Rauzan-Ségla has been through a lot of ups and downs over the last two decades. The 2004 vintage is definitely one of the ups, the wine showing the breed of a second growth in a combination of delicacy, reserve and tremendous length of flavor. The power of the fruit carries through into a riff on black tobacco, violet perfume and minerals juicing up from under the tongue. The freshness of the tannin will hold this as it ages for a decade or more.

Deep garnet in color, the 2004 Rauzan-Ségla opens with slightly broody, muted notions of damp soil, scorched earth and charcoal with an emerging core of stewed plums, baked cherries and warm cassis plus hints of menthol, wild sage and dusty soil. Medium-bodied and elegantly style in the mouth, it has lovely freshness and an earthy core with well-played chewy tannins and a good, long finish. The blend this year is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 30 and October 16 at an average yield of 52 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 50% new. The alcohol is 13%. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

This was the first year where there was a sorting table in the cellar - previously, sorting only took place in the vineyard. This is a good, fairly old-school, juicy and well balanced Margaux, with lots to enjoy but not as precise as the more recent vintages. There's an almost tarry richness through the mid-palate, although a slight medicinal edge suggests possible brett. Harvested between 30 September to 16 October. 52hl/ha yield. 2% Cabernet Franc rounds out the blend. 50% new oak. (Drink between 2019-2038)