31/03/2021
Chateau Rauzan Segla
History
Chateau Rauzan-Segla has a long and interesting history dating back to 1661. On September 7, Pierre Desmezures de Rauzan became the new owner of The Noble House of Gassies.
At the time, Pierre de Rauzan was already well versed in the Bordeaux wine world. He was the manager of Chateau Margaux. He remained with Chateau Margaux for 2 more years before joining Chateau Rauzan Segla full time only to return to Chateau Margaux a few years later.
In 1692, after Pierre de Rauzan’s death, his three sons shared the family holdings in Margaux. The Pauillac properties passed to his younger daughter Therese. This event eventually led to the creation of the Pichon Longueville Baron estate in Pauillac.
In the early 18th century, Rauzan Segla and Rauzan Gassies were divided. The second brother, known as Sieur de Gassies began making his wine separately from his two brothers. This practice continued for decades until the estates separated.
By the end of the 18th century, the wines of Rauzan Segla had become famous all over the world. Thomas Jefferson, who went on to become the third President of the United States ordered 10 cases of Rauzan Segla after visiting Bordeaux in 1787. At that time, Thomas Jefferson declared Rauzan Segla was truly at the top of the Second Growths.
The Modern Era
In 1983, Rauzan Segla hired Professor Emile Peynaud as their consulting oenologist. By 1986, after an extensive renovation, Chateau Rauzan Segla was once again a modern, state of the art winery with 20 new, stainless steel, fermentation vats and new, modernized cellars.
In April 1984, Chateau Rauzan Segla was sold to the owners of Chanel, the Wertheimer brothers. Once the sale was finalized, Chateau Rauzan Segla immediately started undergoing a full renovation starting with a return to the original spelling of the property to Chateau Rauzan Segla.
In 1996, the chateau was restored. The project was headed by the noted architect, Peter Marino. Marino was no stranger to the new owners, the Wertheimer family. They previously employed Peter Marino for their Chanel building in Tokyo and for the Dior boutique in New York.
As part of the renovations at Chateau Rauzan Segla, the large tanks were replaced by smaller capacity vats that matched the number of parcels in the vineyards. This allowed for more precise vinification on a parcel by parcel basis. The cellars, due to an initial design fault flooded. Due to the flood damage, the cellars needed years to fully dry out before they were rebuilt.
Serious replanting also took place at this time. New planting of Petit Verdot were planted. Historically, Petit Verdot had been part of the Rauzan Segla vineyards, but for some reason, the grape fell from favor at the estate. The series of drains were also improved. All of these actions brought about an increase in quality for the wines.
In 2012, Chateau Rauzan Segla began taking a more organic approach and started using Shire horses to farm a portion of their vineyard. The first two large horses are named Lionel and Titus. They are fond of carrots, apples and of course grapes.
Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking
The 74 hectare vineyard of Chateau Rauzan Segla is planted to 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The new plantings feature more Cabernet Sauvignon, less Cabernet Franc and the addition of Petit Verdot. This has clearly helped with the wines as the quality here has been markedly better since 2009.
While much of their vines are planted on the Cantenac plateau, they also have vines planted in parcels that are close to the little village of Margaux. Slightly more than half their vineyard is well placed, directly adjacent to the chateau. They also have vines close to Chateau Margaux and not far from Brane Cantenac.
The terroir of Rauzan Segla is mostly gravel with clay soils. The vineyard changed to some extent in 1933, when Rauzan Segla and Rauzan Gassies exchanged several parcels. The average age of the vines is close to 35 years of age. Depending on the parcel, the vines are planted to various levels of density ranging from 6,600 to 10,000 vines per hectare, with the higher levels of density for the newer plantings.
The 74 hectare Margaux vineyard of Rauzan Segla has increased in size over the years. Most notably in 2008, when they purchased 8.5 hectares from Chateau de La Bourgade. The entire vineyard is now farmed organically since 2018.
To produce the wine of Chateau Rauzan Segla, vinification takes place in 35 temperature controlled, stainless steel tanks that vary in size from 41 hectoliters to 220 hectoliters that allow for parcel by parcel vinification.
Malolactic fermentation takes place in vat. The wine of Chateau Rauzan Segla is aged in an average of 50% to 60% new, French oak barrels for between 18 to 20 months, depending on the character of the vintage.
There is a second wine, Segla. Segla is not sold as a future. It is only offered once the wine is bottled. On average, the production ranges from 10,000 to 12,000 cases of Chateau Rauzan Segla per vintage. Segla is not sold as a future and is only offered to the market once the wine is in bottle. The production of Segla is also close to 10,000 to 12,000 cases per year.
Rauzan Segla was managed by John Kolasa, who was also in charge of Chateau Canon in St. Emilion until late 2014. Prior to the Kolasa era, the wines from the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s and even the 1990’s, with few exceptions, were moderate at best. A few exceptions can be found, most notably, 1983, 1990 and the stunning 1986 are all great examples of Rauzan Segla.
