Château Rauzan-Ségla

Pierre de Rauzan founded Château Rauzan-Ségla in 1661, and the château building dates to the late 17th century. From the 19th century the wine was sold under the spelling 'Rausan-Ségla.' In 1994 the Wertheimer family, owners of the Chanel fashion house, bought the estate from the British shipping company John Holt. The family's place at Chanel goes back three generations: their grandfather Pierre Wertheimer first bought the makeup company Bourgois, then in 1924 made 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. On arrival the Wertheimers restored the original 'Rauzan' spelling and renamed the second wine 'Ségla.' They installed John Kolasa, formerly commercial director at Château Latour, as director; Kolasa also took charge of Chanel's Right Bank property, Château Canon, when the family 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: the Wertheimers reverted the 19th-century 'Rausan-Ségla' spelling to the original 'Rauzan-Ségla' and renamed the second wine 'Ségla'
• John Kolasa: director from 1994, after serving as commercial director at Château Latour; director of Château Canon from 1996

Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, the family that owns Chanel, have owned Rauzan-Ségla since 1994. Nicolas Audebert joined the team in June 2014 and became General Manager. Born in Toulon in 1975, he qualified as an agricultural engineer, graduating from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier in 1999, then worked at Terrazas de Los Andes in Argentina; at Moët & Chandon, Krug and Veuve Clicquot in France; and as winemaking manager at Terrazas de los Andes and Cheval des Andes, before moving to Bordeaux in 2014. He is general manager across Chanel's wider wine portfolio: Rauzan-Ségla, Château Canon, Château Berliquet in Saint-Émilion (acquired 2017) and Domaine de l'Ile on the island of Porquerolles (acquired 2019). François Baudoux is technical director. Chanel also owns the Bordeaux négociant house Ulysse Cazabonne, which Kolasa built up during his years at Château Latour and which runs 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; graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier (1999); earlier 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), Château Berliquet (from 2017) and Domaine de l'Ile on Porquerolles (from 2019)
• Technical director: François Baudoux

The vineyard covers about 70 hectares on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, at the gateway to the village of Margaux. Its soils fall into three styles. Limestone-clay soils form a cool, clay-rich terroir over limestone bedrock that gives intense wines with volume and presence. Deep gravel soils on the historic Terrace 4 site alternate gravel and clay, which regulates water and brings complexity, depth and intensity. Fine gravel soils on the satellite plots favour fruit and a gourmet style. The vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc: Cabernet Sauvignon gives structure, blackcurrant and cedar; Merlot brings fleshiness and red-fruit radiance; small amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc add spice and, in some years, floral notes. Zones are set within and between plots by soil composition, and each zone is vinified separately before blending. The grand vin spends 18 months in barrel, 50% of it new oak. The whole vineyard has been certified organic in viticulture since the 2024 vintage. Production runs to about 100,000 bottles a year, split in most vintages roughly 45% grand vin and 55% Ségla.

• Vineyard: about 70 hectares; clay gravel on a Quaternary terrace, a patchwork of deep gravel (Terrace 4) and fine gravel, plus limestone-clay over limestone bedrock
• Grape varieties: 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc
• Winemaking: plot-by-plot zoning and vinification, blended from the resulting vats; grand vin aged 18 months, 50% new oak
• Certified organic in viticulture since the 2024 vintage; about 100,000 bottles a year, roughly 45% grand vin and 55% Ségla in most vintages

The grand vin favours restraint over power. The estate calls it 'an iron fist in a velvet glove,' its modesty hiding 'a deep, intense heart,' with 'grace that reveals restraint,' multifaceted complexity and intense tannins built for ageing. Decanter's Jane Anson named the 2018 one of her favourite Margaux wines of the vintage for its 'concentration, confidence and elegance.' She found real consistency only from the 2000 vintage onward and 'another step up' with the 2009, which she called 'one of the go-to wines in Margaux, with plenty more to give.' Technical director François Baudoux puts it this way: '2025 walks a tightrope. Violet on one side, blackcurrant and blackberry on the other.' The estate's 2025 primeurs notes give a deep, almost dark colour, black cherry and fresh plum, persistent floral violet, silky but present tannins and 13.5% alcohol. In the words of General Manager Nicolas Audebert, 'Rauzan-Ségla creates wines steeped in sophistication and elegance, complexity and refinement.' The second wine, Ségla, comes from a satellite vineyard on the alluvial terraces deposited by the Gironde estuary, worked by the Rauzan-Ségla teams to the same standard as the grand vin. The estate credits Ségla with 'its very own personality': fruity, present and silky, sharing the same delicate touch as its older sibling, with 'the suppleness and aromatic purity of Margaux.'

• House style: 'an iron fist in a velvet glove,' in the estate's words; restraint over power, with intense tannins built for ageing
• Critical reception: Decanter's Jane Anson picked the 2018 for 'concentration, confidence and elegance' and found consistency from the 2000 vintage, with a further step up in 2009
• 2025 vintage, from the estate's primeurs notes: deep colour, black cherry and fresh plum, persistent violet, silky but present tannins, 13.5% alcohol
• Second wine Ségla: fruity, present and silky, from a satellite vineyard on the Gironde's alluvial terraces, made to the same standard as the grand vin

Château Rauzan-Ségla is a Deuxième Cru Classé (Second Growth) in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. It is one of five Second Growths in the Margaux appellation, alongside Château Rauzan-Gassies, Château Durfort-Vivens, Château Lascombes and Château Brane-Cantenac. The grand vin is labelled 'Château Rauzan-Ségla' and presented as a 'Grand Cru Classé 1855' wine of the Margaux appellation. The second wine carries the separate label 'Ségla.' The current spelling and the second wine's name both date to the Wertheimer family's 1994 acquisition, when the 19th-century 'Rausan-Ségla' spelling reverted to the original 'Rauzan.'

• 1855 Classification: Deuxième Cru Classé (Second Growth)
• 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 is a complex mosaic of parcels, some large and some tiny, intermixed with parcels owned by neighbouring estates. It anchors the Left Bank side 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 run by General Manager Nicolas Audebert. Beyond Bordeaux, Chanel's wine holdings include Domaine de l'Ile on the island of Porquerolles, acquired in 2019, and St. Supery in California's Napa Valley, bought by Alain and Gérard Wertheimer in 2015 as the family's first vineyard in California.

• Location: left bank of the Gironde estuary, at the gateway to the village of Margaux; vineyard parcels are intermixed with those of neighbouring 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 2024

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 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.