Chateau Rauzan Segla 1995

Impressive black-ruby color. Pristine aromas of bitter cherry and boysenberry. Lush, intensely flavored berry fruit hints at terrific ripeness. Dense and extremely primary; quite wrapped up in its own structure today, like an imploded star. Powerful pit fruit character. Palate-staining finish; tannins are substantial but not hard.

A more lucid hue than the 1996, this has more ripeness and sensuality on the nose. Redcurrants, cherry and bilberry with tangible new oak. With aeration, a hint of fig compote develops. There is certainly good fruit concentration on the full-bodied, vigorous palate, quite sinewy in style with great weight. Powerful and yet still very right. Layers of red-berried fruit, a hint of damson, cedar and pencil lead. Surprisingly masculine, this has great potential, more so than the ensuing vintage.

Very ripe, with an almost raisiny edge. Light vanilla flavor. Full-bodied, with lots of ripe fruit and a long, caressing, silky finish. Gorgeous wine. A couple more years will make it just right.

This is definitely showing notes of evolution at this point. It is from a warmer vintage, and the character of the growing season comes through in the wine´s spicy notes. There is clear warmth and generosity on display here, with soft, brambled fruits and cured leather. It´s a lovely wine, still elegant and enjoyable, but in older wines the vintage differences become so much clearer, in a way that they don´t necessarily when a wine is young, and this suffers from standing next to the 1996. Drinking Window 2019 - 2032

This wine was consistently outstanding from cask, and I suspect it may eventually merit an even higher score, but it was totally closed when I saw it in November. Unfortunately, it was one of the few wines that I was only able to taste once after bottling. Nevertheless, it is a classic vin de garde, with a saturated ruby/purple color, and a tight but promising nose of sweet plum and cassis fruit intertwined with underbrush, vanillin, and licorice scents. The wine is ripe, medium to full-bodied, and rich, as well as unyielding, ferociously tannic, pure, and layered. The finish is extremely dry (sec, as the French would say), with a brooding angularity and toughness. In spite of this, my instincts suggest the requisite depth is present to balance out the structure. This effort will also require a decade of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025.