Beef
Duck
Green Vegetables
Mild Cheese
Pasta
Root Vegetables
Strong Cheese
Critic Scores
The 2018 Calon-Sgur is blended of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot (14.9% alcohol). It is anticipated to age for 20 months in barriques, 100% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs just a little coaxing before it reveals seductive notes of baked cherries, warm cassis, licorice and smoked meats with nuances of hoisin, camphor, Chinese five spice and dried roses with a waft of cardamom. Full-bodied and completely packed with concentrated black fruit and spice layers, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and a wicked backbone of freshness giving an energetic lift to the very long finish. There's lots of brightness coming from the Cabernet Franc component in here, but it is nonetheless a decadent expression. 2018 was complicated to vinify because of the potentially high alcohols, Laurent Dufau, Managing Director of Calon-Sgur and Capbern informed me. Also, you had to be very gentle with extraction. You had to be soft, so as not to extract too much. The alcohol percentage of the Merlot was concerningsome came in at 16% potential alcohol! And the Cabernet Franc this year was amazing on this terroir. Merlot was picked from September 19 to 25. The Cabernets came in September 26 to October 5. Petit Verdot came in on October 8th. Yields were pretty good here on average in 2018: 41 hectoliters per hectare. This year marks the final stages/completion of years of vineyard restructuring, new aging cellars and a gravity-fed vat room at Chteau Calon-Sgur. Most notably, they have been increasing vine density and slowly working on bringing more Cabernet Sauvignon rather than Merlot on line, as was the blend traditionally. No doubt about it, quality at Calon-Sgur has been on an upward trajectory in recent years! LP-04/2019
A stratospheric, regal wine, Calon Sgur embodies all the best qualities of the vintage. Rich to the point of being exotically ripe, 2018 reminds me of the 2014 in its composition, but with more of everything. On the palate, the 2018 is towering and statuesque, with soaring structure and tremendous overall intensity. Striking aromatic top notes and bright saline underpinnings give the 2018 its energy, tension and nuance. As in 2014, the entirety of the chteau's Cabernet Franc went into the Grand Vin. Inky, powerful and explosive, Calon Sgur is a headspinning wine. Don't miss it! AG-04/2019
