Château Rauzan-Ségla, or Château Rausan-Ségla, is a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

in the

Margaux Margaux (; ) is a former commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Margaux-Cantenac.appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

of the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Château Rauzan-Ségla is also the name of the red

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen ''Deuxièmes Crus'' (Second Growths) in the original

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the Exposition Universelle (1855), 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III of France, Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordea ...

. The alternate name "Rausan-Ségla" was also frequently used until 1994 when the original "Rauzan-Ségla" again became the official name.

History

Rauzan-Ségla was once part of the vast Rauzan estate owned by Pierre de Mesures de Rauzan in the mid-17th century. Over time, this estate was divided, and by the time of the 1855 Classification, had been separated into the estates of

Château Rauzan-Gassies Château Rauzan-Gassies is a winery in the Margaux Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Rauzan-Gassies is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was cl ...

, Château Rauzan-Ségla, Château Desmirail, and Château Marquis de Terme. After a long ownership by the Durand-Dasier family, the estate was acquired by Frédéric Cruse of the Cruse family in 1903 who held ownership until 1957, and until 1989 it belonged to Liverpool shipping magnate John Holt.Kissack, Chris, thewinedoctor.co
Chateau Rauzan-Ségla
By 1982 the estate had hired the consultant services of

Émile Peynaud Émile Peynaud (29 June 1912 – 18 July 2004) was a French oenologist and researcher who has been credited with revolutionizing winemaking in the latter half of the 20th century, and has been called "the forefather of modern oenology". Biogr ...

, and in 1989 the property was purchased by Brent Walker. Whatever plans he had, however, were not to bear fruit; in 1994 he sold the estate on to the Wertheimer family of Chanel, who installed a winemaking team led by David Orr and John Kolasa (both from Chateau Latour). Chanel remain the current owners, and they are credited with continuing to push the quality ever higher. In 2014, Nicolas Audebert, the former winemaker at Cheval des Andes, the LVMH property in Mendoza Argentina, was hired to succeed John Kolasa following his retirement.

Production

The Rauzan-Ségla

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

extends with the grape variety distribution of 61%

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

, 35%

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

and 2% each of

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

and

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

. The ''grand vin'' is Château Rauzan-Ségla, with an annual production of 8000 cases, and the surplus wine is destined for the

second wine Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or e ...

named Ségla.

References

External links

The Wine Cellar Insider
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rauzan-Segla, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers