2012 | Château Ausone | Saint-Emilion

This is a magnificent wine with an opulent structure and a finely perfumed character. It is dense with the ripest black fruits cushioned by the soft texture.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Tasted blind at the 2012 Southwold tasting, the 2012 Ausone took more time to settle in the glass than its peers, eventually deciding upon briary, violet and cassis scents—very floral and Margaux-like in style, not powerful but insistent. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, a crisp line of acidity, blackcurrant pastille mixed with cedar and a dash of spice, the wine finally revving up towards an intense and persistent finish that almost stains the mouth with its opulence. It is a gorgeous Saint Emilion from Pauline and Alain Vauthier. Tasted January 2016.

• James Suckling: Wild aromas of mint, spearmint, cool chalk and dark fruits. Full-bodied, tight, linear and incredibly long with a evening-stone, blueberry, cherry and mineral undertone. Crisp and extremely persistent. Iodine and oyster shell here to round it all off.

Producer Information

Château Ausone is a highly regarded wine estate in the Saint-Émilion region of northeastern Bordeaux. It is one of the prestigious few Saint-Émilion producers with Premier Grand Cru Classé A status – and one of only two estates (the other being Château Cheval Blanc) to hold this status since the inception of the classification in 1955. The wider estate is relatively small compared to other top rated Bordeaux châteaux, and its seven-hectare (17-acre) vineyard is planted almost entirely to Cabernet Franc and Merlot. A small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon appears in its second wine, Chapelle d'Ausone. The estate is named for the Fourth Century Roman poet Decimius Magnus Ausonius, who owned extensive property in Bordeaux, including some vineyards. However, the modern château and estate, which sit on a highly coveted spot just south of Saint-Émilion town on the edge of the Saint-Émilion plateau, date back to the 18th Century. Ausone and its neighbor Château Bélair-Monange were owned by the same family for most of the 20th Century and shared Ausone's cellars. Despite its centuries-old history, Ausone has only been owned by three different families, though not always without contention: in the 1990s, a legal feud regarding inheritance plagued the estate. Ausone's vineyard is on an elevated southeast-facing slope that is uncommonly steep for the region. Sheltered to the north and the west, the vineyard was spared from the devastating effects of the 1956 frosts that ruined vines and vintages in many other parts of Bordeaux. Since the 1990s, Ausone has consistently received high critical praise, peaking with 100 points from US wine critic Robert Parker for the 2000 vintage. A very limited production of fewer than 2000 cases annually makes Château Ausone one of the most expensive and sought-after Saint-Émilion wines.

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