2006 Rauzan Ségla

93 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

A big, ripe chocolate-flavored wine with spice, new wood and a smooth, polished character. It is rich, with black currant jelly flavors, but this richness is balanced with a lively freshness and subtlety in its tannins. The finish is long, the flavors echoing the perfumes on the nose.

93 POINTS

Jane Anson - Decanter

A good spring and summer were followed by light rains in autumn which slightly ruined the party, meaning this 2006 was pretty tannic in its youth, and you can still see its power and density. It's very Left Bank in feel, with classic signatures of complexity and freshness. It's impressive that it still feels pretty young and full of juice, and is a great food wine thanks to the blue brambly fruits that are full of elegance. 52hl/ha yield. 50% new oak.

92 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London. The 2006 Château Rauzan-Ségla has a sous-bois and sandalwood-scented bouquet with a light "mahogany bureau" scent developing soon after. The nose is open and inviting. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and bestowed with greater fruit concentration than the nose suggests: blackberry, raspberry mixed with sage, cedar and a touch of sea salt. As usual, this Rauzan-Séglas has a surfeit of personality and while it might not be a contender for the longest-lived Margaux, it is the kind of Left Bank 2006 that you welcome at the dinner table. Tasted January 2016.

92 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

Deep garnet in color with a touch of brick, the 2006 Rauzan-Ségla gives up dusty earth, sandalwood, cigar and Indian spices scents with a core of mincemeat pie, prunes and dried mulberries plus a waft of dried roses. Medium-bodied, firm and chewy, it has bags of freshness supporting the muscular core of evolved, spicy fruit, finishing minerally. The blend this year is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 21st and October 7th, at an average yield of 52 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 50% new. The alcohol is 13%.

92 POINTS

James Suckling

Very pure fruit in this wine with flowers and red fruits such as raspberries on the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied with fine tannins and a fresh finish. Attractive 2006 for drinking now or later.

91 POINTS

Stephen Tanzer - Vinous

Bright red-ruby. Aromas of boysenberry, licorice and cedary, nutty oak lifted by a floral topnote. Juicy, dry and vinous; not a particularly fleshy wine but elegant, high-pitched and sexy, with lovely energy giving clarity to the sappy dark fruit, licorice and oak flavors. Finishes with firm tannins and very good sneaky persistence. Classic claret. Not hard today, but I'd still sock this one away.

90 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2006 Rauzan-Ségla actually showed a touch more maturation on the rim compared to the 2004! This bottle was consistent with several encounters in the past, including my ten-year on retrospectives. Harvested from September 21 to October 7, it has an open and expressive bouquet with blackberry, cedar and just a touch of graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with moderate depth, quite straight-laced in style with firm, slightly dry tannin but backed up by sufficient black fruit laced with black pepper and clove. Where this particular vintage is let down is just on the finish. It scarpers out of the exit too hastily whereas the 2004 displayed more bite and energy. Tasted at the Rauzan-Ségla vertical at the château.

Jancis Robinson MW

Very fresh nose underpinned by lovely evolution and complexity (a quality in short supply at this tasting of 2014s plus one other usually young vintage). Very pretty and very Margaux. Delicate. Score: 17/20