Winemaker Notes
Intense, glittering red color with a slight blush tinge. The spicy nose offers peppery notes of cloves and fresh nutmeg. On the palate, the attack is well-rounded, continuing with vanilla and silky tannins that accompany a long, elegant finish with notes of toast and caramel.
Blend: 57% Syrah, 33% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
In 1999, the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) acquired this estate, 1,359 acres of forest, Mediterranean scrub and gardens buffering 412 acres of vines. This is the estate’s top cuvée, a strict selection made even stricter in 2017 by two frosts at the end of April that devastated close to a third of its vineyards. The final blend, based on syrah with 33 percent mourvèdre and 10 percent grenache, is as elegant as its ruby-red color predicts. Rather than promoting size, it’s focused on finesse, with lean, lithe cherry flavors framed in spice and earth. The tannins have the meaty texture of cherry skins, ripe and flavorful, giving the fruit a succulence that lasts for minutes after each sip.
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Decanter
A delicious purity of blackcurrant fruit interwoven with jasmine, wild plum, thyme and lush creamy oak. Mouthwateringly complex and exciting.
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James Suckling
This is really balanced, with pretty currant and blackberry character. Hints of slate and graphite. Some dry earth, too. So delicious now. Can age, but why wait?
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Château d’Aussières Corbières is one of the stars from the part of France known for its rustic wines. TASTING NOTES: This wine opens up with lovely aromas and flavors of black fruit, licorice, currants, and oak. Try it with garlic and rosemary-infused roast leg of lamb. (Tasted: July 26, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Supple layers of raspberry compote, savory spice, hoisin sauce and mineral mark this nicely concentrated red. Tangy acidity holds tight, with garrigue and floral elements on this finish. Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
The Corbières AOC, established in 1985, is the largest in the Languedoc, and represents the South of France in transition. Though viticulture here dates back to the Romans, only within the last twenty years have Corbières wines begun to reclaim their reputation. Approved for reds, rosés, and whites, the region's vineyards cover a wide variety of elevations, soil types, and exposures. Hilly terrain and the Atlantic Cers wind moderate the Mediterranean heat, giving the wines balance and complexity; the best will go ten years or more in the cellar.
Reds represent 88% of the AOC’s production and are an assemblage of the sun-loving grapes of southern France. Carignan’s briars, Grenache’s berries, Syrah’s cherries and Mourvèdre’s plums allow for a wide range of styles, which are often influenced by the wild herbs of the garrigue. Corbières rosés, though only 9% of production, are serious wines and the small production of Rhône-variety whites are fresh and sea-influenced.
With eleven sub-appellations, Corbières is an AOC in the process of refinement. Corbières-Boutenac attained Cru status in 2005, one of only five in the Languedoc to achieve this highest ranking.