(a blend of 86% cabernet sauvignon, 12% merlot, and 2% petit verdot; pH 3.7; 13.7% alcohol) Bright ruby-purple. Complex, pure aromas of fresh blueberry, blackcurrant, truffle, violet and black pepper are accented by sexy new oak (100% this year, up from 90% in 2009). Began a bit brooding in the middle palate but gained in pliancy and richness with air, showing enticingly pure and remarkably concentrated flavors of dark berries lifted by spices and very harmonious acids. This gorgeous, seamless wine finishes extremely long, with very smooth if youthfully assertive tannins, and a lingering note of violet. A huge wine of great class and purity but one that will require enormous patience; along with Latour, this is the most backward of all the great Bordeaux of the 2010 vintage. It is also one of the very best: it reminded me of the monumental 1966 made here and I believe it will go down as one of the all time great Calon-Segurs. Flowering at Calon-Segur was very homogeneous and rapid in 2010, unlike in many other Bordeaux properties, allowing for even ripening of the berries and proper physiological maturity of tannins, something that was common to the best wines of 2010. Beginning with this vintage, the talented and soft-spoken Eric Boissenot, the main consulting winemaker to many of the Left Bank's great wines, has also begun consulting at Calon-Segur. He and Calon-Segur's technical director Vincent Millet were in the same enology class at Bordeaux University and also previously worked together at Chateau Margaux.

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86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot. With 14% press wine all in new oak. Extremely deep purple. Really racy and energetic on the nose (compared to Montrose..?) and with great saveur on the palate. The press wine is a little evident at the moment. Very racy and fine and terroir-driven. No added sweetness. Neat and long and very authentic. No extremes; no complexes; no obvious trying? Winemaker Vincent Millet worked at Ch Margaux eight years which gave him, he says, the technique of working the Cabernet Sauvignon to gentle effect. He felt he could add finesse to the tannins.

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The 2010 is performing well,. With Cabernet Sauvignon dominating the blend, the wine has a dense plum/purple color along with notes of underbrush, black currants, plum, licorice, smoky charcuterie and some roasted herbs in the background. Full-bodied, moderately tannic and set for an extremely long life, this will not be a wine to please those looking for immediate gratification. Rather, I would suspect this wine will close down even further in bottle and, despite its full-bodied, powerful, massive size, it will need at least a decade of cellaring before it is accessible. This is another 2010 capable of lasting 35-50 years.

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