Rausan Segla vertical notes from the Commanderie de Bordeaux, Vancouver chapter.
Founded in 1662 by the owner ofd both of the Pichons at the time, this property, variously spelled ‘Rausan’ and Rauzan’ – both appear on labels in different vintages – was a second growth in the 1855 system. It dropped out of the spotlight with a poor showing in the 1960s and 1970s when they planted high yield low quality merlot and went for volume rather than quality, but it became of interest to serious claret fanciers again starting with the 1983 vintage.
1996 Fleury Brut – we’d been scheduled for the 96 Veuve, but it had gone to ground in the cellar somewhere (glad this happens to other people too) and so we substituted this wine. nice mousse, decent lemony nose, long acidic finish – worked with poached prawns with wasabi caviar and crab salad on a taro chip.
With pasta stuffed with smoked duck:
2002 – nice toasty nose with good fruit, surprisingly soft tannins, well framed wine forward and drinkable now.
2001 – less expressive in the nose, less fruit and much more and harder tannins – an ungenerous wine right now and I wonder where it is going.
1999 – a more perfumed nose, starting to show a maturing plumminess, medium length, medium body, medium interest. The precocious 2002 was best of flight.
With roast pheasant with blueberry and Bordeaux reduction:
1996 – plummy nose with a waft of vanilla smooth on palate narrowing at the end a bit and I thought it a tad low on fruit considering the quite significant levels of tannin. Uncertain future.
1995 – darker than the 96, the nose a vanilla shake with some anise, but on palate the wine does not pass ‘Go’, it goes straight to gnarly tannin, which I found had an astringent character, and it finished a bit short. As always, a bit hard to read where these wines are going as the high tannins tend to impair an accurate determination of just how much fruit is present. I find a couple of bottles of this in my cellar which I shall note to leave alone for another decade.
With beef tenderloin in wine demi glace:
1990 – OK, now we are talking! Edges getting paler, a lovely spiciness in the nose, sweet entry, medium weight, good length, nicely calculated acidity that gives a freshness to the wine and soft tannins at the end with some anise on palate. This should age well and is very well balanced, surprising when the vintage had the highest merlot component which usually results in higher acidity.
1989 – slightly darker than the 1990, and a more monolithic, less differentiated nose, a bit sweeter perhaps. Still has a fair bit of tannin and well balanced, a more classic vintage, but I give the nod to the 1990, the best wine yet so far.
With rack of lamb with mustard and rosemary:
1986 – this is the one Parker made a fuss about, and it was this vintage, rather than the 1983, which was also good but got less press, that revived interest in this house. A very good nose indeed with obvious cabernet (they used 77% CS as opposed to 56% in 1990), and currant with a hint of that anise again. This wine is still big and tannic, but there is no doubt at all about the lavish presence of fruit and it is just a case of when it will all come into focus. I’d give it 56 years, but then I value smooth complex maturity in my wines; the pedophiles may want to tuck right in to this one.
1985 – a much more modest wine with a green cabernet nose with a hint of spice(the chateau was unable to give us blending data on this vintage), essentially no remaining tannin, lots of acidity, drinks OK, but should definitely be drunk up.
With dessert:
1997 Ch. Rieussec – lovely orange spice scented nose with modicum of botrytis, medium colour, not too sweet in the mouth, nor too heavy, gets more spicy in the finish. So good now that I wonder if it will ever offer more pleasure than it does now, though it will certainly last. I am usually the voice of moderation, urging people to leave wine in the cellar rather than slaughtering the infants, but his time I am saying to try a bottle and see – you may well find that this passes your personal Paul Masson/Orson Wells test (I will drink no wine before it’s time – and the time is NOW!)
My preferences: 1986, 1990, 1989 in that order.
My conclusions – after a brief period of renaissance in the 80s, this property has again become something in which I lack enough interest to buy and cellar – there are too many other options out there.
