2020 Chateau Phelan Segur - Cru Bourgeois St. Estephe

Decanter.com – 94 pts – GH: *Clean and compelling, quite richly textured with bright black fruits but also savoury touches. This is brooding and you can feel the power and the concentration of the vintage. Ripe tannins remain prominent with spiced edges giving tension and linearity throughout. Forward, intense but detailed, nuanced and seductive. Feels well worked, salty and tangy. Give it time but this will have fans. So sleek and well controlled with bite. Lovely.* - 01/2023

Falstaff Magazin – (91-93 pts) – PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Mit einem Hauch von Edelholz unterlegte dunkle Beerenfrucht, zart nach schwarzen Kirschen und Lakritze. Saftig, rotbeerige Nuancen, frisch strukturiert, gut integrierte Tannine, salzig-zitronig im Nachhall, verfügt über Entwicklungspotenzial.* - 05/2021

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - 90-92+pts - LPB: *Displaying a medium to deep purple-black color, the 2020 Phélan Ségur offers up intense notions of crushed red and black currants, black raspberries and fresh mulberries, plus suggestions of charcuterie, pencil shavings and cinnamon toast. The mediumbodied palate is elegantly styled and refreshing, delivering a firm, grainy texture to support the crunchy red and black fruits, finishing with a peppery kick.* - 05/21

Vinum Magazin – 17,5/20 pts: *Herrliche, besonders verführerische, komplexe Aromatik; eleganter Auftakt, voluminöse Entwicklung über erstklassigem Tannin, grosse Länge; beispielhaft einmal mehr.* - 07/2023

WeinWisser – 18+/20pts – GL, TW: *Delikates rotbeeriges Bouquet, Estragon und roter Johannisbeernektar. Am eleganten Gaumen mit cremiger Textur, reifer Extraktfülle, kakaoartigem Tannin, geradlinig mit durchtrainiertem Körper. Im gebündelten feinaromatischen Finale Schattenmorelle, getrockneter Rosmarin und feinkörnige Adstringenz. Legt mit Luft enorm zu. Erinnert an 2016 mit weniger Konzentration! Präzision und Finesse sind die Pluspunkte dieses Jahres. Wie ein Aquarellgemälde von Turner.* – 03/2023

JancisRobinson.com - 16,5/20 pts - JH: *54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Deep smudgy crimson. Unusually there's both black and red fruit in the aroma here and a light toasty sweetness. Thickly textured by the tannins but the fruit is the core of the wine. Just enough freshness, super-generous but not overly sweet fruit. Dark, dry, charry finish. Its message is: leave me alone for some time...* - 11/2022

JamesSuckling.com - 95-96pts - JS: *Bright and per fumed with some chocolate, berry sandalwood and cedar . Very elegant and fine, medium to full -bodied palate with very integrated tannins and refined, polished texture. The tannins melt into the wine. Long finish with serious structure. Vivid and refined. Class here. Very Bordeaux.* - 05/2021

Vinous.com – 93 pts – AG: *The 2020 Phélan Ségur is powerful yet elegant, with so much to offer. There's terrific depth to the 2020, right from the start. Succulent dark cherry, leather, espresso, dried herbs, incense and spice infuse the 2020 with remarkable depth. Even with all of its obvious power, the 2020 has an element of sweetness in the tannin that is so alluring. It will be interesting to see if the 2020 opens a bit more with time in bottle. I suspect it will.* - 12/2022

Vinous.com – 94 pts – NM: *The 2020 Phélan Ségur, which was picked 16 September to 1 October, and is the first vintage with four varieties in the blend i.e. Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot as well as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It fulfils the promise that it showed from barrel. Not quite as intense on the nose, yet it has retained that Pauillac-inspired allure thanks to those subtle pencil box and cedar scents infusing the black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a cohesive, well-knit entry. Lovely texture, very pure, this is one of the most seductive Phélan that I can recall at this stage and I adored the classicism and graphite note that lingers on the aftertaste. Superb.* - 12/2022

Thewinecellarinsider.com – 95 pts – JL: *Chocolate, espresso, cedar, spice, currants and incense aromatics are all over the place here. On the palate, the concentrated, deep wine offers, lift, lush, sensuously-textured., multiple layers of sweet, ripe, dark red fruits with a touch of polish to the tannins. The wine lingers and expands on your palate, which only makes you want to taste it again for the pleasure of it. This is the finest vintage ever produced by Phelan Segur. Fans of the estate should be all over this gem! Drink from 2025-2045.* - 03/2023