2019 Rauzan Segla

Through several vineyard acquisitions, Rauzan who is under luxury brand Chanels ownership since 1994, has grown from 52 hectares in 2009 to 72 (with 70 currently in production) in 2019. Most purchases were in the village of Cantenac, some in Margaux proper, and still others next to Issan to the southeast. Plantation density ranges from 6,600 to 10,000 vines/ha and the average age is 35 years. The encépagement is comprised of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc, planted in deep, clayey gravel, atop a clay subsoil. Sustainable viticultural practices are conducted block by block and intra-block including sexual confusion of plant insects to avoid the need for chemical pesticides. Mechanical tilling of the soil, cover-cropping, desuckering, plowing down, no deleafing is performed here in order to protect the berries from a dry and high temperature-summer but desuckering instead in June to bring aeration without exposing too much the grapes to the sun, and this is also to relieve the vines in a hot and dry context while encouraging maturity. The fruit was manually harvested from September 12th to October 9th for the late Cabernet. This year Petit Verdot was picked quite early, starting on September 26th. Yields in 2019 were 42 hls/ha. After table-sorting the fruit, the grapes were moved by gravity flow to truncated, stainless-steel fermenters using "mobile mini-vats" like those used at Cos d Estournel since 2008 wherein a 7 to 13 day-cuvaison was performed. The wine is currently aging in 60% new, and 40% second-fill, barrels where it will spend some 18 months with rackings à l esquive after which the new wine will be egg white-fined. Coopers are from Sylvain, Saint-Martin, Darnajou, Taransaud, Nadalié, Demptos and Berger. The tentative blend is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. 14%. Die Auslieferung der Ware erfolgt bis Herbst 2022! Delivery until Fall 2022!