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Chapelle d'Ausone 2018

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Franc

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. In 2018 there will only be 500 cases made from 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvigon and aged for 20 months in 100% new oak.

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Label

Tasting Notes

A red with black berry, blue berry, iodine, muscle shell and hot stone character on both the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied and very tight with a compact palate of beautiful fruit with a minerally undertone. Very long and polished. Fine yet structure. Try after 2025.

95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, January 2021

The 2018 Chapelle d'Ausone is made of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, as impenetrable as this wine's big-brother grand vin wine is, this is the precocious, show-off younger sibling. It comes skipping out of the glass with bright, cheery scents of redcurrant jelly, black raspberries, stewed plums and Black Forest cake, giving way to suggestions of rose oil, dusty soil and garrigue. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with juicy black and red berry layers, framed by beautifully ripe, finely grained tannins and tons of freshness, finishing long and perfumed. Delicious right now, if money's no object, buy this and the grand vin. The 2018 Ausone is going to take a good few years to come around, but this second wine offers a true enough taste of that epic feast of a wine to come.

94+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, RobertParker.com, March 2021

Black core, purple rim. Intense, dark fruited and expressive on the nose. There's the lovely pencil-shavings character of Cabernet Franc and the generosity of Merlot. Very ripe cassis but not overripe. Deep and full in the mouth, slightly sweet and sour at the moment, needing time to mesh. Juicy freshness on the finish and smooth, deep tannin texture. Chewy and juicy on the finish.
Drink 2024-2030

16.5+
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2019

Deep purple in the glass, with a smoky, cassis-driven nose that is hedonistic and enticing. The palate is rich and creamy, with plump black cherry and damson fruit bursting through the mid palate that is framed by soft, ripe, silky tannins. Smoky, toasty oak presents with notes of incense and barbecue on a long and expansive finish. A true hedonist's delight, supple and sumptuous without being overripe or over extracted.

92+
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2019

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.

93/95+
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, May 2019

(50 Merlot, 40 Cabernet Franc, 10 Cabernet Sauvignon) | 100% new oak for 20 months | Merlot was harvested on 25th and 27th September, Cabernet Franc was harvested on 3rd, 8th and 9th October and the Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on 9th October One of the grandest second wines of the vintage, this is built for the long haul and it is majestic and very long. The oak is massive, but the fruit can cope with this impact and the finish is heroic, too. Closed and unyielding on the palate, this is a wine for long term ageing.

17.5+
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, April 2019
Read more tasting notes...

The 2018 Chapelle d'Ausone is made of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, as impenetrable as this wine's big-brother grand vin wine is, this is the precocious, show-off younger sibling. It comes skipping out of the glass with bright, cheery scents of redcurrant jelly, black raspberries, stewed plums and Black Forest cake, giving way to suggestions of rose oil, dusty soil and garrigue. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with juicy black and red berry layers, framed by beautifully ripe, finely grained tannins and tons of freshness, finishing long and perfumed. Delicious right now, if money's no object, buy this and the grand vin. The 2018 Ausone is going to take a good few years to come around, but this second wine offers a true enough taste of that epic feast of a wine to come. 2022 - 2040.

94+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, March 2021

This is a very tight and structured second wine with blueberry, spice and light hazelnut character. It’s full of volume, but shows underlying firmness and brightness. Lovely length.

94/95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2019

The 2018 Chapelle d'Ausone is made of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot was harvested on September 25 and 27, the Cabernet Franc on October 3, 8 and 9, and the Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on October 9. Deep purple-black in color, it is a little reticent to begin, unfurling slowly to reveal notes of Black Forest cake, mincemeat pie, candied violets and Chinese five spice plus waves of charcuterie, black olives, mossy bark and cast iron pan. Full-bodied with a fantastic line of freshness lifting the dense layers, it has a very plush, silt-like texture and a very long, mineral-laced finish.

93/95
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (April 2019), April 2019
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.