95+pts Jeb Dunnuck
This estate continues to never put a foot wrong, and their 2023 Château Rauzan-Ségla is one class act. Deep purple-hued, with fabulous aromatics of cassis, smoky blue fruits, tobacco, spicy oak, and subtle floral notes, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a polished, incredibly elegant mouthfeel, and ripe, fine-grained tannins. It's not a blockbuster, but it shines for its flawless balance, complexity, and length.
93-95pts Vinous
The 2023 Rauzan-Ségla was picked from September 7th until the 29th at 30hL/ha, matured in 55% new oak. It contains more Cabernet Sauvignon this year (85%) due to the mildew-affected Merlot being parsed out of the blend. This has a very aromatic bouquet of wilted violets, black cherries and hints of camphor, with a faint oyster shell note lingering in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins. This is endowed with tension and purity, while a light marine influence imparts character. Armed with an energetic, spicy finish, this is a more classical Rauzan-Ségla that deserves five or six years in bottle. Even so, it already conveys an air of sophistication.
-Neal Martin
93pts Decanter
Gorgeous aromatics, purple flowers and deep, ripe and fresh blackcurrants and cherries. Gorgeous crispness and crunch - full of life - but with powdery softly grippy tannins. Nicely constructed. Feels quite a serous second wine, lots of push and underlying power. Fruit forward, nicely alive and upfront with black cherries, plums and blueberries. Ends so long with a graphite and wet stone element. Lovely texture, almost thick but alive too, great mouthwatering acidity, lots of lift. Ends clean and precise, very approachable and a really great balance of vibrancy, depth and freshness this year all while being quite straight with a firm backbone. Ends chalky. 3.61pH.
Winemaker's Notes
Matured at the heart of this historic vineyard, Rauzan-Ségla is an iron fist in a velvet glove. Its modesty and clear delicate touch hide a deep, intense heart. Staying true to the Margaux application, it is a truly noble nectar. Grace that reveals restraint. Multifaceted complexity. Pure sophistication and the charm of tenacity.
Smooth nobility. Intense tannins. Ageing potential.
History
The wines here have delighted many well-know figures, most famously Thomas Jefferson who came across this wine during his visit to the vineyards of Bordeaux, placing an order for several cases of it. He thus became a fervent admirer or Rauzan-Segla wines. Some decades later, the 1855 Classification ranked Chateau Rauzan-Segla as a Second Growth.
The current chateau was built in 1903, designed by architect Louis Garros, who drew inspiriation from the original Perigord-style buildings in the the chateau, as well as G. LeBreton who designed the park and green spaces. Then time went by and the chateau gradually fell into a slumber.
Then, CHANEL purchased Chateau Rauzan-Ségla in April 1994 and immediately started a full renovation programme. The vineyard has been drained – a 15-kilometer network is now in place, 2 parcels of Petit Verdot were planted and 3 hectares of vines were grafted over with Merlot. Today, 51 hectares are in production for an average total production of 200 000 bottles – Chateau Rauzan- Ségla and its second wine Ségla. The winery has been adapted and large vats progressively replaced by smaller capacities – matching the parcels' sizes. From the 2004 picking on, grapes will be sorted on two 10-meter long vibrating tables, so that each single berry is checked before entering the vats. Maturation cellars have been completely renovated and a new room built for the bottling-labelling machines – making Chateau Rauzan-Ségla fully independent for the entire production process.
