Chateau Rauzan-Segla 2024

It is funny how communes gather their vintage reputations from the whole, not individual Châteaux. In 2024, Margaux is one of the less exciting places to shop, and yet, alongside the remarkable wines from Palmer and Margaux itself, there are some solid performers, which you can read about in my comprehensive report. There is no hurry, I suspect, to load up with these peripheral wines, as stocks are unlikely to run dry any time soon. But there is one shining light. An exception. A wine that slots in neatly alongside the aforementioned cosmonauts, hovering high over the expectant throng below. Rausan-Ségla is fast-cementing its reputation as a staggeringly impressive wine and one of considerable detail, beauty and, dare I say it, genuine qualité prix. Refined, intricately detailed and reassuringly firm on the finish, this is a fascinating and involving wine, and it looks set to break the mould for the vintage, offering a wine that will flatter in its youth but will undoubtedly improve incrementally with age and perhaps make two decades and more! While the Cabernet component falls short of 2/3 involvement, this variety stands proud in the glass with terrific concentration and majesty. The silhouette is unquestionably classical, resolutely medium-weight and spellbindingly intense without ever feeling muscular or brittle. Combine these traits with stunning potential on account of the beautifully toned tannins, and you have an unmissable combination of characteristics.

• Reviewer Name: Matthew Jukes

Deep garnet-purple colored. Strides confidently out of the glass with classic black currants and red currant scents, leading to a core of cedar chest, underbrush, and damp soils, plus a touch of red roses. The medium-bodied palate is vibrant with exquisitely ripe tannins and beautifully knit tension framing the red and black berry layers, finishing long and fragrant. This is a finished blend, completed 2 months ago.

• Reviewer Name: Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Cherry stone on the nose, rose, violet, strawberry and red cherry. Chewy and well textured, filling but gentle, the tannins are exceptional and the freshness is so well balanced with the fruit. So sophisticated, confident, smooth and utterly compelling. I love it, round, soft with lifted acidity that gives the tang with some liquorice on the finish. Energy and focus with real succulence. Still not a big wine, but this has plenty of style and refinement and a feeling of happiness about it. 0.5% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. Ageing 50% new barrels for 18 months. 55% production. 3.7pH.

• Reviewer Name: Georgina Hindle

Inky colour here, one of the deepest in the appellation, lovely precision, great quality, the cool spirit of the vintage comes through in the sappy fruit, blue rather than black in character if not in colour, with black tea, espresso, chalk, lots of finesse, and still delivers flesh through the mid palate, with a touch of bitter cocoa bean on the finish. 22% press wine, 50% new oak, 3.7ph. This is the first organic certified vintage. 30hl/h yield, 55% of production in the main estate wine.

• Reviewer Name: Jane Anson

The 2024 Rauzan Ségla, picked between September 23 and October 11, was aged for 18 months in 50% new oak barrels. It has a fuller bouquet than the Deuxième Vin, with pure black fruit, a hint of violet and a splash of India ink—refined rather than powerful. The palate is medium-bodied and tensile, with lighter tannins than the '20 or '22, poised and quite linear in style. A dash of black pepper and graphite emerges towards the liquorice-tinged finish. Clearly, this is a more approachable Rauzan-Ségla that should provide up to 20 years of drinking pleasure.

• Reviewer Name: Neal Martin