2014 Phelan-Segur (St-Estephe)

The Château Phélan-Ségur 2014 has quite a high-toned bouquet with iodine-scented black fruit, touches of cassis and blueberry coming through with aeration. The palate is rounded and generous on the entry with fine tannin, though I feel it just lacks a little complexity and terroir expression towards the finish. I am aware than this Saint Estèphe improves a great deal by bottling, hence the plus sign. Tasted on three occasions, two showed a little rigidity towards the finish, but that will soften with élevage and bottle age. 89-91+ points

Phélan-Segur is well placed between Calon-Ségur and Montrose and in 2014 it is every bit as good as these two more famous properties. This is classic Saint Estèphe: meaty, firm and compact but with lovely underlying fruit sweetness, complemented by hints of lead pencil and mineral freshness. 93 points