The Still & The VineSchool of Wine & Spirits
Château Chasse-Spleen Moulis en Médoc
Red WineIssue 221

Château Chasse-Spleen Moulis en Médoc

Château Chasse-Spleen

$43Moulis-en-Médoc, Bordeaux, France
Château Chasse-Spleen has long been considered one of Bordeaux's finest overachievers, routinely delivering Classified Growth quality at a fraction of the price. This bottling exemplifies the estate's signature: rigorous structure reaching skyward, girdered by tannin and tempered by generous fruit. A wine that rewards patience but impresses immediately.

Kit Aromas

Tasting Notes

Nose

Brooding aromas of blackcurrant and ripe black cherry lift from the glass, joined by cedar pencil shavings and a wisp of graphite. Beneath the fruit sits a darker seam of violet and cigar box, with a subtle mineral undertone that suggests the gravel terroir of Moulis.

Palate

The entry is structured and firm, with tightly knit tannins forming a scaffold around dense cassis and black plum fruit. Mid-palate, cedar and green pepper add savory dimension, while a fine-grained grip propels the wine forward with authority. There is impressive concentration without heaviness, a hallmark of the estate's meticulous extraction.

Finish

Long and architectural, resolving on graphite, dark chocolate, and a persistent note of blackcurrant. The tannins linger with a minerally, almost slate-like resolve.

Specifications
Varietal
Cabernet Sauvignon
Blend
Approximately 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot
Vineyards
85 hectares of estate vineyards on deep Günzian gravel ridges in the Moulis-en-Médoc appellation, with vine age averaging 30+ years
Alcohol
13.5%
Organic / Biodynamic
No
Serve & Pair

Food Pairing

A slow-braised lamb shank, its collagen melted into silky richness, mirrors the wine's structured depth. Serve with a rosemary and red wine jus, creamy polenta, and roasted root vegetables — the herbal savor and caramelized meat amplify the cedar and blackcurrant core.

The Story

Named for Byron's phrase about chasing away melancholy, Château Chasse-Spleen has built its towering reputation on gravel-rich soils in Moulis, where vines drive deep into Günzian gravel to erect wines of startling vertical ambition.

Train These Aromas
Comments

Be the first to comment.

Leave a comment

0 / 4,000

First-time comments are reviewed before appearing. Be kind, be specific, no spam.

More Red Wine Reviews
Ferrer Bobet Priorat Vinyes Velles 2018
Red Wine

Ferrer Bobet Priorat Vinyes Velles 2018

Ferrer Bobet

Ferrer Bobet's old-vine Priorat bottling captures the essence of warmth radiating from ancient llicorella slate — a wine that speaks before you find the words. This 2018 has reached a gorgeous drinking window where concentration meets elegance, offering serious depth at a price that undercuts many of its Priorat peers. A bottle built for contemplation beside a low fire.

$53
Bourgogne Rouge, Domaine de Montille
Red Wine

Bourgogne Rouge, Domaine de Montille

Domaine de Montille

Domaine de Montille's Bourgogne Rouge is a masterclass in what restraint can achieve at the regional level — no excess, no artifice, just transparent Pinot Noir from one of Burgundy's most principled estates. It embodies the theme of clarity through constraint: a wine that finds its beauty in what it withholds rather than what it offers. An essential benchmark for understanding why less, in Burgundy, is always more.

$33
Nerello Mascalese Vigne Vecchie
Red Wine

Nerello Mascalese Vigne Vecchie

Calabretta

Calabretta's old-vine Nerello Mascalese is a masterclass in how air and altitude sculpt a wine—vineyards perched high on Etna's slopes channel wind and volcanic breath into the glass. This is traditional Etna winemaking at its most soulful: no shortcuts, no polish, just pure terroir captured by a family that has farmed the same contrada for generations. A hauntingly beautiful wine that rewards patience and contemplation.

$43
Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve Rouge 2022
Red Wine

Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve Rouge 2022

Perrin

The Perrin family's Réserve Rouge remains one of the Rhône's most reliable everyday reds, delivering genuine terroir character at a fraction of the cost of their Châteauneuf-du-Pape holdings. It captures the warmth of a late November harvest—generous, grounding, and quietly soulful. A wine that pairs as well with weeknight suppers as it does with the season's final fireside gatherings.

$14