Château Rauzan-Segla 2022 [in bond ex vat] (6 x 75cl) en primeur landing Spring 2025

Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot

6 x 75cl * 13.5% ABV * Margaux, Bordeaux, France

This Second Growth Margaux is now owned by the same parent company as fashion house Chanel, and head winemaker Nicolas Audebert has vinified a wine here comparable to the highest of haut-couture. Darkest red and full of bramble fruit, cocoa and ripe damson, but with steely graphite too. Firm, ripe, full and powerful. A corker of a wine even for his stand-out vintage.

 'The 2022 Rauzan-Ségla was picked 2 to 28 September at 30hL/ha and matured for 18 months in 50% new oak. Nicolas Audebert told me that it contains 17% vin de presse which is slightly higher than normal, a combination of 150 separate vinifications. This has a very opulent bouquet with layers of black cherries, créme de cassis and violets. Perhaps just a little too decadent? The palate is medium-bodied with fine balance, grainy tannins, very pure and focused with quite a minerally finish. Long in the mouth. It's just missing that knockout blow at the moment, yet it's still a supremely well-crafted Margaux' Neal Martin 95-97/100

'The 2022 Rauzan-Ségla is a beautifully sensual, charming wine, bursting with aromas of cherries, dark berries and plums mingled with hints of violets, sweet loamy soil and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's fleshy and enveloping, with an ample core of vibrant fruit, supple tannins and a long, succulent finish. The 2022 is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot; and in 2022, the east-facing sides of the vines, which see the afternoon sun, were picked separately, along with anything that showed signs of stress.' The Wine Advocate, 96-97/100

'The freshness and clarity of the fruit is really something with black currants and cherries. Brilliant. Full-bodied, layered and round with polished tannins. I like the intensity and focus with such precision and gorgeousness. Is this the 2016 plus more?' James Suckling, 97-98/100

'Château Rauzan-Ségla (2ème Cru Margaux) 72 Cabernet Sauvignon, 26 Merlot, 2 Petit Verdot 50% new oak for 18 months 14.5% alc 3.7 pH 30 hl/ha With considerable power and concentration, this is a closed wine with a midnight black fruit core and the deepest foundations. It appears to be commandingly oaky, but as it is so well integrated, it is hard to see this carpentry, aside from on the finish, where it brings crisp sappiness and mouthwatering traction. Introverted, grand, layered and exotic, this will be a sleeper, and it is clearly made of stunning raw materials, so do not dive in for at least a decade. Interestingly, they harvested the eastern sides of the vines and the western sides of the vines separately, ensuring that the fruit 16 was all in perfect condition as it entered the winery. This extra level of effort has certainly paid off, as this is my highest-ever scoring vintage of Rauzan-Ségla' Matthew Jukes, 19+/20

Drink 2030 - 2065

Please note prices are in-bond and exclude VAT and duty, which are payable when the wines land in-store in Spring/Summer 2025.