- CRITICAL REVIEWS
- WINEMAKER NOTES
JD
93
Jeb Dunnuck
The second wine here is always terrific as well. The 2017 Chapelle D'Ausone is a blend of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, mostly from the younger vines of the estate. It has a terrific core of darker fruits as well as complex forest floor, cedar, and violet-tinged aromatics. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied, rounded, elegant, even pretty 2017 that has light tannins and the balance to evolve for 15-20 years. Reviewed by Jeb Dunnuck, Issue date: Febuary 2020. Drinking window: 2020 - 2040.
RP
92
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Blended of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Chapelle d'Ausone sports a deep garnet-purple color. It needs a little coaxing to reveal provocative notes of plum preserves, Black Forest cake and blueberry compote plus suggestions of roses, cloves, pencil shavings and cherry pie. Medium-bodied, the palate is wonderfully zippy and elegantly fruited with a tantalizing frame of satiny tannins and a long, fragrant finish.
Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Issue date: March 2020. Drinking window: 2021 - 2038.
V
94
Vinous
The 2017 Chapelle d'Ausone has a lucid ruby hue. The nose is very succinct, nothing ostentatious, just tightly wound red and black fruit, beautifully integrated new oak (100%) with hints of crushed violet that become more prominent with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, well judged acidity, quite linear and focused. An almost pixelated finish possesses the texture and allure of a fine Vosne-Romanée. It lingers long in the mouth, occupying the liminal point between
opulence and classicism. Superb.
Reviewed by Neal Martin, Issue date: September 2019. Drinking window: 2022 - 2045.
2017 La Chapelle d'Ausone, Saint-Emilion, France
Château Ausone is the jewel of the estate, a masterpiece of subtle elegance. Like a cathedral, it initially presents a big, powerful, mineral profile of Cabernet Franc.
The estate also offers a lovely overture, Chapelle d’Ausone. Crafted in the same conditions as its elder sibling, its slightest concern is that it is made with grapes from young vines that will later produce the First Wine. Beside the Cabernet Franc, the Merlot stands out more distinctly, enhancing the crisp fruit and mingling with the subtlest hints of Cabernet Sauvignon. As always, Ausone’s hallmark of taste, its omnipresent elegance, is passionately displayed.