Phelan Segur Cites `Ideal' 2018 Harvest Following Exceptional Weather

Chateau Phelan Segur, a wine estate in the Saint-Estephe region of the northern Medoc, cited what it described as an ``ideal harvest'' for the 2018 vintage which enabled it to bring in ``the greatest Merlots ever picked'' at the vineyard, according to an email from the grower.

Chateau Phelan Segur, Saint-Estephe. Photo: Guy Collins

``They are fat, fleshy, with a tannic structure of great elegance and precision,'' it said, adding that the Cabernet Sauvignons ``bring freshness, incredible power and classy tannins.'' It described the vintage as ``extraordinary: exceptional fruit, complexity, balance and smoothness'' and said that grapes reached ``perfect ripeness.'' The growing season was characterized by a wet spring but exceptionally warm, dry summer from mid-July onwards, resulting in a vintage which is being compared by producers in varying ways to the recent standout years of 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2016.