Château Calon Ségur 2024 en Primeur

A fruity wine that’s approachable but still serious and complex, with cocoa, currants, paprika and berries. Medium- to full-bodied. The tannins are taut, chalky, caressing and superbly knit with the fruit. Really juicy and long, and there aren't any hard edges. 82% cabernet sauvignon, 9% merlot, 8% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.

Very closed and tight with the characteristic Calon Ségur perfume of violets and sweet spices. Inviting. Some chalky texture and fresh acidity with very ripe tannins. Palate flooding blue fruit flavours, and no greenness at all, this is, as is expectable - a very fine effort for the vintage.

Dark berry, graphite, amarena cherry on the nose. Aromas of cold maceration. On the palate, the wine is tightly gripping, powerful, not entirely free of the vegetal tones typical of the vintage, but with enough ripe fruit and not least enough minerality to incorporate this. Relatively strong alcohol. (Tasted by Dr Ulrich Sautter)

The 2024 Calon-Ségur is a terrific effort. A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon (picked late, between October 2 and October 9), 9% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, it unwinds in the glass with notes of plums, cassis and iris mingled with hints of burning embers and incense. Medium to full-bodied, supple and layered, it's suave and seamless, with good depth at the core, powdery tannins and beautifully integrated acids. At pH 3.50 and 13.1% alcohol, it's also one of the most classically proportioned vintages this estate has produced over the last decade. (William Kelley)

As to the Grand Vin, the 2024 Château Calon Ségur checks in as 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot, hitting 13.1% alcohol and a pH of 3.6, all resting in 100% new oak. It brings more richness and depth, with beautiful cassis fruit intermixed with spring flowers, violets, lead pencil, and a terrific sense of minerality. Medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, and reasonably concentrated, it's all about finesse, elegance, and balance. It's a brilliant wine in the vintage.

The 2024 Calon Ségur is shaping up very nicely. Dark and ample, with terrific balance, the 2024 is another strong wine from the team led by Technical Director Vincent Millet. Readers will find a Calon Ségur of inner strength, its deceptively mid-weight structure notwithstanding. The 2024 is a wine of restraint and class more than power, never a bad thing at this property. The 100% new oak is very nicely balanced, even in the early going. This has great potential. (Antonio Galloni)

Super ripe concentrated aromas on the nose. Plums, cassis, cherries with vanilla and some cinnamon as well as floral scents. Sleek and straight, the signature chalkiness straight away with bright, almost high-toned cranberry fruit. It’s not so wide or broad but really well defined and tapers with liquorice and cola accents on the finish. Feels well made, great tannin finesse, some chewy fruit and a feeling of coolness. 3.60pH. A yield of 45hl/ha. 100% new oak. (Georgina Hindle)