LA CHAPELLE D'AUSONE
2018 Grand Cru Saint Emilion
| Grapes | Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc |
| Colour | Red |
| Origin | France, Bordeaux |
| Sub-district | Saint Emilion & Satellites |
| Village | Saint Emilion |
| Classification | Grand Cru |
| ABV | 14.5% |
50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chapelle is the second wine of Ausone. Deep sweet blackcurrant on the nose. Silky entry - ripe tannin is certainly evident in the background. The Cabernet Franc brings freshness to the dark juice. Oak on the finish. Well structured without ever being too much. Drinking range: 2023 - 2040 L&S (Apr 2019)
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DELIVERY SERVICE
We offer free nationwide delivery on all orders over £150 (excluding Highlands & Islands). Express Delivery options also available.The 2018 Chapelle d’Ausone was poured after the La Clotte, though in retrospect I would have reversed the order, because the aromatics here are more backward and sultry. They uncurl to reveal black cherries, briar, crushed rock/basalt and very light violet scents, all incredibly well focused. The palate is medium-bodied, sporting another silky, satin-like texture from the Vauthier family. Offering wonderful weight and density allied with amazing focus and poise, this is a brilliant Second Wine that is so delicious that it pains me to advise that it deserves 3–4 years in bottle. The citric/blood orange aftertaste knocks you off your feet. Superb. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)
Chapelle d'Ausone might very well be the best second wine in Bordeaux in 2018, and it is certainly a lot more compelling than many top cuvées. Inky, deep and voluptuous, the Chapelle shows all of the natural suppleness of Merlot to great effect. Soft curves and silky tannins round things out in style. It is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty from the Vauthier family. Simply magnificent. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)
The 2018 Chapelle D'Ausone is another second wine that can easily compete with most estates’ top wines. Coming from a blend of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon that will spend 20 months in oak, it tastes like a mini Château Ausone with its beautiful limestone minerality and sweet black fruits, spice, and graphite aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, concentrated, with building structure, it’s a serious second wine that’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and keep for two decades. Rating: 93-95 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2019)
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.
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