2008 カロン=セギュール 、サン・テステフ

Deep crimson. Very different. Spicy sweet nose – very fluid. Quite a contrast to the austere Montrose we have just tasted! Quite rich and supple and fireworks. Round and rather glorious though not at all tarted up. Very fresh. Firm and with great spin though no compromises. Very classic. A very confident vintage for Calon-Ségur.

A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, this is an outstanding wine made in a classic style. The tannins are high, but the wine possesses abundant notes of cedar, licorice, underbrush, black currants and cherries. Medium-bodied and dense, but structured and backward as are most vintages of Calon-Segur), give it 7-8 years of cellaring and drink it over the next 20-25. ...Its sweet perfume of black currants, tobacco leaf, and licorice is followed by a wine with superb purity, good freshness, and a full-bodied style with ripe tannin as well as a long finish. Somewhat reminiscent of the 1996, although this vintage carries a much higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2008 should be relatively approachable given the sweetness of the tannins, and will evolve for 20-25 years. Calon Segur's harvest took place between October 1-16, not particularly late in the context of this vintage.

Tasted from an ex-château bottle at BI Wine & Spirits Calon-Segur dinner in London. I praised the 2008 Calon Segur when I tasted it blind in 2012 and I have no reason to change my opinion three years later. Here it has a surprisingly deep hue for a 2008. The nose is very detailed and lively, more breezy and carefree than the 2009 with vivacious blackberry, cedar and graphite scents. The palate is medium-bodied and slightly brittle in texture on the entry. The acidity is beautifully judged here with superb balance: smooth and harmonious, though it just tapers in towards the edgy, maybe angular finish. This has a sense of joie-de-vivre perhaps not common in Calon-Ségur's wines. It is one of the best Left Bank wines in 2008 and given its price, one of its best values. Tasted March 2015.