1961 Calon Segur
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Tasting notes
Soft raspberry in colour, gentle dusky pink around the edges, this is delicate and fragrant, if served blind you might think 1959 rather than the more muscular 1961, definitely at the stage where even Cabernet Sauvignon takes on the personality of Pinot Noir with its finely boned tannins and floral fragrance, with tobacco, soot and crushed roses. Lives up to the breathless expectations that go along with any opening of a classified 1961, although I wouldn't bet on it lasting as long from here as either the Mouton or the Latour. Half bottle. Stored in an underground cellar in the Netherlands, kept in OWC until a recent auction and transported to Hong Kong. Half bottle.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 1961 Calon-Ségur has never really been the greatest Saint Estèphe and I have tended to prefer the 1959. Showing some bricking on the rim, it has a mature and rather bucolic bouquet, light cedar and forest floor aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with firm; grippy tannin, although you wish there was more fruit. It feels quite advanced towards the finish with a long mushroomy aftertaste. Bottles in larger formats and perfect provenance might be interesting but bottles should be consumed in the near future. Tasted at an off-line dinner in London.
Four halves, of which one was a little blighted by TCA. Very clean and dry and quite chewy. Classic St-Estèphe that certainly isn’t over the hill yet but is a little lean. (JR)
About the producer
Wedding gift lists traditionally include wine glasses or cutlery, but in 1718, Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur, the owner of Château Lafite and Château Latour and president of the Bordeaux parliament, received a rather more impressive present: Château Calon.