| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Ausone's second wine usually represents about one third of the Chateau's total production and receives the same elevage as the Grand Vin itself. The average age of vines is 15 years. 45% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 85% new oak. Less than 1000 cases are produced annually which makes it very hard to find unless purchased en primeur.
A blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, the 2019 Chapelle d'Ausone is deep garnet-purple colored. It gallops out with energetic notes of juicy blackberries, warm plums, and redcurrant jelly, plus suggestions of sassafras, cedar chest, menthol, and aniseed. Full-bodied, it is rich and spicy in the mouth with a lively backbone and super-fine tannins, finishing very long and fragrant.
A blend of wine from young vines with a few barriques of declassified Ausone (though anything that doesn't make the grade is sold off in bulk), the 2019 Chapelle d'Ausone exhibits attractive aromas of cherries, sweet berry fruit, violets, spices, rose petals and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, it's elegant and refined, with a deep core of fruit and impeccable balance. - drink 2025-2045
One of Bordeaux's greatest terroirs, perched on the edge of Saint-Émilion's limestone escarpment, Ausone comprises vineyards on the slopes (of which one, "Le Poirier," situated directly below the château, supplies the core of the assemblage) and on the walled terraces that cling to the top of the plateau. It's a sheltered mesoclimate, planted predominantly with Cabernet Franc, with at most 1.2 meters of clay above the rock. The vineyards are old, and when missing vines have been replaced, the replacements are tagged and harvested separately. In the winery, the fruit ferments in wooden vats with twice-daily délestages (rack-and-return) until alcoholic fermentation begins to subside, at which point the cap is simply moistened until the moment of décuvage and pressing. Maturation follows, in a cool former quarry hewn from the limestone, in entirely new barrels (mainly from Taransaud and Demptos) and lasts for some 20 months. The result is one of the region's most characterful and long-lived wines, endowed with striking intensity, precision and persistence, and the 2019 vintage is another terrific success for Ausone's custodians, the Vauthier family.
Such pure and beautiful aromas of blackberries and black cherries with violets and red roses. So aromatic and enticing. Full-bodied with extremely integrated tannins that are velvety and curated. Fresh and sweet fruit at the end with an orange-peel undertone. Crushed stone and sandalwood, too. This is a very beautiful second wine of Ausone. 60% cabernet franc and 40% merlot. Drink after 2025.
Tasted blind. Savoury and meaty with lots of chewiness and a dry finish. Solid and long. 14%
Drink 2026– 2040
This year the blend is 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, and the wine will be aged in barrel for 20 months. Deep ruby in colour with a perfumed nose of kirsch, blackcberry and red plum. The oak is sweet, offering notes of pastries and cinnamon. The palate is sumptuously sweet, with cherry pie and ripe blueberries at the core. The tannins are soft and supple, allowing the fruit to shine. As the palate builds savoury tobacco and sandalwood add complexity and tame the sweetness. Smoky and long on the finish. Tasted in Bordeaux.
60% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot. Barrel sample.
Purple-crimson. Fragrant floral, dark-fruit and liquorice notes. Palate delicate and lithe with very fine tannins. Almost weightless but the structure is there. Long, clean, persistent finish. A bit reticent but fine. (JL)
Drink 2026 – 2036
