Château Ausone, St Emilion, 2023
Alain Vauthier's flagship estate arguably possesses the greatest terroir in Bordeaux. The steep limestone slopes that lead up to the Chateau are planted with 55-year-old vines that regularly produce quite exceptional, ethereal, complex, even intellectual wines. Crafted from 40% Merlot and 60% Cabernet Franc, the 2023 certainly has the architecture of a great Ausone. There's a real sense of scale and intensity here as well as layers of unctuous fruit married to a vivacious lifting acidity and imposing framework of tannins. If it all pulls together as we assume it will during élevage, this could be a very serious Ausone. Scents of iris, violets, pot pourri, herbs, creme de mûre, cigar smoke and earth waft from the glass, followed by waves of luxuriant yet taut fruit. A wine of vigour and complexity.
critic reviews
A blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, the 2023 Château Ausone has turned out superbly, unfurling aromas of dark berries and cherries intertwined with spices, licorice, burning embers and a discreet touch of oak. Medium- to full-bodied, ample and velvety, it is suave and seamless, built around a dense core of fruit, framed by powdery, structuring tannins and concluding with a long, calcareous and precise finish. It will reward patience in the cellar.
The 2023 Ausone has a very expressive bouquet that bursts from the glass with precocious black cherry, violet and crushed stone aromas, just a hint of shoe polish in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with ultra-smooth, cashmere tannins (often the signature of this estate), a silver thread of acidity, pleasing flesh and depth toward the sensual finish that is reassuringly precise and pure. Quintessential Ausone that will give many years’ drinking pleasure.
A blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, the 2023 Ausone has a pH of 3.63 and a deep garnet-purple color. It is very mute and reticent to show its personality to start, needing a lot of shaking and pleading to coax out a series of intense scents: fresh blackberries, violets, licorice, pencil shavings, and tar, leading to an undercurrent of Sichuan pepper and fertile loam. The medium-bodied palate has wonderful tension and is incredibly taut and tight-knit, offering glimpses at layers of mineral and floral accented fresh blackberry flavors. It is textured by incredibly ripe, fine-grained tannins, delivering a very long finish, laced with mineral sparkles.
Density and well-cushioned fruit, another stunning vintage of a wine that somehow manages to make an effortless impression, edges of cloves and grilled sandalwood, full of nuance and capturing the aromatics depths and heights of the vintage, gorgeous. 100% new oak. Philippe Baillarguet cellar master, Vauthier family owners, organic certified in the vineyard.