The 2019 Chapelle d'Ausone is dense, powerful and beautifully layered in the glass. Wild red cherry, plum, exotic spice, dried flowers, mocha, rose petal and espresso are some of the many notes that give the bouquet its beguiling personality. There's real textural intensity and resonance here. As has been the case for some time, Chapelle d'Ausone is superb. If anything, it suffers from the perception of being a 'second wine.' It is that only in name.

A blend of wine from young vines with a few barriques of declassified Ausone (though anything that doesn't make the grade is sold off in bulk), the 2019 Chapelle d'Ausone exhibits attractive aromas of cherries, sweet berry fruit, violets, spices, rose petals and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, it's elegant and refined, with a deep core of fruit and impeccable balance.

The 2019 Chapelle d’Ausone, which represents around one-third of the production, has a very expressive bouquet of well-defined red berry fruit, cedar and touches of graphite. Undergrowth and hints of sage emerge with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and very well balanced, the Cabernet Franc (40%) again lending a real Left Bank identity toward the finish. Very fine.

60% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot. Barrel sample. Purple-crimson. Fragrant floral, dark-fruit and liquorice notes. Palate delicate and lithe with very fine tannins. Almost weightless but the structure is there. Long, clean, persistent finish. A bit reticent but fine. (JL)

Tasted blind. Savoury and meaty with lots of chewiness and a dry finish. Solid and long. (JR)