2024 Calon-Segur (St-Estephe)

Beautiful red ruby expression. A slimmer more finessed expression of Calon than in recent years, that gives it less estate signature than some, but this has beautiful cassis bud, rose petals, peony, iris, cocoa bean and graphite. Subtle but with real charm. 3.60 pH. 45 hl/ha. 100% new oak. Vincent Millet director, Harvest 23 September to 9 October. 92 points

The 2024 Calon Segur is shaping up very nicely. Dark and ample, with terrific balance, the 2024 is another strong wine from the team led by Technical Director Vincent Millet. Readers will find a Calon Segur of inner strength, its deceptively mid-weight structure notwithstanding. The 2024 is a wine of restraint and class more than power, never a bad thing at this property. The 100% new oak is very nicely balanced, even in the early going. This has great potential. 93-95 points

The 2024 Calon Segur was picked from September 23 until October 9 at 45 hl/ha with no breaks between those dates. It then matured in 100% new oak, as usual, for 20 months. This has a well-defined bouquet, with more prominent wood than previous recent vintages, which consequently obscures the property`s DNA. The palate is medium-bodied with sapid black fruit tinged with black olive. It`s quite lively, with a liberal sprinkling of white pepper and thyme. I admire the freshness of this Saint-Estephe and there is decent length on the finish. This is not a top-ranking Calon-Segur, but it should still provide up to 20 years of drinking pleasure. 91-93 points