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  • Weather

    5° C Few clouds
  • Time

    11:56 AM
  • Wine average?

    92 Tb
  • Country Ranking?

    509
  • Region Ranking?

    294
  • Popularity ranking?

    198

History

Château Rauzan-Gassies was born out of unreconcilable differences between the children of Pierre des Measures de Rauzen. In 1760 there was no choice but divide the huge estate into two, one half being Domaine de Rauzen (which would eventually become Chateau Rauzen-Segla and the other becoming Château Rauzan-Gassies.

Towards the end of the 17th century, Jean-Baptiste de Rauzan owner at the time decided to acknowledge the seemingly lucky pattern of narrowly avoiding frost or hail damage by adding a pair of angel's wings to the chateau's identity. These have been largely incorporated into the label ever since

In 1855 Château Rauzan-Gassies was classed as a second growth property. In the aftermath of the Second World War the estate was sold to the Quié family, Parisian based wine merchants. Since then the estate has failed to achieve positive criticism; at best the wines are described as decidedly mediocre. 

Between the 1960s and late 90s in particular, the estate has been unloved by consumers and journalists alike. Considering that around 40% of the vineyards neighbour some of the most famous chateaux in the world, Rauzan-Gassies seems to consistently underperform. Robert Parker famously stated "anyone buying pre-1998 Rauzan-Gassies is buying the proverbial pig in a poke".

Today the property consists of 28 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet France planted on predominantly gravely soils in the centre of the Margaux appellation. The wines are aged in wood, of which only 25% is new oak, for 18 month before release.

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Vineyards

Grapes are hand-picked. Fermentations last about 3 weeks in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, with frequent pumping-overs and addition of yeasts. Wines are afterward transferred to oak barrels, of which 25% are new, for 14-18 months aging. They are fined and filtered prior to bottling. No press wine is added into the grand vin.

The vineyards of Rauzan-Gassies are situated on alluvial terraces. Sixty percent of them are situated just around the chateau itself, and the remaining vineyards (gravelly soils) border Chateau Margaux, Palmer, and Lascombes.

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Highlights

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Wine Moments

Here you can see wine moments from tastingbook users.    or    to see wine moments from your world.

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  2 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  518 wines 

Primeurs Vintage 2022 Part 2

7m 4d ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  3 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  525 wines 

The arrivage tasting proved the great quality of the vintage 2020. The promises made in the glass during the en primeur tastings were kept in this tasting session. An excellent vintage with wonderful and convincing qualities.  


 

10m 3d ago

 Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Norway)  tasted  0 wines  from   . In a tasting of  45 wines 

2021 Château Margaux / Ruby. Cassis, blackberries, anise, floral, violets, spices, dark fruits, anise nose, nuanced, layered, scented and detailed. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, dark fruits, anise, spices, liquorice, nuanced, elegant texture, long finish. 13,1% alcohol. PH 3,64. 97-99

1y 6m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  2 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  745 wines 

This years "en primeur" tasting seemed like a journey in time. Bordeaux is back to a more moderate alcohol level and the style is lighter and more elegant. One could say the wines are reminiscent of the 80s, however made with more experience and the modern techniques today. It is not a powerful vintage. The wines are elegant, however the well made ones have an excellent persistence, depth and length. They offer a convincing potential for a long ageing and promote elegance in Bordeaux again. It is a true vintage of terroir although there is a lot of talk about a vintners vintage. However, terroir was the decisive factor in 2021.


Professor Axel Marchal has presented the 10 key points of this vintage on the occasion of the Union des Grands Crus press tasting:


"1. The start of the growing season was marked by severe frost on the 7th and 8th of April.


2. Wet and gloomy weather in May slowed down the vine growth although a providential window of fine weather helped flowering unfold in ideal conditions in early June.


3. Thunderstorms in June slowed down the onset of water stress.


4: Cool, dull weather in July increased the threat of vine diseases.


5. Véraison (colour change) was observed in mid-August, while vine growth had not stopped yet.


6. Thanks to a cool summer, the dry white wines are brilliant, lively and aromatic.


7. The wonderful Indian Summer allowed the red grape varieties to ripen in ideal conditions and preserved aromas.


8. The Merlots are fresh and aromatic while the Cabernets from the finest terroirs are well-structured with good balance.


9. The development of Botrytis cinerea in Sauternes was delayed by the cool summer and eventually triggered by rainfall in mid-September.


10. Despite low yields, the botrytised sweet white wines are of excellent quality."


It will be exciting to see the evolution of this vintage which produced in many cases yields on a very low scale. Arguably it will be a vintage praised for it finesse in the future. A vintage rated on finesse and persistence rather than on sheer power and opulence.

1y 6m ago

 Izak Litwar / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Denmark)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  73 wines 

Château Langoa Barton 2020 – Sister property to Leoville Barton and similar to her big "sister" in terms of the quality. Big scaled on the nose and palate with creamy blackcurrants, graphite, fat tannin, strong backbone, and striking complexity. Classy stuff.  53.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 8.5% Cabernet Franc. 13.5% alcohol.


94+p. 

2y 4m ago

 Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Norway)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  38 wines 

Château Mouton-Rothschild 2020 / Ruby. Fruit driven, cassis, anise, some spices nose, blackberries, intensely scented, almost transparent yet such depth. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, dark fruits, smooth and detailed, layered, anise, liquorice, deep, long. Superb freshness to it. Such energy. Pauillac is not the place that shines the most in 2020, but this one does. 97-99

2y 5m ago

 Izak Litwar / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Denmark)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  26 wines 

Château Margaux 2018 - 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Impressed greatly with an incredibly scented nose, elegance, sophisticated and refined touch, astonishing complexity, and length. Simply a proper "iron fist in the velvet glove"! Amazing stuff. 99-100p (98-100p).

2y 6m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  2 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  153 wines 

2020 – the paradox vintage - part two

2y 6m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  2 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  153 wines 

2020 – the paradox vintage - part two

2y 6m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  650 wines 

2020 – the paradox vintage 


2020 began with mild temperatures even breaking temperature record highs at the beginning of February. These conditions led to a premature budbreak. Budding developed unevenly, very much depending on the locations although the coo and humid weather in April had not a very significant impact on slowing down the growth of the vines. Finally all the vines came into bloom at the end of May without any significant coulure or millerandage. At the start of June, frequent rain intensified the pressure of mildew. From mid-June, the weather changed. The whole Bordelais saw a period of very dry weather for two months. However, the earlier accumulation of water reserves prevented water stress. Around July 18 a heat wave began to build up but the cool nighty prevented water stress on the wines again. The veraison started at the end of July and went on till the beginning of August. The heatwave in August accentuated water stress, but shorter rainy episodes avoided a complete block. The dry and sunny weather in September encouraged the grapes maturity and harvest started on September 10 with a rather mild weather. Towards the middle of September, rain prevented the fruits from wilting but as its frequency was quite concerning, the haves was pushed forward. "Le diabolique" is the title given to this vintage by Véronique Sanders. It is a very special French word, which is not correctly translated with “diabolic” in English. In France, the expression means to overcome the devil. And the vintners succeeded. 2020 is clearly a vintner’s vintage which asked a permanent reinvention of the wineries, struggling hard with this difficult vintage. However, the vintage surprises with excellent wines, exemplary freshness and elegance and very dense structure. In former times it was said that the vine has to suffer to make exquisite wines, in this vintage the people have suffered to make a great wine. The first part of notes for this tasting with over 800 wines you will find today. More notes will follow over the coming days.

2y 6m ago

 Izak Litwar / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Denmark)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  100 wines 

I'll repeat myself with the phrase, "Pomerol is one of the strongest districts in 2018"! The truth is that it's s an accurate and valid statement. Despite not tasting Petrus and Lafleur, to name some of the big hitters, I can assure, that there is enough exceptional goof for every taste from Pomerol. As everywhere in Bordeaux, there also are very few wines under the usual standard in Pomerol.


 

2y 8m ago

 Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Norway)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Rauzan-Gassies . In a tasting of  22 wines 

1964 Chateau Latour;Dark ruby, brick rim. B/C level fill, soaked cork. Liquorice, sweet tobacco, hay, some blackcurrants, gorgeous nose, some ripe tannins still, fresh acidity, quite intence, extremelly complex, almost at such a degree, that you can't decipher it all, perfect structure, truly impressive, and exceptionaly long finish. 96

2y 10m ago

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