The wine tasting was still proceeding at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan and Juliette Allegre, the Brand Ambassador for the Chanel Wine Group was doing a wonderful job.  Chanel is a luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by “Coco” Chanel in Paris.  It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and based in London.  It goes to reason that they would venture into the wine industry.

One of the most esteemed vineyards on the Left Bank of Bordeaux is Chateau Rauzen-Segla.  The chateau was founded under the name Domaine de Rauzan in 1661 by Pierre Desmezures, an important figure in Bordeauq’s history, as back then he also owned Chateau Margaux and Chateau Latour. During the history of the property, it came under the ownership of the Baroness of Segla, Catherin de Rauzan, who named it Rauzan-Segla for herself.  They estate has been famous almost from the beginning and in the Classification of the Medoc of 1855, it earned the title of Deuxiemes Grand Cru Classe (Second Growth) following Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, which since has been elevated to Premiers Cru, so now the estate leads the grouping.  In 1994, it was purchased by Chanel, and the wineries are under the guidance of Nicolas Audebert.  We started with Chateau Rauzan-Segla “Segla” Margaux 2015, their second label.  The soils are clay gravels on a Quaternary River terrace with areas of deeper fine gravel.  The wine is a blend of fifty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon, forty-three percent Merlot, one percent Petit Verdot and one percent Cabernet Franc.  The wine is aged for fifteen months in French Oak, of which twenty-five percent is new barrels.  The ruby-red wine offered notes of blueberry, blackberry, a hint of licorice, and oak.  On the palate a medium-bodied wine with tones of black fruit, cassis, cedar, tobacco, and velvety tannins, well-balanced and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and terroir.

We then had our first wine from a magnum pour of Chateau Rauzan-Segla Margaux 2018.  The estate is seventy-hectares, with sixty-two percent planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, thirty-six percent planted with Merlot and a small amount devoted to Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  Since being acquired by Chanel, machine harvesting has been eliminated and are now classified as organic.  This wine is a blend of fifty-six percent Cabernet Sauvignon, forty percent Merlot, two percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and two percent Petit Verdot.  Individual parcels are vinified, into Stainless Steel vats using gravity flow.  This wine was aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which sixty-five percent was new barrels.  A very deep-dense garnet colored wine that offered notes of black cherry, strawberries, violets, sous-bois, tobacco, and smoke.  On the palate this big wine leads with tones of black cherry, plums, blend harmoniously with velvety tannins and ending with a nice long-count finish of fruit and terroir.

We finished off the Chanel wine tasting with Chateau Rauzan-Segla Margaux 2020.  Another major change since Chanel bought the property was that the large tanks were replaced by smaller capacity Stainless Steel vats that matched the number of parcels in the vineyards.  The wine is a blend of sixty percent Cabernet Sauvignon, thirty-six percent Merlot, three percent Petit Verdot, and one percent Cabernet Franc.  Initial Fermentation and Malolactic Fermentation are done in the vats.  The wine is then aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which sixty percent is with new barrels.  A very deep inky-garnet colored wine that offered notes of black cherry, currants, violets, cigar box and tobacco, and spices.  On the palate this full-bodied wine offered tones of dark and black fruits, cinnamon, espresso, and dark cocoa, blend perfectly and balance with velvety tannins and ending with a nice long finish of fruit, cocoa, and terroir.