2013 Marquis de Calon

60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. Plummy, black cherry. Tannins are a bit square, but not too intrusive. Doesn’t quite have the body to match the structure. Perfectly ripe fruit though. (RH)

Smoke, tobacco, licorice, black cherries and scorched earth all take shape in the 2013 Marquis de Calon. The style is virile, broad-shouldered and also a bit brawny, but at the same time the 2013 has plenty of flesh to drink well for a number of years.

The 2013 Marquis de Calon Segur picked up a lot of the Merlot, at 38%, along with 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It is a pleasant wine that represents 50% of Calon Segur’s harvest, but in no way can it be compared to its truly profound bigger sibling. Drink over the next 5-7 years. ||Calon Segur was purchased from the Gasqueton family by Suravenir, a large French insurance company. It is no secret that this is one of the greatest vineyards in Bordeaux, if not the world, and while the wines have always been impressive, there has always been considerable room for improvement. 2013 may mark an historic transition from a consistently excellent-to-outstanding wine, to one that is poised to be another potential first-growth of the Medoc. The yields were 36 hectoliters per hectare producing a final blend of 92 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot with an impressive natural alcohol level of 13.1%. Wine Advocate.August, 2014