Sunday Magnum: Château Chasse-Spleen 2005

This Sunday's offering is magnums of Château Chasse-Spleen 2005.

Now nearing twenty years, this Chasse-Spleen has settled into a quietly confident stride. Blackcurrant, plum, cedar, and leather weave into a wine of balance and maturity, its tannins smoothed into elegance. The château’s unusual name—“chasing away the blues”—is thought to have been inspired either by Lord Byron or painter Odilon Redon. Since 1976, the estate has been led by women of the Villars family, with Bernadette Villars and later her daughter Céline Villars-Foubet shaping its modern reputation. The 2005 vintage reflects both the strength of the year and the estate’s enduring individuality.