The heart on the label of Calon-Ségur is not decoration. The Marquis de Ségur owned Lafite and Latour in the eighteenth century and is said to have told the court that he made his wine at those two but left his heart at Calon. The estate sits at the northern edge of the Médoc, further from the city than any other classed growth, on gravel over clay that has always given a firmer, more savoury wine than its neighbours.
1974 belongs to the difficult stretch of the mid-seventies. A big crop ripened into a cold, wet autumn and the wines came out lean and tightly tannic; nobody at the time expected them to be kept for decades. The estate was then in the hands of Philippe Gasqueton, whose family ran Calon-Ségur through most of the twentieth century.
Fifty-two years later this is a document as much as a wine. The year on the label is the reason to own it, and the heart is the reason it gives well.
-
Producer: Château Calon Ségur
-
Vintage: 1974
-
Appellation: Saint-Estèphe AOC
-
Format: 75cl
-
Region: Bordeaux, France
-
Style: Red
Where it is likely to be now. 1974 was lean to begin with, so after fifty-two years the wine is very likely past drinking and is sold as a collectible.
Who it suits. The heart on the label makes it the obvious choice for a couple marking fifty-two years of marriage in 2026, or for a 1974 birthday where the sentiment matters more than the tasting note.
Condition. The label is very slightly marked from cellar storage and the wine sits at top shoulder, which is a normal and perfectly acceptable level for a Bordeaux of this age.
Provenance. Bought to order from a professional European merchant. We check fill, label and capsule when the bottle reaches us and photograph it before it ships.
Delivered in 7 to 10 working days, tracked. Transit cover can be added at checkout.
Sold as a collectible item, as seen. No guarantee is given on drinkability.
