Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. Phelan does it again…served blind it embarrasses not only my previous scores but also its peers in this flight, just as it did in the same place apropos 2005. Here, the 2009 displays more unresolved oak on the nose, although is clearly the fruit concentration to subsume it with time. Perhaps it is glossier, more extrovert than its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins on the entry. It has a very pleasing balance, bags of freshness and vigour with a precise, mineral-rich finish that is convincing.

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Phélan Ségur leaps from the glass with scents of crème de cassis, molten chocolate, licorice and blueberry compote with touches of cardamom, Morello cherries and dried mint. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals beautiful poise with a fine frame of grainy tannins and a refreshing backbone, finishing long and mineral laced. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

This is fleshy and polished with layers of crushed plum fig sauce and blackberry paste that unfurl slowly backed by maduro tobacco charcoal and iron. There's lots of minerality on the finish but it's nicely enveloped in the fruit. Best from 2013 through 2022.-J.M.