With Hart, Brandon, QH, Jeff, Charmaine, Maisy and BSG.

I’ve had this fella for a few years now, and I’ve been dying to drink it. While it’s a second growth considered on par with Mouton Rothschild back in the early 1900s, it fell into neglect. Thankfully it was acquired and underwent a huge rebuild in the 1990s. The 2003 thus represents the new age Rauzan Segla.

This wine was so achingly good, and exceeded even my expectations. This was left aerating in the bottle for about an hour, and spent another 45mins in a narrow-necked decanter.

In the glass: bright ruby with nearly opaque core.

On the nose: intense blueberries and black currant. It’s rich, round, broad and penetrative.

On the palate: mid+ acidity, gently grippy tannins. On entry, the wine is lean, but quickly coats the tongue, and has a loooong finish. Low alcohol.

As the wine breathed, notes of plum, cedar, truffle/funk, and lots of spices that I can’t quite pinpoint. It actually became more structured with air. Despite its age, this wine tasted super lively and probably has 5-10 years more easily.

I probably would’ve rated this 4.7 normally. But when tasted beside the Pahlmeyer’s sheer complexity, the Rauzan probably needs several more years to develop more complexity to match the P. That said, I would choose to drink this over the P 99 times outta 100. It’s a near perfect fit for my palate. Tempted to source for another bottle but ah. Buying freeze 🙁

Ps can we take a moment to appreciate the condition of the cork 🤌🏼