Chateau Calon-Segur, a Third Classified Growth, is one of the oldest estates in the Medoc, with historians dating its origins back to the Gallo-Roman era. The first part of its name is derived from the term “calones”, which were small transport boats that travelled up and down the Gironde estuary. The Segur part was later added by Nicolas-Alexandre, the Marquis de Segur who also owned Latour, Lafite and Mouton.

Winegrowing at Calon can be traced back to the 12th century but it wasn’t until the 18th century, in Nicolas-Alexandre’s time, that the finest chapter of the property’s history was written. The marquis declared his love for his favorite estate by his famous quote: “I make wine at Lafite and Latour, but my heart is at Calon.” The main feature of the heart on the wine’s label is a symbol of this love.

The vineyard of Calon-Segur is comprised of fifty-five hectares (136 acres) made up of one single block adjacent to the village of Saint-Estephe and completely surrounded by a stone wall. The combination of clay and gravel soils provides power and finesse to the grand vin of Calon-Segur where Cabernet Sauvignon is the backbone.

In addition to the grand vin, the estate produces a second wine (Le Marquis de Calon Segur), and a third wine (Saint-Estephe de Calon Segur) mainly produced from the estate’s young vines.

The Grand Vin of Calon Segur is the mirror image of its terroir, revealing both lovely softness and amazing intensity. The vines, 8,000 per hectare, are planted on deep gravel that lies atop clay. 54% of the vines are Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

The manual harvest is followed by both shake-table and hand-sorting. Fermentation is in temperature-controlled conical stainless-steel tanks with maceration for 18 to 21 days. The wine ages 18 to 20 months in 30% new French oak barrels and are fined with egg whites.