A concentrated and delicate Saint-Estèphe wine
This wine showcases a beautiful ruby red colour with purple highlights. Intense and complex, the nose reveals fruity, spicy and floral fragrances (roses).
Delicate and brilliant, the palate is seduced by this wine's density, its concentration and its very fine tannins. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of dark berries, plums and cherries mingled with notions of rose petals, pipe tobacco, sweet spices and loamy soil, the 2021 Phélan Ségur is medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with impressive depth at the core, ripe tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, saline finish. Concentrated and well-constructed, this is a serious wine with a bright future ahead of it.
Proudly overlooking the Gironde estuary since the beginning of the 19th century, Château Phélan Ségur's vineyard is divided into four distinct plots, all located in the heart of the Saint-Estèphe appellation. Château Phélan Ségur is a Saint-Estèphe wine that stems from a 70-hectare vineyard. The vines are 35 years old on average and are poised on a clayey gravel terroir.
The mild winter was punctuated by a period of frost which did not affect the château's vineyards, thanks to the natural protection of the estuary. Although the heavy rainfall in June combined with high temperatures favoured a rapid vegetative development, it also led to strong mildew pressure. The summer season was marked by heatwaves (mid-July and mid-August) causing a certain amount of water stress, along with significant temperature variations and thus, the vineyard required further attention from the château's teams. Despite two days of rain, September was particularly mild. The shifting temperatures with cool nights were ideal for refining the ripening process. These unstable conditions had a strong impact on yields. The harvest was carried out from September 29th to October 13th and great attention was paid to the ripeness of each grape variety. The vineyard is planted with 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 1.5% Cabernet Franc and 1.5 % Petit Verdot
Respect for the soil is a constant concern. The vineyards are ploughed, virtually eliminating the use of herbicides. Others are grassed over, which means less leaching and better control of vigour. Fertilisation of the soil is usually organic. Biodiversity is preserved.
Fermentation takes place over ten days or so, marked out by regular pumping-over, rack and return or punching down of the cap, specific to each batch, to encourage the phenolic compounds to pass into the wine. Then comes the critical phase of maceration for around twenty days, to continue the extraction process. The wine is tasted every day to determine the optimum date for running it off the skins. The 39 tanks allow for this precision winemaking and form the basis for future selections for the blends. A discreet change initiated in 2010 led to the addition of 8 tanks of 45hl in the vat room, which further improves interpretation of the intra-plot work carried out in the vineya
Fillet of Beef Rare
