Château Ausone
Saint Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend
St. Émilion, Libournais, Bordeaux, France
The 2019 Ausone has a perfumed nose with another Cabernet Franc-driven set of aromas, gravel and loam infusing the black fruit. Wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a beautifully sculpted wine with a killer line of acidity and immense precision on the finish. This just sashays along with style. Fabulous. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2023)
The 2019 Ausone has a perfumed nose with another Cabernet Franc-driven set of aromas, gravel and loam infusing the black fruit. Wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a beautifully sculpted wine with a killer line of acidity and immense precision on the finish. This just sashays along with style. Fabulous. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2023)
Mar 7th, 2023The 2019 Ausone was picked September 20-27 for the Merlot and October 3, 5 and 7 for the Cabernet Franc, then matured for 20 months in new French oak with light toasting. This is very refined and focused on the nose, less opulent compared to recent vintages, and very sophisticated, with hints of Montecristo cigar interwoven through the red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine but quite firm tannins that frame the lightly spiced black fruit. Touches of pencil lead and white pepper appear toward the prolonged finish. This very composed Ausone might actually drink earlier than other vintages but unequivocally has the substance to age with grace in bottle. There is an abiding sense of completeness here. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2022)
The 2019 Ausone was picked September 20-27 for the Merlot and October 3, 5 and 7 for the Cabernet Franc, then matured for 20 months in new French oak with light toasting. This is very refined and focused on the nose, less opulent compared to recent vintages, and very sophisticated, with hints of Montecristo cigar interwoven through the red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine but quite firm tannins that frame the lightly spiced black fruit. Touches of pencil lead and white pepper appear toward the prolonged finish. This very composed Ausone might actually drink earlier than other vintages but unequivocally has the substance to age with grace in bottle. There is an abiding sense of completeness here. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2022)
The 2019 Ausone is a deep, statuesque Saint-Émilion that is at the beginning of what will surely be a very long, long life. Its vertical energy, stunning aromatics and persistence are all things of beauty, but it is the balance here that is so captivating. The acids and tannins are at once searing in their intensity and yet also totally woven into the wine's fabric. Ausone can be quite flattering in its youth. The 2019 is a wine that readers will have to wait for. I wouldn't dream of touching a bottle for a decade or more. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, February 2022)
The 2019 Ausone is a deep, statuesque Saint-Émilion that is at the beginning of what will surely be a very long, long life. Its vertical energy, stunning aromatics and persistence are all things of beauty, but it is the balance here that is so captivating. The acids and tannins are at once searing in their intensity and yet also totally woven into the wine's fabric. Ausone can be quite flattering in its youth. The 2019 is a wine that readers will have to wait for. I wouldn't dream of touching a bottle for a decade or more. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, February 2022)