1988 Château Calon-Segur

Château Calon-Segur is the most northern of the classified wine estates in the Medoc. It is a Third Growth estate and is in the Saint-Estephe appellation. The name of the estate seems to come from the word “calon,” meaning a little skiff used to cross a river and for many centuries the skiffs ferried timber across the nearby Gironde estuary. In the 18th century the estate was owned by Marquis de Segur, who also owned Latour and Lafite. He supposedly said once that “I make my wine at Lafite and Latour, but my heart is in Calon.” That quote seems to have led to the heart on the label of Calon-Segur, which remains a family-owned estate. The 130 acres are planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that the estate “remains the most faithful to the traditional style of long-lived wines that are slow to evolve and blossom.” The estate's second wine is Le Marquis de Calon-Ségur and its third wine is Saint-Estephe de Calon-Ségur.

Saint-Estèphe is in the northern Médoc, on the left bank of the Gironde River. Although it has no First Growth estates, its five Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Growth châteaux are notable, and, in recent decades, have become favorites with reviewers and consumers. Some reviewers also note that the appellation is today making excellent Cru Bourgeois wines, which frequently offer good value. There are 3,404 acres of vineyards and a variety of soil types, from gravelly soil to soil with significant sand or clay. The two Second Growth Châteaux in St.-Estephe are Cos d’Estournel and Montrose. The Third Growth Calon-Ségur is widely admired. The principal grapes grown are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.