2016 Rauzan Ségla

98 POINTS

Jeb Dunnuck

I continue to love the 2016 Rauzan-Ségla, a thrillingly complete, flawlessly balanced, and borderline perfect Margaux that should be snatched up by readers. Notes of cassis, graphite, tobacco leaf, and earth all give way to a full-bodied effort that has building tannins, no hard edges, and a level of purity and elegance that’s just about off the charts. Given its purity and balance, it’s accessible today, but it will be best with 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades. Maturity 2024-2064

98 POINTS

James Suckling

The aromas of blackcurrants, sweet tobacco and sandalwood are tantalizing. Then it turns to subtle, dried fruit. Full-bodied with dense and powerful tannins, yet ending with finesse and vertical nature. Very deep. Power with finesse. Try after 2025.

97 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

Barrel Sample. This wine is ripe, perfumed and firmly textured. It has balance, concentrated tannins and already just the right sense of wood and structure. It will obviously last; try it in 12–15 years.

97 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Rauzan-Ségla drifts effortlessly from the glass with fragrant rose hip tea, candied violets and chocolate box scents over a core of fresh blackcurrants and black cherry compote plus wafts of tobacco and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers a great mid-palate of softly textured black and blue fruits with loads of floral nuances and a refreshing lift on the finish. The blend this year is 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 20th and October 15th at an average yield of 45 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 60% new. The alcohol is 13.5%, and the pH is 3.6. Drink date 2021-2047

97 POINTS

Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider

Deep in color with violets and licorice that take no effort to find, this wine is luxurious and concentrated and feels like ripe black fruits polished with velvet. There is a sweetness combined with a quintessence of fruit that will send your mind to Bordeaux no matter where you take your first sip. The wine was produced from blending 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, reaching 13.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.6 and is aged in 60% new, French oak barrels for 18 months before bottling. The harvest took place from September 20 to October 4 for the Merlot and from October 10 to October 15 for the Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine represents only 50% of the harvest. 

97 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

The 2016 Rauzan-Ségla is simply stunning. Ample and generous in the glass, the 2016 is a positively stellar wine that will leave readers weak at the knees. The flavors and textures are generous as this sublime Margaux shows off its alluring personality. S red cherry, plum, pomegranate, blood orange, spice and rose petal are some of the many notes that run through this absolutely exquisite wine. The 2016 is just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel, maybe even more! Tasted three times. 97+

96 POINTS

Neal Martin - Wine Advocate

The 2016 Rauzan-Segla (Rausan-Segla) is a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot picked between 20 September and 15 October at 45 hectoliters per hectare. The wine is being aged in 60% new oak for 18 months. It has 13.2% alcohol. It has a very powerful and intense bouquet with layers of blackberry, kirsch, cedar and a touch of mint. The palate is medium-bodied with plenty of fruit concentration: layers of ripe blackberry and boysenberry, segueing into what feels like a very spicy and peppery second half that seems to calm down and attain more nuance with aeration in the glass. It is a wonderful follow-up to the 2015 last year, although not quite with the same audacity and bravado. Tasted twice with consistent notes.

96 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2016 Rauzan-Ségla has an elegant bouquet that needs some coaxing from the glass, eventually revealing red berry fruit, rose petal, chai tea and light bergamot aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannins that lend a silky-smooth texture. This has a fine line of acidity and impressive harmony on the finish. Wonderful. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting.