Chapelle d'Ausone, St Emilion, 2023
The 2023 Chapelle d'Ausone is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fermentation and maceration takes place in thermoregulated wooden vats before aging in new oak barrels for about 20 months. Opening with an intriguing bouquet, of flowers, wild berries, spices and mocha, this flows into a taut, lifted mid-palate of mineral infused fruit, gravelly cassis, herbs, tobacco and cigar smoke; a wine of great purity, charm and texture. Precise, with lots of detail and chiselled, silky tannins.
critic reviews
The 2023 Chapelle d'Ausone is a little reticent on the nose, almost reluctantly opening with black cherries, violet and light licorice scents. The palate is medium-bodied with finely sculpted tannins. Pleasing symmetry here, just perhaps missing a bit of precision on the finish, then again, this is a humble Deuxième Vin. Drink over the next 15 years.
A blend of 60% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2023 Chapelle d’Ausone is a combination of two plots, plus some press wine. It has a deep garnet-purple color and after a little shaking the nose erupts with notes of wild strawberries, black raspberries, and wood smoke, followed by nuances of garrigue and fallen leaves, with a hint of iron ore. Medium-bodied, the palate vibrates with electric black and red berry layers, framed by fine-grained tannins and great tension, finishing long and shimmery. Impressive!
Ruby, plum, grilled almond, fennel, love the depth of this wine, sappy and irresistable. 100% new oak. Philippe Baillarguet cellar master, Vauthier family owners, organic certified in the vineyard.
A fresh, delicate bouquet of cassis, violet, iris, raspberries and mulberries introduces the 2023 Chapelle d'Ausone, a medium to full-bodied, concentrated and textured wine with a fleshy core of fruit structured around chalky tannins and a long, precise finish.