Chateau Phelan Segur 2014
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
The initial wood flavors in this wine rapidly give way to rich fruit. Spice and black-plum flavors are built by a firmly tannic superstructure. The aftertaste brings out the acidity. This wine should develop well over the long term. Drink from 2023.
-
James Suckling
The spice and floral characters are fresh and perfumed. Walnuts. Medium body, with firm and silky tannins and a linear and crisp finish. Orange peel undertone to the currants. Tight and racy. Needs two to three years to open up. Try in 2020.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Phelan-Segur has quite a punchy nose with blackberry, iris and iodine scents that shoot from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a pleasant chewiness on the entry. This segues into a well balanced middle with well-judged acidity, crisp black fruit infused with graphite and a touch of sea salt towards the finish. It might not quite have the finesse of the top Saint Estèphe's, but there is clearly decent length and energy here. Tasted twice with consistent notes.
-
Wine Spectator
Pure and expressive, featuring a lovely beam of cassis gilded with light lilac, wet pebble and tobacco notes that should emerge more with cellaring. Best from 2018 through 2028.
-
Decanter
Fine florality and, as always, slightly gamey fruit with character and class, Very good ripe mid plate and rounded tannins. Will open early for a good future.
Other Vintages
2022-
Suckling
James - Vinous
-
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert
- Decanter
-
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James - Vinous
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert - Decanter
-
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert
When he died in 1841, Bernard Phelan left this vast estate, known from then on under the combined name of Chateau Segur de Garamey, to his son Frank. Frank devoted his life to promoting the renown and improving the quality of the wines produced on his property. In addition, he became the mayor of Saint-Estephe, holding the post for thirty years.
Since 1985, Xavier Gardinier has been running the vineyard with the help of his sons Thierry, Stephane and Laurent. The buildings have been totally renovated to express the spirit of their founders and house winemaking equipment enables the terroir to express itself in all its complexity. However, despite the undeniable attraction of the buildings' design and the high-tech nature of the equipment therein, they are only the necessary backdrop to the remarkable alchemy that produces each year's vintage.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Deeply colored, concentrated, and distinctive, St. Estephe is the go-to for great, age-worthy and reliable Bordeaux reds. Separated from Pauillac merely by a stream, St. Estephe is the farthest northwest of the highest classed villages of the Haut Medoc and is therefore subject to the most intense maritime influence of the Atlantic.
St. Estephe soils are rich in gravel like all of the best sites of the Haut Medoc but here the formation of gravel over clay creates a cooler atmosphere for its vines compared to those in the villages farther downstream. This results in delayed ripening and wines with higher acidity compared to the other villages.
While they can seem a bit austere when young, St. Estephe reds prove to live very long in the cellar. Traitionally dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, many producers now add a significant proportion of Merlot to the blend, which will soften any sharp edges of the more tannic, Cabernet.
The St. Estephe village contains two second growths, Chateau Montrose and Cos d’Estournel.