| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Fabulous aromas of currants, rose petals, dried strawberries and hints of lemon rind. Wet earth and chalk. Full and dense and so compacted and squeezed. What a texture. Phenomenal. Needs five to six years to open, but it’s a joy to taste. Amazing. Such energy! From organically grown grapes as well. I am in awe.
Tasted blind. Bright crimson. Some menthol notes. Quite chunky and dense with a slightly feral note and dry tannins. Not sophisticated. Very pinched finish. Something a bit raw about this.
Drink 2024-2040
An utterly perfect wine from Alain Vauthier, the 2015 Château Ausone offers off the hook notes of crème de cassis, black raspberries, toasted spice and dried flowers, with more floral and mineral characteristics developing with time in the glass. Amazingly deep, full-bodied, pure and ethereally textured, with building density and tannin, it’s one of those wines that need to be tasted to be believed. Unfortunately, the production is minuscule (and expensive). A wine that will make your heart rate jump, give it 4-5 years of cellaring and I suspect it will keep for as long as you’d like to hang on to bottles. It’s a tour de force in wine and the wine of the vintage in 2015. 2023 - 2063
The nose has a floral charm a mix of fragrances and the start of the palate is quite light. Sweeter in the middle with ripe tannins a fleshy suppleness but it is brighter at the back more red fruit in character. The finish has length and elegance. 2022-36
Scented, succulent and comparatively forward for Ausone, which can be a little grumpy in its youth, this is an open, accessible grand vin that's a little too marked by its 85% new oak at present. The underlying texture is soft and attractive with acidity lifting the finish of the wine.
The 2014 Ausone, a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, was matured in barrel for 20 months with 85% new oak. Compared to the Chapelle d'Ausone, this Grand Vin demanded gentle coaxing from the glass. It eventually unfurls to reveal mineral-rich red berry fruit, oregano, orange blossom and later on blackcurrant winegums. It displays superb delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannin. There is an almost sorbet-like freshness conferred upon this Saint Emilion by the growing season, very harmonious and poised with one of the most precise and tensile finishes that you will find this vintage. One of the stars of the vintage, this may merit a higher score with bottle age. This is a great success. Drink Date 2022-2045
Pauline Vauthier told me that this year, there is more Cabernet Franc in the blend of the Château Ausone 2014: 60% with 40% Merlot. Both she and father Alain felt that some of the young, 10-year old Cabernet Franc was worthy of promotion into the Grand Vin, which represents two barrels. It was picked between 4 and 11 October at 27hl/ha and matured in 85% new oak rather than the 100%, a slight reduction as has been their policy since the 2011 vintage. It has a very perfumed, floral bouquet with dark cherries and blueberry with a touch of orange blossom that develops with aeration. The palate is imbued with a sense of freshness and joie-de-vivre - a less "serious" Ausone than in the past, but perhaps one that exudes greater terroir expression and tension from start to finish. I was quite smitten by this Ausone that comes across more self-effacing compared to other vintages, surfeit with style and panache.Drink: 2019 - 2035
A juicy red with beautiful blueberry, blackberry and mineral character. Oyster shell and iodine. Full and tight with 60% cabernet franc instead of 50%. This gives a fresher and more linear character of Ausone. Fine finish. Fascinating with such purity.
60% Cabernet Franc (more than usual), 40% Merlot. 20 months in 85% new oak.
Not especially deep colour. Very sweet but much better oak management than at one time. Chestnut intensity. And some freshness. But it does not leap out of the glass yelling 'top wine'! Something a bit sinewy. Plays the sweetness and freshness cards rather than alcohol and density. Quite playful.
Drink 2024-2037
