La Chapelle D'Ausone 2021 (750ML)

94 JS / 93 WI / 93 WE / 92 JD / 92 VM / 92 JA / 92 DE / 91 WA / 91-93 WCI / 16++ JR

Aromas of white roses, crushed stones and black currants. Some tobacco, too. Medium to full body with a creamy texture and pretty depth of fruit. Crushed velvet texture. Chocolate and hazelnut at the end. 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink after 2026. - James Suckling

A unique blend of 75% Cabernet Franc and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon that hit roughly 300 cases, the 2021 Chapelle D'Ausone comes from a selection of all the parcels and was raised in 90% new barrels. (It's the first time this cuvée has never included Merlot.) Cassis, redcurrants, spring flowers, iron, truffle, and sappy, tobacco-like notes all emerge from this refined, elegant, incredibly lengthy second wine. With good concentration, medium body, and a focused, seamless, yet still structured style, you could easily put this up with the top wines of the vintage.-Jeb Dunnuck

The 2021 Chapelle d’Ausone is a wine of total precision and class. Bright acids drive through a core of sweet red cherry, red plum, blood orange, chalk and mint. This is a seductive, super-expressive Saint-Émilion. There are no hard edges or angular contours here. Readers will find a wine of pure sophistication. It should drink beautifully for the next 10-15 years, maybe more. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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

Soft perfume, green pepper, wild herbs, creamy black fruits, smoked cedar and dark chocolate - the Cabernet really shining through on the nose. Round and juicy on the palate, bright with lots of energy - almost-sour cherries, blueberries and freshly squeezed strawberry, a joyful burst of summer berry fruits. Subtle and soft in terms of texture with fine and smooth tannins, it's not at all showy, more calm and quiet with a burst of red fruit, then the minerality and soft saltiness comes through. I like the different components, all individually very precise and brought together. A good effort for the vintage. No Merlot for the first time, this is a blend of 75% Cabernet Franc and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. - Georgia Hindle. Decanter

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. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate