This wine will be featured during Saturday’s Prodigious Pours Panel-Led Tasting.

The wines here have delighted many well-known figures, most famously Thomas Jefferson who came across this wine during his visit to the vineyards of Bordeaux, placing an order for several cases of it. He thus became a fervent admirer or Rauzan-Segla wines. Some decades later, the 1855 Classification ranked Chateau Rauzan-Segla as a Second Growth.

The current chateau was built in 1903, designed by architect Louis Garros, who drew inspiration from the original Perigord-style buildings in the chateau, as well as G. LeBreton who designed the park and green spaces. Then time went by and the chateau gradually fell into a slumber.

Then, CHANEL purchased Chateau Rauzan-Ségla in April 1994 and immediately started a full renovation programme. The vineyard has been drained – a 15-kilometer network is now in place, 2 parcels of Petit Verdot were planted and 3 hectares of vines were grafted over with Merlot. Today, 51 hectares are in production for an average total production of 200 000 bottles – Chateau Rauzan- Ségla and its second wine Ségla. The winery has been adapted and large vats progressively replaced by smaller capacities – matching the parcels’ sizes. From the 2004 picking on, grapes will be sorted on two 10-meter long vibrating tables, so that each single berry is checked before entering the vats. Maturation cellars have been completely renovated and a new room built for the bottling-labelling machines – making Chateau Rauzan-Ségla fully independent for the entire production process.

Winemaker’s Notes: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot

Critic Tasting Note: Beautiful clarity of fruit with raspberries and currants on the nose. Roses and other flowers too. It’s almost hard to describe, but there’s a real purity. Full body, with fabulous balance and depth.

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