1990 vintage. Finally...tasted a bottle that confirmed both the excellence of this particular vintage and this particular producer. Was 0 for 10 prior to this with a few 9.0's, 9.1's and a 9.2 being the highest score. Still much more sleek than the '86, '88 or '89 vintages and currently pretty close stylistically to the linear '96 vintage. Soft yet intriguing nose. Light-medium body. Better than good concentration mid-palate and through a 30-second finish. Some of that beguiling cocoa powder and blueberry feminity confirming a beautiful effort. 4.22.23 — a year ago
This has been my WOTN in blind tastings before and yet again Ausone came out on top for me. What a wine! Dark cherries, cassis, licorice, lavender, fine wood. It has everything. Tension, texture and a weightless silky sensation that is so irresistible. You can tell a lot of effort has been put it to making this wine. Very luxurious. The vineyards are planted with a a crazy high vine density of 12 600 vines per hectare. The quality of the fruit is through the roof. — 2 months ago
2020 vintage. Another great effort from this Château. Already easy drinking. A lot of sweet fruit, smooth with a nice ripe tannic bite, freshness and good length. Merlot 70%, Cabernet Franc 16%, Cabernet Sauvignon 9%, Carmenère 2% and Noir de Pressac (aka Malbec) 2%. Abv. 14,5%. Hubert de Boüard consults.Don't know if it will make old bones ( a 2008 recently tasted was totally over the hill). — a year ago
A brilliant effort, the 2016 Château Faugeres shines all the way through. Deep ruby colored, the nose reveals whafts of tobacco, violets, red and black plum, blackcurrant, mint, leather and forrest floor. Full bodied with boatloads of ripe and polished tannins, the wine closes with a long, intense finish. This is a fantastic wine from Château Faugeres. Drink now until 2041. — 2 years ago
The 2022 Barbera d'Alba is a fabulous wine that marries Barbera fruit richness with a Nebbiolo-like sense of structure. Aging is done entirely in cement. Ripe cherry, plum, lavender, rose petal and blood orange are front and center in this juicy, inviting Barbera. $23.00 (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, January 2024) — 3 months ago
2006 vintage. Lean and mean. Decanted and tasted after 1.5 hrs. Not too much sed. Nice little sprinkling of cocoa powder in a feminine nose but, otherwise, all business and very transactional. Difficult to love and hard to understand with this effort being pretty linear vs what we've come to know/expect/love from this property. Plenty of concentration but lacking that extra oomph of finishing depth and seems like it has topped out/not improving. 9.23.23. — 7 months ago
2018 Materium comes from the Weitz Vineyard in Oakville and is all Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in mostly new barrels. It's a very different wine than the Amoenus release and has more elegant, seamless aromas and flavors of crème de cassis, black raspberries, tobacco leaf, flowery incense, and sandalwood. Château Margaux-like in its elegance and complexity, this brilliant wine has loads of sweet fruit, flawless integration of its tannins and acidity, flawless balance, and just a heavenly overall profile that I wish every reader could taste. This extraordinary effort can be drunk today or cellared for 30 years or more. — 3 years ago
Ray Vanderhoff
Quite young but totally ready to drink. Beautiful aromas of wild berries, violets and wet potting soil. The palate is full of red berry fruit with notes of mushroom, Earl Grey tea, fresh basil, mint and sweet spices. A note of “steaminess” (whole cluster?) and a beautiful touch of mineral on the finish. Lovely balance and perfect acidity. Light bodied, silky tannins and so fresh tasting. Great effort! — 2 months ago