Tasted by Jane Anson(at Primeur week tastings in Bordeaux, 01 May 2021)

This has a beautifully nuanced yet deep flavour, showing the tight pared-back salinity and juice of limestone alongside fleshy blackberry fruits. There are firm but flexible tannins, it has grip and tension and frankly all the things that you want from a Chapelle, giving a generous hint of what you can expect from Ausone itself. First year of official conversion to organic farming. 3.66pH. 100% new oak.

Drinking Window 2026 - 2040

The 2020 Chapelle d’Ausone has a well defined, focused bouquet. Tightly-wound at first, the 2020 opens with lavender and incense aromas infusing the red berry fruit. Touches of rose petal emerge with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with smooth tannins and moderate depth. A discrete white pepper note builds towards the finish that is vivacious and vibrant. I suspect that this might close down a little after bottling, but there is great potential.
vinous.com

(60% CF, 35% M, 5% CF; 33% harvest)
Fresh black-cherry and limestone-mineral, with a touch of new-wood vanilla, fine and subtle; rich, fullish, fresh, finely tannic; freshly sweet to taste, deep, racy, and refined, a most toothsome combination of juiciness, finesse, transparency, and freshness, with a delicate limestone minerality and gently aromatic length; the slightly dry presence of wood tannins appears on the finish, covered by the flesh up to that point, though this will doubtless be absorbed in due course. A very similar quality level to the
La Clotte, with perhaps a touch more “raciness.” 2030–50+.

60% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cask sample.
Definitely more Cabernet-orientated these days providing a structured, driven feel to the palate. Aromatically reserved but lithe fruit and firm but fine tannins. Great persistence on the finish. Should fill out in time. (JL)