2021 Ausone
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Tasting notes
Ch. Ausone is mid-conversion to organics, making 2021 particularly challenging. Despite that, the Vauthiers have crafted an exceptional wine. There’s a brilliant lift of purple fruit – vibrant, crystalline blueberry and blue raspberry, that mingles with crushed raspberries, chalk and the scent of peonies. The intensity and purity here is remarkable, with that chalky minerality and floral delicacy following through on the palate. There’s amazing finesse to this, with a core of crunchy blackcurrant and a deceptively fine structure to back up the fresh fruit, the scented aromatics lasting long on the tongue. Blend: 65% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot
Critic scores
Average Score
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Still looks very youthful. Extremely rich, opulent nose. Some Cabernet influence? The palate certainly isn’t opulent. Dry finish. (JR)
The Grand Vin 2021 Château Ausone is Cabernet Franc-dominated, made from 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot that saw the same 20 months in 90% new French oak. It offers classic notes of redcurrants, cassis, iron, spicy wood, and graphite, with hints of tobacco and thyme in the background. Rich, medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and tight on the palate, it has beautiful mid-palate depth, ripe, balanced yet present tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It will need 7-8 years, if not a decade, to hit maturity but is a beautiful, elegant, gorgeous Ausone that will be one of the longest-lived in the vintage.
The 2021 Ausone has quite an intense bouquet, with subtle floral scents of iris and violet that percolate through the black fruit. The oak here is very well integrated, and there is just a faint touch of licorice and clove. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, very fresh and tensile, like the Chapelle d'Ausone, exhibiting a captivating citrus/blood orange sorbet note toward the finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a very composed Ausone that will give 20-30 years of drinking pleasure…if you allow it. Incidentally, this is 12.8% alcohol, less than in recent vintages.
About the producer
Ch. Ausone is one of Bordeaux’s most respected estates. At this small property, perched atop a hill overlooking the town of Saint-Emilion, the Vauthier family produces some of the finest wines in the region.