Château Chasse-Spleen 2021

Critic scores

• James Suckling92
• Wine Advocate90
• Vinous90
• Decanter90

The 2021 vintage in Moulis

Vintage benchmark: 86/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: Frost, mildew, then a cool summer brought back Bordeaux of old: taut, vibrant wines, shorter but elegant.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Moulis. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

Deep garnet.

First nose: a bouquet of

red fruit mingled with minty

freshness, curry spice and lime

blossom.

After swirling: Aroma of blackcurrant

and morello cherry floating over a

mineral base.

Forthright attack.

Suppleness on the palate, power,

without excessive opulence.

The tannins are fine, finely

woven, almost chalky.

A long finish with a great deal of

chic.

Blend of the 2021 vintage

Figures from the 2021 sheet

• 40 yrsVine age
• 350,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

In temperature-controlled stainless steel and epoxy-coated concrete tanks

Ageing

15 months in barrel, with 40% new oak

Terroir

The vineyard, covering 80 hectares, lies at the highest point of the Grand-Poujeaux gravel ridges. The soil is 80% Garonne gravel over a subsoil of asteriated limestone (calcaire à astéries), the remaining 20% being clay-limestone. The plantings consist of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot. The average age of the vineyard is 30 years. Cultivation follows traditional methods (earthing-up and unearthing of the vines) and the harvest is done by hand. The Chasse-Spleen terroir yields structured wines with character and good ageing potential. Vineyard management at Chasse-Spleen is conventional.