Description
Château Haut-Segottes, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
If you take one thing away from this offer, even those who don’t make a purchase, let it be this: 2019 Bordeaux is going to stun across the board, for many decades. I even asked one of my fanatical Bordeaux friends, who visits biennially and is among the shrewdest en primeur buyers I know, and here’s what he had to say: “2018 is great but 2019 is fantastic, maybe more so than 2016.” So, yes, I am thrilled today to share the vintage with you, especially when it’s bottled by the uncompromising masterminds of Château Haut-Segottes.
This tiny, nine-hectare property, whose vines sit a few hundred meters from $800 Château Cheval Blanc, is a final destination for those who share my obsession with terroir-driven, true-to-vintage, cellar-worthy Grand Cru reds. While that last point is undoubtedly legitimate and time-tested, I must say 2019 is just one of those vintages that’s already impossible to resist. That’s why I anticipate most collectors will struggle mightily to maintain a healthy supply of this stunning, plush, full-powered Saint-Émilion Grand Cru.
Danielle Meunier works on the same modest farmstead her family has owned in Saint-Émilion since the 1800s. She has a bold and direct manner, and the philosophy behind her property is similarly straightforward. Château Haut-Segottes is essentially a one-woman show with winemaking done in the “basement” and all grapes grown in the “backyard.” Of course, this is no ordinary backyard—the property is within a designated Grand Cru and a mere 300 meters from its most famous estate, Château Cheval Blanc.
Danielle’s reds rely on the classic Saint-Émilion Grand Cru appellation marriage of Cabernet Franc and Merlot and fermentations occur naturally in concrete tanks, followed by 18 months in 30% new French barriques. This simple, defiantly old-school approach produces wines that faithfully telegraph Bordeaux’s golden age while promising nearly endless improvement in the cellar. I’ve enjoyed numerous Haut-Segottes Saint-Émilions from the 1980s and ’90s and no matter the year, even in “lesser” vintages, these wines always seem to burst with youth, gorgeous aromatics, and undeniable grandeur. This is a special property.
Haut-Segottes is always a chameleon: one moment its Cabernet Franc savor draws parallels to Loire blue chips, the next moment its sexy angles and plush fruit could easily be mistaken for one of its immediate $$$$ neighbors. Per usual, today’s release has all these qualities, except 2019 has dialed them up to 11! For those who’d like to enjoy this blockbuster now, please decant the bottle at least one hour prior, and don’t hesitate to stretch any that remains into subsequent days. As with many young wines built for the long haul, this bottle has stamina and delivers the goods long after the cork has been pulled!
Once poured in a Bordeaux stem, intoxicating aromas of cassis, plum pie, and ripe black cherry power out of the glass with damp herbs, baked clay, licorice root, baking spice, and cedar shavings following lockstep. Although initially front-loaded with a sheen of polished dark berries, the medium-plus-bodied palate melds into a savory combination of earth and spice before that can be felt 15+ seconds on the finish. This is going to be a superstar within the next 3-5 years, certainly, but it has no fears of being placed center stage right now. Enjoy!
