2016 Chapelle d'Ausone - at near release price
This is pure class, a wine of nobility and deliciousness.
Neal Martin, vinous.com
2016 Chapelle d’Ausone
£880 per 6 bottle case in bond
‘Plat comme une crêpe’……I don’t think this is a phrase that is actually used in French, but anyone looking at the price of the impressive 2016 Chapelle d’Ausone would surely agree that since release it has been as flat as a pancake. Actually, it has been up and down rather than remaining flat, but it is back where it began.
This highlights one of the benefits of buying in today’s market. 2016 Chapelle d’Ausone released at £850 per 6 bottle case in bond back in May 2017 and I can offer today at £880 per 6 in bond. For the last 8 years, someone else has patiently stored it, picking up the bill and had their cash tied up. Now it is approaching its drinking window, you can buy it at the same price as it would have been 8 years ago…. Not a bad deal at all. There are so many wines like this, from equally great vintages, where prices are back where they were on release, and yet we have had a chance to assess them with far greater accuracy, than when tasting barrel samples, to confirm their qualities. If your cellar has some gaps then taking advantage of today’s market should be a priority. Interested? Then talk to us.
Here are a few bullet points on the Chapelle d’Ausone, second wine of the iconic Château Ausone:
- The 2016 was a great year for much of Bordeaux and Ausone performed very well. Neal Martin had scored the Grand Vin 99 points, then latterly 97+, saying it needs time while praising its refinement. I still recall being impressed by the poise and the refinement when I tasted at the Château in 2017 – there was a rare balance to the 2016s.
- Chapelle d’Ausone is a second wine, but it is crafted by the Vauthiers with the same care and attention as the Grand Vin. It is largely made from younger vines from the estate, grown on Ausone’s limestone terroir, normally vines on the upper slopes and east facing parcels, but older vine fruit is often incorporated in the blend.
- In 2016, the blend was mostly Cabernet Franc (56%) with some Cabernet Sauvignon (22%) and incorporated some old and young vine Merlot (22%).
- Very little is made – the Ausone estate has just 7 hectares of vineyard equating to 17,000 bottles of the Grand Vin and just 6,000 of Chapelle.
- As Antonio Galloni commented when he first tasted it: ‘Readers who can find the 2016 should not hesitate, as it is not really a second wine, but more of an accessible version of the Grand Vin.’ While I agree with the comment, I would add that if you did hesitate, you have saved yourself 8 years of costs if you buy now!
Ausone has fallen out of the limelight a touch, which is hard to understand as I still regard the estate to be one of the very finest on the right bank and one that hasn’t put a foot wrong over so many vintages now. Even in more challenging conditions, the Ausone terroir has the ability to deliver. In a year as fine as 2016, it is a thrilling wine to taste and a good slice of that thrill is also present in this 'second wine’, which so often shows a real silkiness to the tannins, a mineral finish and a layered enticing dark berry/ red berry fruit with a floral overlay.
Neal Martin’s most recent note below.
2016 Chapelle d’Ausone
£880 per 6 bottle case in bond
95 points, Neal Martin, vinous.com, January 2020
The 2016 Chapelle d’Ausone offers intense black cherries, raspberry coulis and marmalade aromas on the nose, manifesting more delineation in the glass over the course of 10–15 minutes. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, very pure black fruit and tangible mineralité and tension on the finish. This is pure class, a wine of nobility and deliciousness. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drink 2022-2045
Please let us know of your interest.
Simon
simon.larkin@atlasfinewines.com