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

Dark tannins work with the sophisticated structure of this wine. The very fine tannins are an important element of the wine, giving shape to the ripe black fruits and acidity. This wine, rich and structured, is set for a long development. Drink from 2026.

97 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

96–98. 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

Neal Martin - Robert Parker 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.

97 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2016 Rauzan-Ségla is blended of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot aged in 60% new and 40% one-year-old barrels for 18 months. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it sings of lifted red and black cherries, black raspberries and cassis with a rose hip tea and lilacs undercurrent plus sparks of tobacco, pencil shavings and tilled earth. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant and mineral laced with firm, fine-grained tannins and beautiful freshness, finishing with great length and depth.

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. Sweet 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.