| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Ausone's second wine usually represents about one third of the château'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. Only a few hundred cases are produced annually which makes it very hard to find.
The 2021 Chapelle d'Ausone wafts from the glass with notes of cherries, sweet berries and licorice framed by a creamy patina of new oak. Medium-bodied, pure and refined, with powdery tannins and a bright spine, it concludes with a mineral, vanillin-inflected finish. The blend contains no Merlot, as everything the vines produced went into the grand vin. Drink Date: 2026 - 2041
The 2021 was harvested from 4th to 6th October and is fully 75% Cabernet Franc, with 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was fermented in wooden vats ahead of maturation in French oak barrels for 20 months. Conversion to organics began in 2020. Bright ruby-purple colour. Deeply fragrant, ripe fruit flavours on the nose, with sweet plums, cherry blossom and summer pudding. The palate is fine and focused, the long and fine fruit follows from the palate with a lovely ripe herbal edge. Very good in the middle, finding plump red and cool black fruit. The tannins are chalky but supple, a promising sign for both approachability and potential. This seductive and juicy wine is a joy already and will have great appeal over the mid- and perhaps even long-term.
Lots of cool blue fruit and violets with some stones and chocolate orange. Supple, silky and very sleek tannins. Medium to full body. Lengthy and fresh on the finish. 75% cabernet franc and 25% cabernet sauvignon.
The 2021 Chapelle d'Ausone is composed of 75% Cabernet Franc, harvested 4-6 October, and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested on 6 October. This is a very unusual blend, as all the Merlot was used for Ausone this year. Deep purple-black colored, it leaps from the glass with notes of fresh red and black currants, bay leaves, and graphite with suggestions of raspberry leaves, mossy tree bark, and fallen leaves. Light to medium-bodied, the palate is super intense with very fine-grained tannins and bold freshness supporting the mineral-tinged red berry layers, finishing with impressive length. This is a real departure from the classic style of this estate's second label and a very clever interpretation of the vintage and the terroir that is well worth seeking out.
2027-2047
Bright violet in colour, with ripe and sappy fruit. This is gorgeous, showing less intensity than recent vintages but a delicately-boned wine with hidden power that leans into the vintage, and is proof of how adaptive this terroir is - fresh in hot vintages, but generous in cool ones. Gooseberry, redcurrant, red cherry, raspberry, crushed rocks, and one of the rare 2nd wines that truly delivers in 2021. Philippe Baillarguet cellar master, 100% new oak, harvest October 4 to 6.
75% Cabernet Franc, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. Original and atypical blend with all that Cabernet and no Merlot. Cask sample.
Lifted and floral on the nose, long and linear on the palate, the tannins present but fine. Long, saline finish. Will be interesting to see how this evolves. (JL)
Drink 2027 – 2036
Inviting aromas of berries and plums mingled with vine smoke, spices and loamy soil introduce the 2021 Chapelle d'Ausone, a medium to full-bodied, melting and precise wine that's pretty and seamless, with lively acids and a long, penetrating finish. As usual, it's a blend of wine from young vines with a few barriques of declassified Ausone.
