Château Ausone, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion
    Château Ausone

    Château Ausone, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion,

    Destination

    vintage

    Château Ausone, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, MV

    Justerini & Brooks Tasting note
    Château Ausone, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, MV
    ABV:
    12.5%
    95/100
    Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
    The last year that Ausone will be recorded as a Premier Grand Cru Classé A, and it delivers fragrant tomato leaf and peony aromatics, studded with fennel and white pepper, cold ash, saffran, oyster shell, pomegranate and brambled loganberry frruit. Medium bodied plum colour, plenty of depth through the mid palate. This is right up there with the very best of 2021, and manages to convey the signature of the limestone soils at Ausone, with their grip and understated sense of playfulness. Clear winemaking skill on display, not trying to outrun the vintage, while still bearing the fingerprints of a cooler year. Harvest September 30 to October 6, 90% new oak (down from the usual 100%), 2nd year conversion to organic, Philippe Baillarguet cellar master. Average vine age 55 years. A tough year for this stable of wines - with no release of Simard, Haut Simard, Fonbel nor Moulin St Georges (final decision has been taken over ageing, although a few bottles will be kept at the estate for library purposes). 23hl/h yield.
    Date Reviewed:
    03/2024
    Drinking Window:
    2028 - 2044
    95-97/100
    Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent
    A blend of 65% Cabernet Franc, harvested 4-6 October, and 35% Merlot, harvested on 30 September, the 2021 Ausone is deep purple-black colored. The nose absolutely pops with bright, super-fresh notes of redcurrants, juicy raspberries, blackberries, and violets, plus suggestions of plums, baking spices, lavender, and tar with a touch of pencil shavings. Medium-bodied, the palate has a concentrated, well-sustained mid-palate of electrically charged red berry layers with loads of mineral accents and fine-grained tannins, delivering incredible tension and energy on the long, energetic vintage. This is an absolute triumph in this vintage.
    Date Reviewed:
    05/2022
    Drinking Window:
    2029 - 2059
    94/100
    Neal Martin, Vinous
    The 2021 Ausone has quite an intense bouquet, with subtle floral scents of iris and violet that percolate through the black fruit. The oak here is very well integrated, and there is just a faint touch of licorice and clove. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, very fresh and tensile, like the Chapelle d'Ausone, exhibiting a captivating citrus/blood orange sorbet note toward the finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a very composed Ausone that will give 20-30 years of drinking pleasure…if you allow it. Incidentally, this is 12.8% alcohol, less than in recent vintages.
    Date Reviewed:
    02/2024
    Drinking Window:
    2026 - 2050

    specifications

    country:
    France
    region:
    Bordeaux
    Appellation:
    St Emilion
    Producer:
    Château Ausone
    style:
    Red
    Grape Variety:
    Merlot Cabernet
    Allergen Information:
    This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.

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    Château Ausone

    Château Ausone

    Ausone is undoubtedly one of the legendary properties in Bordeaux, its reputation supported as much by its rarity as by the exceptional quality of its wines. In 1996, the 7-hectare vineyard and its elegant chateau, which stands guard above the main approach to St Emilion from the valley of the Dordogne River, were bought in full by Alain Vauthier. His family had previously shared ownership with the Dubois-Challon family, and the arrangement had not been a happy one for the wines. For the last decade quality has been on the up and up, the chateau is nearing completion of a lengthy and extensive renovation and the goals of the quiet but devoted M. Vauthier are one by one being achieved, with considerale help from regisseur Pascal Delbeck. A sensational run of successes from 2000 onwards has whipped up international interest in this property which, for a while in the 1980s, had managed to retain a band of devout followers without igniting much broader demand. The vineyards are planted with 50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc and have an average age of 50 years old. Harvest is manual and the wine is aged in 100% new oak for 18 months on average. Ausone offers ultra ripe fruit, huge richness, thick-set tannins in its youth and is generally one of the more powerful and ageworthy St Emilions. Production is limited to no more than 2000 cases.

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