TN: 1994 Château Calon-Ségur (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe)

WINE TALK
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  • 1994 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (9/4/2011)
    Shockingly very good! Went to a friend’s BBQ with Bordeaux as the theme. Brought a 2000 Lagrange (St. Julien) as my primary bottle. Brought the 94 Calon as an extra. Got 6 bottles years ago from a client as a gift. Tried 2 at about 10 years old and both were horrible. Tannic monsters that grab you in the throat and taste like liquid ash. Nevertheless, time to try another with the boys, but anticipated it would be a dumper. Garnet in color. Fine nose of primarily cherry with a background of leather and earth. Not a drop of tannin. Nice soft, balanced, mature palate of cherry, leather, earth and some spice. Nice finish. We never opened the Lagrange, and the irony of the evening, another friend brought a 95 Calon (a WS wine of the year), and it was corked. (88 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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We’ve had several 94s and generally think that the vintage does deserve a bit more recgnition than it actually gets. Granted it shows that there is no lack of tannins, but in several of the wines we’ve had, they have started to integrate rather well while the fruit is still present and further complexity is developping.

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1994 Montrose this weekend was powerful and did not have harsh, drying tannins.

I agree with Dennis and feel the vintage is unfairly maligned. Taste Haut Brion or L’Evangile and you will likely agree. That being said, the tannins in some of the wines can still be overpowering.

I like to start drinking my Bordeaux at 15-20 years of age and that window is now opening for this vintage. More and more I have confidence that many of the better 1994’s will evolve like 1988’s.

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Thanks for the notes, Robert, glad you enjoyed it. I’m not altogether surprised, I think I drunk most of my 94s too soon. I had a stunning bottle of LLC 94 earlier this year. Still got a few left, unfortunately I never bought any Calon Ségur…