LA CHAPELLE D'AUSONE
2015 Grand Cru Saint Emilion
45% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The young (fifteen year old vines) on the Ausone property, which is on the hillside with a mix of clay and the hard limestone 'calcaire d'asteries'. A deeply savoury fruit, full but still flowing with chalky fine tannins. Intensity builds. Pure. La Cloote seems more fun, but this is more serious. Very long, picking up power on the finish. Rating: 92-93 L&S (Apr 2016)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Two-thirds of the crop went into the Grand Vin in 2015, but Ausone’s second label is still very impressive indeed. Perfumed and silky, with effortless oak integration, fine-boned tannins and nuanced red and black fruits, it lingers on the palate. One for those of us who can’t afford Ausone... Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 94 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2016)
Black! Good freshness on the nose. Very sweet start - fermented blackcurrant pastilles - and finishes a little dry at the moment. Drinking range: 2023 - 2032 Rating: 16.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2016)
9,000 bottles this year (more than the usual 7,000-8,000), using 10% Cabernet Sauvignon along with the Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Fragrant, elegant nose. Lovely texture. Little sweetness then really fine, matted tannins. Seductive but structured as well. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 94 James Lawther MW, decanter.com (Apr 2016)
The 2015 Chapelle d'Ausone is a blend of 45% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 29 September and 15 October, matured in 85% new oak for 20 months. Pauline Vauthier commented that it was relatively easy to parse the lots between grand vin and deuxième vin this year. The nose is a little broody at first, a touch of mintiness coming through the black cherry and cassis scents. The palate is medium-bodied with a touch of dark chocolate on the entry, plenty of cassis fruit, fine tannin with a gentle grip towards the finish that feels a little more structured than recent vintages. This will probably offer 8-10 years' pleasure, possibly more. Drinking range: 2019 - 2035 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
The 2015 Chapelle d'Ausone is a fabulous second wine. Lavender, mint, violet, smoke, licorice and blueberry notes grace the palate. An exquisite, understated wine, the Chapelle is all finesse today. The sweetness and ripeness of the year are evident, yet the 2015 retains striking focus throughout. Fine, silky tannins wrap around the inviting finish. What a gorgeous wine this is. The Chapelle is 45% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot was brought in between September 29 and October 2, while the Franc came in between October 8 and 10 and the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked on October 15. Rating: 90-93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
The second wine of Ausone. Again the blend sees equal parts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, each contributing 45%, the balancing 10% being Cabernet Sauvignon. The alcohol is between 14.1% and 14.3% on this barrel sample, matching the grand vin. This accounts for 34% of the crop. Tasted immediately after the other Vauthier wines, this is a very different style. Much of this is down to the higher percentage of Cabernet Franc of course, the nose much more spicy, dark and perfumed as a result. I find essence of violets, with very pure fruit behind, more blackcurrant than the softer cherry fruit more commonly encountered in this Merlot-dominated appellation. Qute a captivating nose, but then I am a Cabernet Franc fan. The palate is pure, gently polished and showing a beautiful frame, with lots of spicy energy to it. Energetic, with a real limestone grip beneath the fruit, which is already tautly framed, yielding to a grip of ripe tannins in the finish. A very convincing barrel sample. Rating: 17-18/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)
Château Ausone
Unquestionably one of the biggest names of the Right Bank, this is also one of the oldest chateaux in the whole of Bordeaux. Situated at the edge of the limestone plateau on the approach to the village of Saint Emilion, at an altitude of 75 metres, Ausone dominates your view as you drive in to the village, with its beautiful stone gateposts, steeply sloping vineyards, and dry stone walls. Underneath the chateau are kilometre upon kilometre of stone quarries, the smallest of which (at 1,800m2) is the wine cellar. This was excavated back in the 16th century (most of the stone in Saint Emilion ended up building either the village itself, or the handsome limestone buildings in central Bordeaux). Further underground are stone vaults dating back 500 years! The humidity in the cellars is at well over 90%, meaning that they rarely have to perfrom ouillage (topping up), and the angel's rarely get their share! Above ground there is also the Magdeleine chapel (hence the name of the second wine of the estate, Chapelle d'Ausone), which again adds to the sense of mystique on visiting Ausone. They are currently renovating the chapel, and also creating a small room for receiving visitors (although don't hold your breath that this will ever be a centre for wine tourism - the Vaultier family are very discreet, and it is tough to get an appointment here). One of the smallest of all the top estates in Bordeaux, at just over seven hectares (smaller than its Saint Emilion rival Cheval Blanc, smaller even than Petrus in neighbouring Pomerol, but twice the size of le Pin), vines have been cultivated here since the time of Roman poet Ausonius. I'm not sure anyone is suggesting that Ausonius actually owned this vineyard, but it is likely to have been named in his honour.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.