2009 Calon-Segur
By Chateau Calon-Segur
The 2009 Calon-Segur from Chateau Calon-Segur, St-Estephe, Bordeaux
In the charming tapestry of Bordeaux's storied vinicultural landscape, the 2009 Calon-Segur from Chateau Calon-Segur shines with its distinguished genetic makeup—a mélange of strength and elegance. This vintage emerged from a year lauded for its relatively dry, balmy summer and an Indian summer that ensured optimal ripeness—a sequence serendipitously aligned for creating profoundly structured wines.
Investment meets Elegance: The Stalwart of St-Estephe
The St-Estephe appellation beholds an intriguer in the form of 2009 Calon-Segur, a wine that effortlessly juxtaposes vibrant fruit expression against a backbone of St-Estephe's reputed tannic heft. A discerning investment choice, this vintage benefits from the foresight and prowess of the Chateau’s vintners who navigated the whims of weather to coax out a wine destined for longevity. This particular release underscores the anticipation embedded in each cork’s pop—where time rewards patience with enriched dividends both for the collector’s palate and portfolio.
Decoding the 2009 Vintage Prodigy
The composition of this vintage boasts an impeccable balance thanks to the perfect maturity of its Cabernet Sauvignon, which anchors the blend. The bouquet wafts with an intricate entanglement of cassis and blackberry underlined by a refined minerality and hints of tobacco—a narrative in a glass tracing the seasonal vagaries and viticultural stewardship.
The palate discovers a harmony matched only by its structural intensity—a tightrope walk exemplified by ripe tannins sheathed within velvety layers. The dark fruit core, graced with nuanced whispers of truffle and spice, guides us through an expansive finish that predicates what many foresee as an illustrious future for this wine within the investor’s cellar.
Summation: A Sophisticated Ensemble
To partake in the 2009 Calon-Segur is to engage with a pivotal chapter in Chateau Calon-Segur's legacy. It represents not simply a beverage but a beacon for oenophiles seeking compelling tales narrated through terroir and talent. For afficionados and investors alike, this offering from St-Estephe promises not just a sensory indulgence but a prudent addition to any collection aspiring towards diversity and distinction.
Market price (USD)
$1,470.00
12x75cl
Highest score
96
POP score
75.63
Scores and tasting notes
The 2009 Calon-Ségur is deep garnet in color and opens with a beautiful fragrance of redcurrant preserves, cassis, black cherry compote and red roses plus nuances of cigar box and cinnamon stick. Medium-bodied and wonderfully elegant in the mouth, it has a compelling line of very ripe, fine-grained tannins and oodles of freshness supporting the fragrant layers, finishing long and perfumed.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate, 14 March 2019
The 2009 has the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (90%) ever included in a Calon-Segur (the rest is Merlot and Petit Verdot). Completely different from its St.-Estephe brethren, it is more backward and structured with a dense purple color, lots of black cherry, black currant, loamy earth, forest floor and spice notes, excruciatingly high levels of tannin, and a wonderful inner core of sweetness and concentration. It could behave like the 1982, which, at age 30, is just becoming mature. The 2009 is an uncompromising, masculine, massive style of wine that needs 15-20 years of cellaring even in this luscious, flashy, flamboyant vintage. It is super-tight and needs lots of coaxing and aeration. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2050+. Sadly, Madame Gasqueton, one of the great grands dames of Bordeaux, passed away recently. She was a no nonsense, always gracious lady who normally received me early in the morning, sometimes before the sun had even risen. I have many fond memories of her for her professionalism and her talent in making long-lived, traditional Bordeaux.
Robert Parker Jr - Wine Advocate #199
Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. Calon-Segur is an extremely difficult wine to taste in its youth since it is a long-distance runner that does not kowtow to those demanding more immediate wines. The 2009 has a more understated bouquet with broody bilberry and blackberry fruit, sous-bois and graphite emerging with aeration. The palate is smooth and seductive on the entry, exerting a gentle grip and needing a little more vigour and penetration towards the finish that takes its foot off the accelerator. This will improve as there is good substance in the first half. Tasted January 2013.
Neal Martin - Wine Journal Jul 2013