Rauzan Ségla - Margaux 2020

Wine Advocate

98

byWilliam Kelleythe4/6/2023

The 2020 Rauzan-Ségla is showing brilliantly in bottle. Wafting from the glass with aromas of cassis and minty blackberries mingled with violets and licorice, it's medium to full-bodied, suave and seamless, with a deep core of vibrant fruit, beautifully refined tannins and a harmonious, integrated profile that exudes elegance. A wine of immense character and refinement, it's the best vintage from this estate in recent times.

Jeb DUNNUCK

98

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/30/2023

The 2020 Château Rauzan-Ségla is pure Margaux brilliance, and this beautifully elegant wine embodies the best of the vintage. Revealing a deep ruby/purple hue as well as a great bouquet of blackcurrants, black cherries, lead pencil, sandalwood, smoked tobacco, and hints of incense, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It offers pleasure today (although it closes down with extended air) but deserves 5-7 years of bottle age and will evolve for 30 years or more. This is clearly in the same league as the 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. Tasted on multiple occasions with consistent results.

The Wine Cellar Insider

98

byJeff Levethe3/22/2023

The complex perfume stands out with its array of flowers, cinnamon, currants, cherries, cigar box, and touch of tobacco. The wine is full-bodied, deep, sensuous, silky and yes, sexy, finishing with a wealth of expansive fruit, espresso and dark cocoa that holds our focus for over 50 seconds. Drink from 2027-2060.

Alexandre Ma

97

byAlexandre Mathe3/15/2023

Wines Critic

94

byRaffaele Vecchionethe3/10/2023

Exuberant in the glass showing notes of plums, wild violets, agapanthus flowers, pink grapefruit, pomegranate and linden. The central core tells of red prunes and currants which give character and polish to the matrix. Medium to full bodied, soft tannins and a tasty finish. Drink now or hold.

Vinous

97

byAntonio Gallonithe2/24/2023

The 2020 Rauzan-Ségla is a huge, explosive wine. Black cherry, plum, chocolate, licorice, smoke and incense are some of the many notes that infuse the 2020 with tremendous richness. With élevage, the 2020 has grown into a huge, brooding wine endowed with notable presence. There's great purity and class here. The 2020 is a powerful, brooding Rauzan-Ségla for readers who can be patient. Very patient. Tasted two times.

Vinous

96

byNeal Martinthe2/15/2023

The 2020 Rauzan-Ségla is more open on the nose than when I tasted it from barrel. Quite intense with blackberry, crushed violet, oyster shell and just a touch of pencil box. It actually pulls back a little with aeration, almost as if it is (to quote The Specials) showing too much, too young. The palate is pixelated on the entry, perfectly proportioned with seamlessly integrated oak, a silver bead of acidity. Not ostentatious in any way, but streamlined and holding something back on the finish, which bodes well for the future. This is deeply impressive.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

96

byJane Ansonthe1/30/2023

Edge of smoked and salted caramel, along with blackberry, cassis, bilberry, liquourice root, incense, giving depth and character. Elegant, satiny tannins, very much an architecture that makes you stop and appreciate the craftsmanship that has put it all together. Second time tasting this frshly-released vintage in recent weeks, and it's one to savour. 3.74, 60% new oak, harvest September 8 to 29. Nicolas Audbert director, Eric Boissenot consultant.

Jamessuckling.com

97

byJames Sucklingthe1/16/2023

A very polished red with blackberry, black olive, walnut, and crushed stone aromas that follow through to a medium to full body with polished, velvety tannins that go on for minutes. Surprisingly open and so attractive. Wonderful length to this. Needs four to five years to open. Best after 2026.

Yvesbeck.wine

98

byYves Beckthe1/3/2023

Avec sa précision et son exceptionnelle définition, Rauzan-Ségla conforte sa position parmi l'élite
margalaise. Quel grand vin, quelle profondeur et quelle subtilité où tout est abordé avec finesse. Il
sait être ample et élancé, doux et vif, invitant et demandant. Chaque élément a un rôle bien défini.
La fraîcheur des garrigues, l'intensité fruité des framboises et des cerises et puis les tannins d'une
rare précision, complétés par une structure juteuse et par une fine amertume qui plussoie l'intensité
aromatique et la persistance de la finale. Tout est réuni pour souligner la grandeur de ce vin.
2026-2050

Vinous

95-97

byAntonio Gallonithe6/1/2021

The 2020 Rauzan-Ségla is all reserve and nowhere near as showy as the last few vintages. Don't be fooled though, this tightly-coiled, brilliant wine has the potential to be magnificent, but it needs time. Sweet floral, spice and cedar nuances open with a bit of coaxing, but the 2020 is in no mood to show all its cards yet. The 2020 is a super-classic Rauzan-Ségla that will delight readers in search of restrained elegance, something that is not so easy to find in Bordeaux these days.

Jeb DUNNUCK

95-97

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/28/2021

The 2020 Château Rauzan-Ségla checks in as 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It's one of the more inky, backward wines I can recall from this address and has brooding notes of blackcurrants, spring flowers, tobacco, graphite, and crushed stone. A big, rich, concentrated 2020, it's medium to full-bodied, has ripe, building tannins, fabulous purity, and a great finish. There's a certain austerity here that makes me think this will be one for the cellar.

Vinous

95-97

byNeal Martinthe5/27/2021

The 2020 Rauzan-Ségla is set to be matured in 60% new oak barrels for an intended 18 months. I left my sample for 30 minutes because, like the Ségla, it was backward and rather taciturn on the nose. It repaid a little patience with very classic scents of blackberry, crushed stone, wilted iris flowers and a hint of orange blossom. The aromatics are exquisitely delineated yet succinctly controlled. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins that support crystalline black fruit interlaced with light graphite and crustacean notes. Brimming with energy and full of tension from start to finish, this is a sophisticated and quite intellectual Margaux. It’s also flippin’ delicious.

Decanter.com

96

byJane Ansonthe5/25/2021

Tumeric and cumin spices alongside concentrated cassis and bilberry fruits, this has a powerful structure where the tannins layer up through the palate. There is no question that this is intense, and a reflection of the low yields of the vintage, but Rauzan Segla manages what it always does, which is to take the foot off the pedal at exactly the right moment, and allow the juice to come rushing in. The push and pull of muscular tannins and deft supple acidity gives an extra layer of success. Should be ready to drink a little earlier than the biggest years such as 2016 or 2019, but this will still age for decades. 1% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. Harvest began September 8, a yield of 30hl/ha. 60% new oak. Tasted twice.

The Wine Cellar Insider

97-99

byJeff Levethe5/21/2021

Incredibly dark in color, the wine explodes with violets, boysenberry, cigar box, graphite, blackberry, plum, black cherry, toasty oak and spice. Full-bodied, with a fabulous depth of flavor, energy, purity and refinement, the wine is long, intense and silky. The finish, with its velvet-drenched layers of fruits entices you to take another sip, simply because it is that good. The finish holds on to for close to 50 seconds, leaving you with a wealth of expansive fruit, espresso and dark cocoa. The wine blends 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, 13.5% ABV, pH 3.74. The harvest took place September 8 - September 29. 97-99

Wine Advocate

96-98

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/20/2021

Composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Rauzan-Ségla is aging for 18 months in French oak barrels, 60% new. It has an alcohol of 13.5% and a pH of 3.74. Deep purple-black colored, aromas of blackcurrant cordial, stewed red and black plums, chocolate-covered cherries and raspberry coulis erupt from the glass, leading to an undercurrent of tar, licorice, red roses and menthol, plus a hint of unsmoked cigars. The medium-bodied palate is elegant and yet manages seriously impressive intensity, which is well-sustained throughout the mid-palate and finish. Refined and refreshing, delivering beautifully soft, silt-like tannins and bags of bright red and black fruits, it finishes with amazing length and a stunning perfume. Between this and Château Canon, Nicolas Audebert and his team have knocked it out of the park this vintage.

Jamessuckling.com

97-98

byJames Sucklingthe5/12/2021

Full-bodied and layered with velvety layers of tannins that are beautifully interspersed with ripe fruit and dark-chocolate notes. Silky and lightly chewy texture. Very long, solid finish.

Anthocyanes

94-96

byYohan Castaingthe5/11/2021

Très beau nez de fruits frais, de mure, de cassis et de fleurs. A l'aération, plus graphite, légèrement fumé, des fruits noirs avec des tanins frais et de l'allonge. Un Rauzan-Ségla qui s'ouvre enfin, notamment en primeur, avec un côté très juteux et frais. Sur l'allonge pour un léger changement d'identité de ce cru qui gagne des tanins satinés, frais et ciselés.

Falstaff

94-96

byPeter Moserthe5/10/2021

Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, breitere Randaufhellung. Attraktive schwarze Herzkirschen, ein Hauch von Brombeeren, Pflaumen und frische Orangenzesten. Saftig, elegant, etwas Cassis, feiner Nougat, reife Tannine, Brom- beeren, schokoladig-mineralisch im Abgang, feinwürziger Nachhall, gutes Entwick- lungspotenzial.