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It is ‘a star in the appellation,’ according to Jane Anson, which would ‘make it into a new version of the 1855 classification if one ever came around’. Neal Martin calls it ‘quintessentially Saint-Estephe’. Quality is soaring at Phelan-Segur, and that is reflected in the scores it has been achieving. The terroir has always been good; the largest and best vineyard plot is adjacent to Montrose, although there is another excellent and significant section alongside Calon-Segur. While ownership changed in 2017, the steady hand of Director Veronique Dausse remained on the tiller.
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Here`a rarity, a Bordeaux chateau moving seamlessly from one quality oriented owner to another. May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, whom Stephen Brook aptly describes as warm hearted but imperious, presided over the estate for many years after the death of her husband and had a reputation for acting like Chelsea and sacking managers she felt to be underperforming. Under pressure from other shareholders to sell, she finally passed the reins to Champagne Roederer in 2006. There is continuity.
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Pontet-Canet as we know it today dates from the mid seventies. Prior to that it had been owned and mismanaged by a series of impoverished or ignorant duffers. In 1975 it was bought by Cognac producer Guy Tesseron, whose son Alfred is now owner. Equally importantly Jean-Michel Comme was appointed manager and he has taken Pontet-Canet to full biodynamic status and ever increasing heights of quality. And for a fifth growth, it is now one of the most sought after wines in the whole region.
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Even when the family already owns Leoville-Las Cases it does no harm to marry a lady with a very nice estate of her own and that is what Paul Delon did. It is quite a large property and like many at this end of the Medoc has gradually been planting more Merlot to take into account proper surveys of the land, which does have extensive clay deposits. Yields here are low by Medoc standards at a maximum of 35hl/ha and tannins are kept suave by a policy of cooler fermentation while quality is assured by the fact that almost half the production is diverted into the second wine.
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Originally a Benedictine foundation but owned by the legendary Alexis Lichine for nearly forty years and by his son for another ten, Prieure-Lichine has always had a good reputation for its wine. For those many years, it produced wines that were typical of the Margaux appellation, without necessarily being the most exciting. The Ballande group, a family with many interests in the wine business, and their director Justin Onclin are looking to change this.
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The fall and rise of a great Margaux is in this case measured over a nearly 140 year period. In the 1855 classification Rauzan-Segla was ranked in the top ten of Bordeaux properties but in the 20th century in particular suffered from a succession of poor owners ranging from the lazy and complacent to the downright crooked. 1994 was the turning point when it was bought by Chanel, who poached John Kolasa from Chateau Latour and installed him as cellarmaster. Immediately out went machine harvesting and archaic manual cellar practices.
