2021 Chapelle d'Ausone, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Lots of cool blue fruit and violets with some stones and chocolate orange. Supple, silky and very sleek tannins. Medium to full body. Lengthy and fresh on the finish. 75% cabernet franc and 25% cabernet sauvignon.
May 2022

Great mineral character with savoury pea pod and oyster shell. Quite subtle on the entry with restraint and mineral drive layered with fine red and black fruits. The liemstone notes reverberate through the finish which holds pretty long and true. Subtle but impressive.
April 2022

The 2021 Chapelle d'Ausone is composed of 75% Cabernet Franc, harvested 4-6 October, and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested on 6 October. This is a very unusual blend, as all the Merlot was used for Ausone this year. Deep purple-black colored, it leaps from the glass with notes of fresh red and black currants, bay leaves, and graphite with suggestions of raspberry leaves, mossy tree bark, and fallen leaves. Light to medium-bodied, the palate is super intense with very fine-grained tannins and bold freshness supporting the mineral-tinged red berry layers, finishing with impressive length. This is a real departure from the classic style of this estate's second label and a very clever interpretation of the vintage and the terroir that is well worth seeking out.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, May 2022

Bright violet in colour, with ripe and sappy fruit. This is gorgeous, showing less intensity than recent vintages but a delicately-boned wine with hidden power that leans into the vintage, and is proof of how adaptive this terroir is - fresh in hot vintages, but generous in cool ones. Gooseberry, redcurrant, red cherry, raspberry, crushed rocks, and one of the rare 2nd wines that truly delivers in 2021. Philippe Baillarguet cellar master, 100% new oak, harvest October 4 to 6.
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, May 2022

Inviting aromas of berries and plums mingled with vine smoke, spices and loamy soil introduce the 2021 Chapelle d'Ausone, a medium to full-bodied, melting and precise wine that's pretty and seamless, with lively acids and a long, penetrating finish. As usual, it's a blend of wine from young vines with a few barriques of declassified Ausone.
William Kelley, April 2022

The 2021 Chapelle d'Ausone wafts from the glass with notes of cherries, sweet berries and licorice framed by a creamy patina of new oak. Medium-bodied, pure and refined, with powdery tannins and a bright spine, it concludes with a mineral, vanillin-inflected finish. The blend contains no Merlot, as everything the vines produced went into the grand vin.

The 2021 Chapelle d'Ausone is an unusual blend of 75% Cabernet Franc and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, a choice forced by significant losses in the Merlots. Crushed rose petal, mint, red berry fruit, mocha and spice are nicely lifted. A wine of mid-weight structure and class, the Chapelle is very nicely done in what was a brutal vintage for the Vauthier family and for this wine. Yields are down 50%. The 2021 finishes with a lovely burst of understated floral intensity. Antonio Galloni, Vinous, May 2022

The 2021 Chapelle d'Ausone, matured in 90% new oak, has a crisp, pure bouquet of black fruit infused with touches of pencil box; hints of violet emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied and correct, with a strict, linear opening, fine salinity and moderate persistence.
Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2022

Lifted and floral on the nose, long and linear on the palate, the tannins present but fine. Long, saline finish. Will be interesting to see how this evolves. (JL)
Drink 2027 – 2036
Jancisrobinson.com, May 2022