2005 - Rauzan-Segla, Margaux

A blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2005 Rauzan-Segla is medium to deep garnet in color, with a touch of brick. It needs a lot of shaking to wake up fragrant notes of rose oil, cardamom, iron ore, and dried cherries, opening out to a core of blackcurrant pastilles, cigar box, and star anise, plus a touch of Darjeeling tea. The medium-bodied palate delivers taut, muscular red and black fruits, with a firm, fine-grained texture and fantastic tension, finishing very long, with loads of mineral and floral layers. It’s just gorgeous and still has many years ahead of it.

Spiced sandalwood, red peppers and dark chocolate, old school in character compared to today's Rauzan Ségla, but this is lovely, with waves of crushed roses and plenty of Margaux finesse running through it, well balanced with subtle tannins exerting pressure, holding on for a mouthwatering finish. 39hl/h yield, harvest Septeber 21 to October 7. 70% new oak. John Kolasa director.

The 2005 Rauzan-Ségla has a perfumed and intense bouquet, although it is not as complex as the Château Margaux tasted a couple of hours earlier. Black cherries, iodine, crushed violet, hints of cumin and fennel emerge with time as the 2005 gains complexity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, quite ferrous in style, with a touch of menthol (like the ’05 Pavillon Rouge). I have encountered better bottles in the past, and I speculate whether this is stumbling along at 20 years of age. Nicolas Audebert remarked that, in his opinion, the '05 was picked too late. Tasted at the château.