There are many wonderful wines from 2016, but there are a handful that are truly exceptional. Ausone certainly fits into the latter category. This is a wine that wowed us with its outstanding purity, complexity and energy. It is an absolutely monumental example from St Emilion’s greatest terroir, and clearly one of the best Ausones produced under the Vauthier tenure. This is reflected with equal enthusiasm by Mr Neal Martin of the Wine Advocate:
‘The 2016 Ausone is a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc picked 10-14 October and 14-19 October, respectively, at 40 hectoliters per hectare. It is matured in 80% new oak with a light toasting, a move that Alain and Pauline Vauthier have made in recent years just to lessen the impact of the oak. There is a palpable...stateliness about the Ausone this year. It is extraordinarily pure and articulates its terroir as well as any vintage that I can remember over the last 20-odd years. It is not as flamboyant as other Saint Emilions, more correct and precise. The palate is very elegant and precise. I adore the exquisite balance of this Ausone, the precision and fineness of the tannin, the effortlessness that it conveys. This is classy and sophisticated, satin-like in texture with a long and sensual finish. Not an Ausone that is going to blaze across the sky, this is a cerebral, intellectual Ausone that will entrance for many years to come. Drink Date 2022 – 2070. 98-100/100’. - Neal Martin, robertparker.com
Read MoreWe also have a miniscule allocation of the superb Chapelle d’Ausone. Both these wines will be allocated.