The problem with many of Bordeaux’s fine wines is that, while beautiful, smooth, big-bodied wine may be their hallmark many vineyards adhere to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” school of thought. This applies to planting, blending, methods as well as ownership. Yet with 20% of St. Estèphe properties changing hands in the past decade, we have to imagine that with great investment and innovation comes great wine.

Such is the happy fate of many of the estates in St. Estèphe. As quality increases almost region-wide (regrettably there are still a few exceptions) fine wine investors need to know where to turn if they want something that is both pocket-friendly and will stand the test of time.

One of the unsung heroes of the region is Château Phélan Ségur. One of the highest regarded estates of the region north of Medoc, Phélan Ségur dates back to 1860. Ownership has been dynamic to say the least; founded by Nicolas Alexandre de Segur or “the Prince of vines”, de Segur also owned Latour, Brane Mouton, which became Mouton Rothschild and Lafite, which became Lafite Rothschild. This means that de Segur owned an amazing three of the five first growths!

De Segur sold Phélan Ségur to the Delon family (of Leoville Las Cases and Nenin) in 1883, who in turn sold it to Xavier Gardinier (of Pommery) 1984. Xavier died in 2013 and the estate was run by his two sons Laurent and Thierry since then. However, in 2018 the Gardiniers sold to the Belgian owner Philippe Van de Veyvere, preferring to focus their attention on fine foods instead of fine wines. “My intention is to ensure Phélan Ségur remains one of the great wines of the St Estèphe AOC, “’ said Van de Vyvere, leaving the door open for a promising future of the wine. Van de Vyvere is keeping the same winemaking team.

Investors should note that the wine’s ageability peaks at around 15 years post mise en bouteille. Because of the vineyard’s low profile prices remain very reasonable and well below average for St Estèphe. Investors note this is primarily true for 2013, the changeover year from Xavier Gardiner to his sons.