Château Rauzan-Ségla

Château Rauzan-Ségla was founded in 1661 by Pierre de Rauzan; the château building itself dates to the late 17th century. By the 19th century the estate's wines were being sold under the spelling 'Rausan-Ségla.' In 1994, the Wertheimer family, owners of the Chanel fashion house, purchased the estate from the British shipping company John Holt. The Wertheimers' involvement in Chanel dated back three generations: their grandfather Pierre Wertheimer first bought the makeup company Bourgois and then, in 1924, struck the initial agreement with Coco Chanel to market the perfume Chanel No. 5, an arrangement that eventually led the family to take over the fashion house entirely. On acquiring Rauzan-Ségla, the Wertheimers restored the estate's original 'Rauzan' spelling and renamed the second wine 'Ségla.' They installed John Kolasa, who had previously been commercial director at Château Latour, as director of the estate; Kolasa also became director of Chanel's Right Bank property, Château Canon, when the Wertheimers acquired it in 1996.

• Founded 1661: Pierre de Rauzan established the estate; the château building dates to the late 17th century
• 1994 Wertheimer acquisition: bought from the British shipping company John Holt by Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, owners of Chanel
• Spelling and naming restored: the Wertheimers reverted the 19th-century 'Rausan-Ségla' spelling to 'Rauzan-Ségla' and renamed the second wine 'Ségla'
• John Kolasa installed as director in 1994, having previously served as commercial director at Château Latour; also became director of Château Canon from 1996

Rauzan-Ségla has been owned by the Wertheimer family, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, since 1994; the family also owns Chanel. Nicolas Audebert joined the winemaking team in June 2014 and became General Manager; born in Toulon in 1975, he trained as an agricultural engineer at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier, graduating in 1999, before working at Terrazas de Los Andes in Argentina, then at Moët & Chandon, Krug, and Veuve Clicquot in France, and later as winemaking manager at Terrazas de los Andes and Cheval des Andes, prior to moving to Bordeaux in 2014. Audebert now serves as general manager across Chanel's wider portfolio: Rauzan-Ségla, Château Canon, Château Berliquet in Saint-Émilion (acquired 2017), and Domaine de l'Ile on the island of Porquerolles (acquired 2019). The estate's current technical director is François Baudoux. Chanel also owns the Bordeaux négociant house Ulysse Cazabonne, built up by Kolasa during his years at Château Latour and run separately from the wine estates.

• Ownership: Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, owners of Chanel, since 1994
• Nicolas Audebert: joined June 2014, became General Manager; born Toulon 1975; agricultural engineering degree from Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier (1999); prior roles at Terrazas de Los Andes, Moët & Chandon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot, and Cheval des Andes
• Audebert's wider Chanel portfolio: Château Canon (Saint-Émilion, from 1996) and Château Berliquet (from 2017), Domaine de l'Ile in Porquerolles (from 2019)
• Current technical director: François Baudoux

The vineyard covers approximately 70 hectares on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, at the gateway to the village of Margaux. The estate's soils form a patchwork of three principal styles: limestone-clay soils, a cool and clay-rich terroir over limestone bedrock that produces intense, structured wines; deep gravel soils on the historic Terrace 4 site, where alternating gravel and clay regulate water and add complexity and depth; and fine gravel soils on the estate's satellite plots, which favor a fruitier, more approachable style. The vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc; Cabernet Sauvignon anchors the estate's structure and blackcurrant, cedar-scented character, while Merlot contributes fleshiness and red-fruit radiance, and small amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc add spice and floral lift in some vintages. Winemaking follows a plot-by-plot approach: zones are established within and between individual parcels based on soil composition, and each zone is vinified separately before blending. The grand vin is aged 18 months in barrel, with 50% new oak. The entire vineyard has been certified organic in viticulture since the 2024 vintage. The estate produces roughly 100,000 bottles a year, split in most vintages between the grand vin and the second wine, Ségla, at close to a 45:55 ratio.

• Vineyard: approximately 70 hectares; soils are a patchwork of limestone-clay, deep gravel (Terrace 4), and fine gravel over a Quaternary terrace
• Grape varieties, per the estate's own current figures: 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc
• Winemaking: plot-by-plot zoning and vinification, with blending built from the resulting batches; grand vin aged 18 months, 50% new oak
• Certified organic in viticulture since the 2024 vintage; approximately 100,000 bottles produced annually, split roughly 45% grand vin / 55% Ségla in most vintages

The grand vin is built for restraint rather than power: the estate's own tasting language describes it as 'an iron fist in a velvet glove,' its modesty concealing a deep, intense heart, with 'grace that reveals restraint,' multifaceted complexity, and 'intense tannins' built for long ageing. Recent vintages have drawn strong notices from the wine press: Decanter's Jane Anson named the 2018 one of her favorite Margaux wines of that vintage, citing its 'concentration, confidence and elegance,' and found real consistency in the wines from the 2000 vintage onward, with 'another step up' at 2009, which she called 'one of the go-to wines in Margaux, with plenty more to give.' Describing the young 2025 vintage, technical director François Baudoux noted a wine that 'walks a tightrope' between violet aromatics on one side and blackcurrant and blackberry on the other, with a deep, almost dark color, black cherry and fresh plum fruit, persistent floral violet notes, silky but present tannins, and 13.5% alcohol. General manager Nicolas Audebert has summarized the house style as wines 'steeped in sophistication and elegance, complexity and refinement.' The second wine, Ségla, is sourced from a satellite vineyard on the alluvial terraces the Gironde estuary has deposited near the main property, worked to the same standard as the grand vin; the estate describes it as having 'its very own personality,' more immediately fruity and accessible than its older sibling, with 'the suppleness and aromatic purity of Margaux.'

• House style: 'an iron fist in a velvet glove'; restraint over power, intense tannins built for long ageing (the estate's own description)
• Critical reception: Decanter's Jane Anson highlighted the 2018 for 'concentration, confidence and elegance'; found real consistency from the 2000 vintage, with a further step up at 2009
• 2025 vintage, per the estate: deep color, black cherry and fresh plum fruit, persistent violet, silky present tannins, 13.5% alcohol
• Second wine Ségla: fruitier and more immediately accessible, sourced from a satellite vineyard on the Gironde's alluvial terraces, made to the same standard as the grand vin

Château Rauzan-Ségla is classified as a Deuxième Cru Classé (Second Growth) under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, as confirmed by the official Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855. It is one of five Second Growths located within the Margaux appellation, alongside Château Rauzan-Gassies, Château Durfort-Vivens, Château Lascombes, and Château Brane-Cantenac. The grand vin is labeled 'Château Rauzan-Ségla,' identified on the estate's own materials as a 'Grand Cru Classé 1855' wine of the Margaux appellation. The second wine carries the separate label 'Ségla.' Both the estate's current spelling and the second wine's name date to the Wertheimer family's 1994 acquisition, when the 19th-century 'Rausan-Ségla' spelling was reverted to the original 'Rauzan.'

• 1855 Classification: Deuxième Cru Classé (Second Growth), per the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855
• One of five Second Growths in the Margaux appellation, alongside Rauzan-Gassies, Durfort-Vivens, Lascombes, and Brane-Cantenac
• Grand vin label: 'Château Rauzan-Ségla'; second wine label: 'Ségla'
• Current spelling and second-wine name both date to the 1994 Wertheimer acquisition

Rauzan-Ségla sits on the left bank of the Gironde estuary at the gateway to the village of Margaux, its vineyard made up of numerous parcels, some large and some small, intermixed in a complex mosaic with land owned by neighboring estates. It anchors the left-bank half of Chanel's Bordeaux holdings; on the right bank, in Saint-Émilion, Chanel owns Château Canon, acquired in 1996, and Château Berliquet, acquired in 2017, both also overseen by General Manager Nicolas Audebert. Chanel's wine holdings extend beyond Bordeaux to Domaine de l'Ile on the island of Porquerolles, acquired in 2019, and, since 2015, to St. Supery in California's Napa Valley, purchased by Alain and Gérard Wertheimer as the family's first Napa vineyard.

• Location: left bank of the Gironde estuary, at the gateway to the village of Margaux; vineyard parcels are intermixed with neighboring estates
• Chanel's Right Bank holdings: Château Canon (Saint-Émilion, from 1996) and Château Berliquet (from 2017), both under Nicolas Audebert
• Wider Chanel wine portfolio: Domaine de l'Ile on Porquerolles (from 2019) and St. Supery in Napa Valley (from 2015)
• Both Rauzan-Ségla and Château Canon have been certified organic since the 2024 vintage

Primary sources (producer's own site, fetched via Wayback Machine archive due to a live-site Akamai bot block): https://www.chateaurauzansegla.com/en, https://www.chateaurauzansegla.com/en/terroir, https://www.chateaurauzansegla.com/en/expertise, https://www.chateaurauzansegla.com/en/way-of-life, https://www.chateaurauzansegla.com/en/press-pro, https://www.chateaurauzansegla.com/en/wines, https://www.chateaurauzansegla.com/en/primeurs-2025, https://www.chateaurauzansegla.com/en/synopsis. Secondary sources: Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB), The Art Newspaper (Sept 2025), Decanter (Jane Anson, vintage ratings), Decanter (Jane Anson, Nicolas Audebert interview, 2015), The Wine Cellar Insider (2015), Le Conseil des Grands Crus Classes en 1855 (official classification body). Last verified 2026-09-09. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.