Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve: The Gardinier family, having identified several hectares of the best terroir at Phélan-Ségur, decided to vinify its produce without the slightest compromise. At every crucial stage, and with the advice of Michel Rolland, they took the most rigorous and suitable steps to produce the best wine possible. The aim, of course, is to advance the cause of Phélan itself (as car companies do through Formula One), but also to demonstrate the full potential of the best St-Estèphe vines. The result in 2007 is a wine as remarkable for its perfection and smoothness of tannin as for its richness of flavor. This is another face of St-Estèphe—a wine of silk or velvet, gracious and refined—and it must be assessed as such rather than by the classical standard. 16.5