Château Phélan-Ségur: Tasting & Drinking
These days the wines of Château Phélan-Ségur are top quality, ultra-reliable, and easily competing with the classed growths of the St Estèphe appellation. Looking back to some of the older vintages reported on here, the 2000 always displayed a great deal of promise although it was rather closed down when I last tasted it. In contrast, the 2003 was open, evocative and an excellent example of the vintage which was hugely successful this far north on the Médoc peninsula. Other older vintages certainly have merit, and the 1998 was a good effort from what was a lesser vintage on the left bank (while it was great on the right bank), and it compares favourably with one or two other wines from that year which I have tasted.
Helped by favourable growing seasons, the 2010 and 2009 were at the time some of the best wines from this estate that I had ever tasted, and each is quite typical of the vintage, the 2009 quite voluptuous, the 2010 more restrained and ‘classic’, more akin to the 2005, which is also excellent. In fact, being more of a known quantity at present, it is this latter vintage I would opt for out of these three if looking for a wine to cellar.
In more recent years we are rather spoilt for choice. While the 2011 and 2012 vintages were good enough, and the 2013 was poor as per the vintage, things really picked up with the 2014 vintage, stronger in this appellation than on other parts of the Médoc, the same in 2015. While 2017 showed the effects of the frost, with some greener elements, the 2016, 2018 and especially the 2019 vintage were all excellent when tasted from barrel. I would be delighted to add any of these to my cellar. So too the 2020 and 2022 vintages, both tip-top, while 2023 was only a notch behind, and the results in 2021 and 2024 were impressive taking into account the various challenges (frost, rain, mildew, rot and so on) presented by these two seasons.
I once wrote that Château Phélan-Ségur was an estate to watch in St Estèphe, but I think to reiterate such a statement at this time would be over-cautious. With investment from Thierry Gardinier and now Philippe Van de Vyvere, along with expert management by Véronique Dausse and the skills of Fabrice Bacquey, this property has fulfilled my predictions of higher quality to come. These wines are now sure-fire buys, and any Bordeaux drinker with sense will consider them for the cellar. (10/3/05, updated 10/1/07, 4/1/12, 29/12/12, 19/8/20)
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