Chateau Rauzan Segla

Rauzan Segla was once part of a much larger vineyard, from which Rauzan-Segla and one other Margaux second growth, Rauzan-Gassies, originate.

The Rauzan estate was created by Pierre des Mesures de Rauzan who in 1661 purchased a large portion of the Medoc around Cantenac, the swath of land incorporating many vineyards that are today classed growths in their own right.

Immediately he was met with success, but sadly the estate was fragmented as it was inherited from one generation of the family to the next. Thankfully, quality was maintained; however, the Rauzan estate could not feasibly remain whole. By the time of the 1855 classification the estates were firmly considered to be separate entities, and so the dichotomy was complete.

The next milestone in the estate’s history came in 1903 when the property came under the ownership of a Frederic Cruse, of the Cruse dynasty. The family retained control for half a century, during which the time the estate suffered from a lack of investment and the continued use of outmoded cellar equipment (including infected barrels).

Their remaining legacy is the fine chateau, which is about their only positive contribution. In 1956 they were forced to sell, and today the Cruse only have control of Chateau d’Issan, where Emmanuel Cruse remains in charge to this day.

The subsequent proprietor sold in turn to a Liverpool firm, John Holt, in 1960, and the management of the property was taken on by negociants Eschenauer, who in doing so gained exclusive distribution rights to the wines of the property.

Thus began the hard process of restoring Rauzan-Segla’s good name, restoring the vineyards and replanting high-yielding, low quality Merlot clones with Cabernet Sauvignon. This process of steady improvement gathered pace in 1983 when Jacques Theo took charge of the team, replacing the cellar master with a M. Pruzeau, and gutting the cellar, replacing the mouldy barrels with new stainless steel equipment.

In 1989 a Brent Walker purchased the property, but he sold the estate in short order to the Wertheimer family of Chanel, who installed a winemaking team led by David Orr (from Chateau Latour) and John Kolasa. The Chanels remain the current owners and they are to be credited with bolstering the quality of these fabulous wines.

The vineyard spans 51 hectares, planted at Cabernet Sauvignon (61%), Merlot (35%) and 2% of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The soils are Gunzian gravel. Fruit is harvested by hand and the destemmed, crushed fruit is fermented in temperature-regulated stainless steel vats. Wine will then go to barrel for up to twenty months prior to being finished with egg white fining. The end product is not filtered.

The grand vin is named Chateau Rauzan-Segla, of which there are about 8,000 cases to be had a year. Selection standards are stringent and only the very finest grapes go into the grand vin. The rest are relegated to the second wine, Segla. In 1987 the entire crop was labelled as the second wine, having not met the quality standards set out by the discerning team.