Chapelle d'Ausone 2018

You definitely get the brushed damson fruit and the slight grilled notes of oak, but it’s handled with such care, delivering the most gorgeous blend; 80% young vines up to 10 years old (planted at 12,000 vines per hectare), plus some lots that didn’t make it into the first wine. This makes for an extremely successful Chapelle with so much personality and depth. Such incredible precision on the freshly crushed mint leaves. This is an expensive second wine, but it absolutely delivers the wow factor. 20 months in barrel, 100% new oak, as per Ausone, but on pure limestone so it just soaks it up. Normally 20,000 bottles of Ausone and 5–6,000 bottles of Chapelle. A high Silver. And yields now up to around 37–40 hl/ha.

A red with black berry, blueberry, iodine, mussel 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 and a mineral undertone. Very long and polished. Fine yet structured. Try after 2025.

Fresh, bright, stony, mineral-driven black and red fruits with precision, length, and purity, wrapped in lush, soft textures. The finish is packed with ripe, sweet plums, cherries, licorice, smoke, and espresso. It is hard to believe this is their second wine.

50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet with a dense core. Delicate red-berry bouquet, led by wild raspberries and perfumed pipe tobacco, followed by red currants and rosemary. On the palate, a silky texture and supportive tannins, paired with brilliant fruit sweetness and dark minerality, bode well for the Grand Vin.

Kunz barrel sample 19: (50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon) Dense, elegant, silky, fresh, complex bouquet, raspberries, strawberries, mint, fine red licorice, delicate mocha. Densely interwoven, finely structured, fresh palate with a dense, silky texture, varied, sweet aromatics, fine tannins, delicate fruit, long, fresh finish.

(50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon) Dense, elegant, silky, fresh, complex bouquet with raspberry, strawberry, mint, fine red licorice, delicate mocha. A finely structured, fresh palate with a dense, silky texture, varied, sweet aromatics, fine tannins, fine fruit, and a long, fresh finish. 18/20 2025 - 2038

The 2018 Chapelle d’Ausone has a deep garnet-purple color. Showing quite a bit of oak at first, it opens to notes of prunes, boysenberry preserves, and tobacco, with a waft of bay leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has compelling energy and ultra-fine-grained tannins, finishing long and minerally.

The vines of Chapelle d’Ausone are spread across the asteriated limestone plateau and the slope of calcareous molasse. Aged for months in barrels. Superb fruity, floral and spicy bouquet with a beautiful harmony between freshness and ripeness. A gourmand, slightly creamy attack followed by a lovely, slightly suave aromatic expression. The tannins unfold slowly and are in tune with the freshness of the acidic structure. An elegant, balanced, inviting wine that can already be enjoyed in its youth.

Logo on the cork: A inside a circle (Amorim) Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Highly aromatic nose with ripe fruit. Subtle. Truffle note. Fresh and very pure overall. Precise on entry, broad through the mid-palate, rich, silky, and juicy; the wine stretches out on the finish with long, complex, savory persistence and fine-grained texture. An angel passes.

The second wine of Château Ausone, always produced in limited quantities, provides a fine echo of the top wine. Bold tannins and fine perfumes give this wine richness and excellent potential. Layers of black fruits are impeccable, right in the balance with the wine's texture. This will certainly age, drinkable from 2026.