Subject: Lafite's Languedoc Project Rocks: The 94pt Ch. d'Aussieres Is Here!

To our Spectrum Wine clients,

Lafite Rothschild south? Heck, yeah!


The vineyard of Domaine d’Aussières extends over 167 hectares on the foothills of Fontfroide, south of Narbonne in the appellation of Corbieres in southern France, a place we have featured numerous times in these missives over the years.


The first official records of Aussières in Corbieres date back to 97 AD. An important supplier of wine to Rome for many years, its vines were uprooted by decree of the Roman Emperor Domitius, who aimed to boost the success of his own Italian wines. Selfish!


Aussières then became the property of the Abbey of Fontfroide in 1065, once again functioning as a farm and vineyard. After the French Revolution, it was confiscated from the church and bought by Count Daru, manager of Napoleon Bonaparte’s private estate, who continued its lucrative wine production.


Until the 1950s, Aussières remained a wine-producing village with 180 inhabitants, a school, a bakery, a forge, and hundreds of hectares of vines in production.


In 1999, the abandoned estate was bought by Baron Eric de Rothschild, who decided to redefine it as a high-quality wine estate. Yeah, that Rothschild, as in Lafite Rothschild.


The remains of this formerly bustling craft village were renovated by Baron Eric de Rothschild’s team. The challenge was to elevate the village to a place that could be functional and prosperous in the 21st century, while preserving its history and traditions.


Only one third of the 570 hectares of the estate is used for crops. The rest of the land is left covered by forest and scrubland in order to build up biodiversity for years to come.


The same care and absence of intervention in the vineyard is applied in the winery, always in compliance with the rules of organic certification. During fermentation, the aim is to be gentle in the extraction to subtly reveal what each variety has to say.


 
 

The grapes used for the Château d’Aussières Corbieres 2019 come from selected plots located on the upper part of the hillsides. In this part of the vineyard, the soils are very shallow, composed of sandy sandstone with low clay content and dry conditions. As a result, yields from these plots are very low.


The blend consists mainly of Syrah and Mourvèdre, with small quantities of Grenache and Carignan. Green harvests are carried out, and the grapes are strictly selected in order to obtain a wine that combines power and precision.


Vinification is performed traditionally. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel and concrete vats. 40% of the wine is aged in oak barrels (33% new oak), partly coming from the Tonnellerie des Domaines in Pauillac. The final blend for the 2019 was 52% Syrah, 20% Carignan, 19% Mourvèdre and 9% Grenache.


It’s one of the finest wines produced in the Languedoc! Combining the warm sun and garrigue flavors with the Lafite refinement that makes that wine so cherished. A ‘First Growth’ of southern France? Heck, yeah! This wine is perfumed, silky, deeply-fruited, distinctive and polished. Wonderful.


94 Points! The 2019 Château d'Aussières is blended from 52% Syrah with 20% carbonically macerated Carignan, 19% Mourvèdre and 9% Grenache. It’s another dark red wine with harmonious, complex aromas which combine blackcurrant fruit (typical, says the Aussières consultant Matthieu Dubernet, of Fontfroide Syrah) with wildflower and hillside pine forest scents. The palate is surprisingly light and elegant with a sense of proportion and harmony; there’s no shortage of fruit density, though. It’s a more approachable wine at this stage than the 2018. - Decanter Magazine


93 Points! Blackcurrants, slate, crushed stone and berries with hints of chocolate. Medium-bodied, bright and racy. Vivid at the end. A blend of syrah, carignan, mourvedre and grenache. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com


93 Points! Plenty of graceful black and red fruits, this is an impressively balanced wine from a warm vintage. Turmeric and smoked cumin kick things off, emphasing tight tannins that will soften over the next few years, before everything opens through the mid palate to show a burst of baked raspberry, incense and rosemary spices, orange peel, plenty of juice. - Jane Anson, inside Bordeaux


At $29.98 you get the best of both worlds, the sun of the Languedoc and polish and class of Lafite Rothschild, quite the deal I’d say…

Chateau d'Aussieres Corbieres 2019

94 Points! The 2019 Château d'Aussières is blended from 52% Syrah with 20% carbonically macerated Carignan, 19% Mourvèdre and 9% Grenache. It’s another dark red wine with harmonious, complex aromas which combine blackcurrant fruit (typical, says the Aussières consultant Matthieu Dubernet, of Fontfroide Syrah) with wildflower and hillside pine forest scents. The palate is surprisingly light and elegant with a sense of proportion and harmony; there’s no shortage of fruit density, though. It’s a more approachable wine at this stage than the 2018. - Decanter Magazine

Only $29.98

Spectrum Wine, 1641 E Saint Andrew Pl, Santa Ana, CA 92705, United States

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