Crushed raspberries, flowers and fresh mushrooms. Full-bodied, very refined and creamy with intensity but no aggression. The length is so enticing and pretty. You can drink it now, but better in 2022.

Score: 95 James Suckling (JS), JamesSuckling.com, January 2020

The 2017 Chapelle d´Ausone is just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel. A wine of real power, depth and substance, the Chappelle impresses for its fruit concentration and structure. Deep red cherry and plum, fruit, dried flowers, mint, blood orange and sage open up in the glass, with layers of bright, saline-infused aromatics from the 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. In 2017, the Chapelle is truly stellar. I loved it.

Score: 93 Antonio Galloni (AG), Vinous Media (VM), March 2020

Blended of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Chapelle d´Ausone sports a deep garnet-purple color. It needs a little coaxing to reveal provocative notes of plum preserves, Black Forest cake and blueberry compote plus suggestions of roses, cloves, pencil shavings and cherry pie. Medium-bodied, the palate is wonderfully zippy and elegantly fruited with a tantalizing frame of satiny tannins and a long, fragrant finish.

Because of the frosts, there is no Simard this year. On the bright side though, the flagship wine here is blow-you-away extraordinary. “I think now we are making wines that have the ability to drink now and also age,” Pauline Vauthier told me. “I think the technique of the winemaking has changed. We are becoming lighter with extraction. Now it is about maceration...like a tea bag,” she smiled. With absolutely no frost damage to the 2017 crop at Chateau Ausone this year, Alain and his daughter Pauline have nailed the expression of the 2017 vintage, revealing the disarming beauty of this year with layers of perfume and wonderfully “sweet,” super ripe tannins, plus the arresting intensity that the best examples possess. Bravo/brava!

Score: 92 Lisa Perrotti-Brown (LPB), The Wine Advocate (WA), March 2020

The 2017 Chapelle d’Ausone has a lucid ruby hue. The nose is very succinct, nothing ostentatious, just tightly wound red and black fruit, beautifully integrated new oak (100%) with hints of crushed violet that become more prominent with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, well judged acidity, quite linear and focused. An almost pixelated finish possesses the texture and allure of a fine Vosne-Romanée. It lingers long in the mouth, occupying the liminal point between opulence and classicism. Superb.

Score: 94 Neal Martin (NM), Vinous Media (VM), February 2020