#75 in Top 100 World Wines, 2025. Aromas of blueberries and blackberries with walnuts and hints of tar that follow through to a medium to full body with plush and velvety tannins and a lovely, caressing mouthfeel. It closes up at the end. Extremely long, pure and structured. Classic 72% cabernet sauvignon, 26% merlot and 2% petit verdot. From organically grown grapes. Give this at least until after 2030 to open and come around.
The flagship 2022 Château Rauzan-Ségla checks in as 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot, all aged 18 months in 50% new French oak. It's much more focused and precise compared to the second wine and has brilliant aromatics of crème de cassis, crushed violets, graphite, and smoky oak. Gorgeously concentrated and full-bodied, with riveting purity and precision, this stunning Margaux has ripe yet building tannins, a terrific mid-palate, and flawless overall balance. I love it today yet 7-8 years of cellar are warranted and it will cruise over the following 3-4 decades in cold cellars. It's another sensational wine from this estate.
Heady floral aromatics and vibrant black fruit. Gorgeous succulence and energy. It's not shouting, not too high in acidity or too fleshy, but a great combination of plush and filling tannins, cool blue fruit, ripe red fruit, crystalline minerality and subtle spices. Smooth and clean, elegant and confident. Approachable with detail and finesse to the elements. Juicy, bright, clean, seductive, powerful, captivating – utterly satisfying.
TWI
97pts
The Wine Independent
The 2022 from Rauzan-Ségla is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot, with a 2% splash of Petit Verdot. I find a rather classy nose here, with finely poised dark fruits, swirled with tobacco, toast, crushed chalk, liquorice and tar, nuanced with white flowers, the floral element strongly evident and setting it apart from many of its peers at this stage. A very finely poised palate follows the lead of the nose, with dark and fragrant fruits, fresh with notes of tar and liquorice, draped over a frame of brooding and finely grained tannins. This is a brilliantly composed Rauzan-Ségla, with a more light-footed frame than the nose suggests, but with dark substance and a long finish of integrated and powdery grip. An impressive wine built for the long haul. Tasted twice. The alcohol on the label is 14.5%.
The 2022 Rauzan-Ségla is showing well in bottle, unfurling in the glass with aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with licorice, burning embers and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, ample and velvety, it's suave and seamless, with its dense core of fruit framed by powdery structuring tannins that lend a more evident backbone than it exhibited en primeur. As readers may remember, 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.
This is dreamy, with deliciously juicy mulberry and blackberry puree flavors that stream through, carried by a vivid mix of iris, violet and anise, along with a long, well-embedded iron note. As this airs in the glass, it gains a caressing feel and greater depth, ending with a long echo of warm earth. Beautifully done. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2026 through 2042.
The 2022 Rauzan Ségla has a complex bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, touches of violet and light Earl Grey, almost ash-like aromas, very engaging in style. The palate is medium-bodied with sapid black fruit, just a light touch of wild mint and fennel. Quite minerally in style, there is a liberal sprinkling of white pepper on the finish. Excellent. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.