2005 La Chapelle d’Ausone Collection (10/11/15/16/17/18 - Ex Chateau 2023)

The second wine of Ausone, the Chapelle d’Ausone, usually represents about 50% of the production from this tiny historic vineyard. The 2005 has a dense minerality, sweet blueberry and blackberry fruit, and plenty of flowers and crushed rock in a full-bodied, stunningly concentrated style. Amazingly, this second wine is probably better than many of the great Ausones from the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s and early 80s! Drink it over the next 30+ years.

There is no better second wine being made in Bordeaux today than Chapelle d'Ausone and Alain Vautheir has never produced a better Chapelle d'Ausone than he did in the 2005 Bordeaux vintage. This wine will beat several big names in a blind tasting. Licorice, minerals, stone, black raspberry liqueur and fresh boysenberries make up the perfume. On your palate, this rich, full bodied, intense wine ends with an intense, deep, spicy, ripe, sweet, black and red fruit filled finish. This is still young today, but it can be enjoyed with an hour of air. Else, if you can wait, give it another 3-5 years and drink it over the next 2 decades. Savvy buyers who picked this up as a future scored a really nice St. Emilion wine.

Very dark crimson. Quite high volatility – porty. Green acidity. Pinched palate effect. No fun at all to drink and I really can’t see it getting into balance. Another example of a Vauthier wine that I found unappealing at this stage at the Southwold tasting. All but one other taster gave it marks between 15 and 17.5 so I am obviously out of line on this one. (JR)