2020 Château d'Aussières

2020 Château d'Aussières is a characterful red from the wild landscapes of Corbières in southern France, crafted under the stewardship of the Rothschild family (Château Lafite Rothschild). This Syrah‑led blend delivers impressive depth, freshness and polish at a remarkably fair price for its pedigree. Rooted in an estate with nearly two millennia of winegrowing history, it bridges ancient terroir with contemporary Bordeaux know‑how.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, 2020 Château d'Aussières shows a deep, vibrant ruby-purple hue, hinting at both concentration and youth. The nose opens with ripe blackberry and dark forest berries, layered with cracked black pepper, violets, and a touch of Mediterranean garrigue—think wild thyme, rosemary and a whisper of liquorice. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, supple and energetic, with a core of juicy black fruit framed by notes of spice, pepper and a subtle floral lift from the high proportion of Syrah (77%) supported by Mourvèdre (23%). The tannins are described as powdery—fine, well-shaped and already approachable—giving the wine a silky yet structured feel. Fresh acidity keeps everything nicely in balance and makes it highly drinkable in its youth. With its concentration and structure, this 2020 has the potential to evolve gracefully over 6–10 years from vintage, gaining more savoury, earthy complexity while the fruit softens and integrates.

Production
The Aussières vineyard stretches over 167 hectares at the foot of the Fontfroide massif, just south of Narbonne, in the heart of Corbières. The terroir is varied: on the higher slopes, the soils are shallow and very stony, while on the plains they become sandier and deeper, with distinctive outcrops of pink sandstone that even limit mechanised work—conditions that naturally limit yields and concentrate flavour. Two thirds of the estate falls within AOC Corbières, planted with classic Mediterranean varieties such as Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault; the vines are trained on trellises at around 4,400 vines per hectare, in line with regional tradition. Harvesting combines careful parcel selection with modern vineyard management overseen by the Rothschild team, ensuring optimal ripeness and freshness. Vinification focuses on preserving fruit purity and terroir expression, with controlled fermentations and sensitive extraction to achieve the wine’s fine, powdery tannin profile and refined structure.

Food & Serving
This 2020 Corbières is a natural partner for flavourful Mediterranean and bistro-style dishes: think grilled lamb chops with rosemary, slow-braised beef or lamb stews, duck legs, roasted root vegetables, or a hearty ratatouille. It also pairs beautifully with charcuterie, aged hard cheeses, and herby sausages from the grill. Serve at around 16–18°C to highlight both the fruit and spice notes. A brief decant of 30–60 minutes will help the aromatics unfurl and soften the tannins, especially in the next few years, but the wine is already accessible straight from the bottle after a few minutes in the glass.

Producer
The history of Aussières reaches back remarkably far: the first written records date from 97 AD, when the estate’s vines supplied wine to Rome, before being uprooted by decree of Emperor Domitian to protect Italian producers. The property re-emerged under the Abbey of Fontfroide in 1065, serving as both farm and vineyard, and later passed into private hands after the French Revolution, when Count Daru, administrator of Napoleon Bonaparte’s private estates, continued its thriving wine production. Until the 1950s, Aussières was effectively a self-contained wine village with its own school, bakery and forge. In 1999 the then-abandoned estate was acquired by Baron Éric de Rothschild of Château Lafite Rothschild, who set about transforming it into a modern, high-quality winery. Today, Château d'Aussières is a flagship property in Corbières, marrying the Rothschild family’s Bordeaux expertise with the raw, sun-drenched terroir of the Languedoc, and has earned critical acclaim—including 93-point scores from both Jane Anson and James Suckling—for its remarkable quality-to-price ratio.

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