"The 2017 Phélan Ségur is powerful, brooding and intense, but also has more than enough fruit to stand up to the tannins. Dark red/purplish fruit, smoke, incense, charcoal embers and gravel give the wine much of its distinctive savory/earthy personality. Time in the glass brings out a more floral, red-toned quality that is hugely appealing. Phélan Ségur has the potential to be one of the dark horses of 2017. Certainly, this is a very strong showing relative to the vintage and where Phélan has been in the recent past. In 2017, the Grand Vin contains an unusually high amount of Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), much of which was able to hang until early October, with 34% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Winemaker Fabrice Bacquey opted to reduce exposure to oxygen during fermentation with the goal of maintaining as much freshness in the fruit as possible. Tasted two times."
90-93 points, Antonio Galloni
"Medium to deep garnet-purple coloured, the 2017 Phélan Ségur gives up notes of black plums and fresh blackberries with an earthy undercurrent of damp soil, truffles and mossy bark. Medium-bodied, soft, plush and with a good core of fruit, it gives an earthy finish."
87-89 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
"Tasted both at Hangar 14 and at Phélan Ségur. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon (usually 50-55% and picked late, 27 September to 4 October), 34% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc. No problems with frost in St-Estèphe (except a small parcel at Lafont-Rochet that goes into their second wine): 45 hl/ha. IPT 78, TA (sulphuric) 3.3 g/l, pH 3.74.
Dark black cherry with purple core. Ripe, bright cassis plus a 'wild' aroma of bramble and elderberry. Firm dry texture giving a whole with sufficient mid-palate fruit. Taut and chewy/chalky but in harmony. Deeper/thicker tannins than on most wines but with plenty of dark fruit at the core. Firm and chewy but still juicy on the long finish. Has plenty of stuffing and should gain elegance with time in bottle. 13.2% Drink 2027-2037"
16.5+ points, Julia Harding MW for jancisrobinson.com
"The 2017 Phélan-Ségur, was harvested as late as possible, starting on 14 September with the Merlot and starting the Cabernet around 27 September and finished around mid-October. It is matured in 50% new oak. It appears to show more red fruit on the nose than its Saint-Estèphe peers, just a little disjointed at first but melding together with time, raspberry and briary scents mixed with dried rose petals. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin, quite foursquare and masculine, needing more flesh to come through on the finish."
89-91 points, Neal Martin
"This is tight and firm with a linear precision and dark fruit. Medium to full body. Bright and lightly juicy. Pretty center palate. A poised and focused young wine."
92-93 points, James Suckling
Saint -Estèphe, with 1,377 hectares under vine is the largest of the major Bordeaux appellations in the Medoc. Located in the most northern part of the Left Bank, on average, 585,000 cases of wine are produced each year. The soils see a rich mixture of rocks, clay, limestone and gravel that rests on the surface and of course below, deep in the terroir. Beneath the surface lies a complex blend of different soils, sub soils and terroir. Over the past several decades, the general trend in the Saint -Estèphe vineyards has been to add more Merlot, which has added a lot of softness to the tannins and the wines. Merlot works well in the appellation due to the large amount of clay found in the soils. in the appellation due to the large amount of clay found in the soils.
