2015 Chateau Auzias Gloria Mundi Cabardes France 750 ml

The call from Nathalie Auzias came at 7:00 a.m. “Did I wake you?” she asked, and we could hear her smile through her charming French accent. “It’s almost the end of the day here you know, and I’ve got importers calling me nonstop.”  

We’ve never gotten out of bed so fast. 

Natalie’s 97-point 2015 Gloria Mundi is a wine worth running for. Its origins in the tiny Languedoc appellation of Cabardès allow for a luscious blend of Syrah and Cabernet Franc permitted in no other AOC in France. The result balances richness and elegance with incredible ease, marrying inky blackberry and boysenberry with delicate lilac and violet, black pepper and thyme. 

Decanter hailed this as “fresh, lively and fragrant yet textured and deep,” with “pristine fruit” and “intrigue.” Masterfully crafted at 100-year-old Château Auzias, the 97-point 2015 flirts with perfection while delivering unparalleled value. It’s a combination you just don’t see very often, which is why we gladly took our friend up on her offer, locking in the last bottles of the top rated 2015 vintage—the only allocation to hit U.S. soil, now with next-day shipping, straight to your doorstep.

Between the blustery Atlantic and the breezy Mediterranean, the towering Pyrénées and the plateaus of the Massif Central, Cabardès and Château Auzias sit at a historic nexus—of climate and geology, ancient commerce, and winemaking. Bordering on the walled medieval Cité de Carcassonne to the north, a trade hub dating to Roman times, Cabardès is uniquely positioned to deliver the best of multiple worlds. Syrah thrives here, developing more richness and suppleness than in the Northern Rhône, as does Cabernet Franc, which provides freshness and floral lift. 

Along with her husband Dominique and their four children, Nathalie Auzias owns and meticulously tends what has grown to be one of the largest estates in the Languedoc—almost 300 acres of prized clay-limestone soils strewn with rolled pebbles, passed down to her over the course of a century by her ancestors. 

The 2015 Gloria Mundi Cabardès is arguably the finest wine ever produced by this historic estate. Densely concentrated, rich and unctuous, bursting with dark fruit layered with savory herbs and spice, some might think of this as a link between hearty Napa Cabernet and a voluptuous Rhône blend. We wouldn’t disagree, but we think there’s a better label, more reflective of its distinctive origins: uniquely Cabardès.