Ausone

Tasting Notes:
The inky/blue-colored 2006 Ausone possesses a striking perfume of minerals, flowers, blackberries, and blueberries. Even though 100% new oak is utilized in the wineÕs upbringing, there is no hint of wood in the aromas or flavors. Despite its fabulous texture, medium to full body, size, richness, and profound depth of flavor and nuance, it is surreal in its lightness and delicacy. Prospective purchasers should be aware that the 2006, a legend in the making, will require 10-12 years of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2050. Obsessive perfectionist proprietor Alain VauthierÕs extraordinary attention to detail in both the vineyard and cellar has resulted in virtually perfect wines in vintage after vintage. Ausone is a 50-year wine, and generations to come will regard them with almost mythical acclaim. Wine Advocate # 170 Apr 2007.
Parker Points: 95-97
Drinking Period: 2016-2050

Tasting Notes:
In many respects, the 2002 may be even more impressive than the 2003. A far more challenging vintage to get everything right, and especially in St.-Emilion, where many disappointments have been produced, this is one of the wines of the vintage and (along with Pavie) among the finest wines from the Right Bank. It possesses a deep purple color as well as a gorgeous nose of creme de cassis, blackberries, wet stones, and wonderfully perfumed floral notes. When the wine hits the palate, it exhibits impressive purity, medium to full body, a multi-layered texture, and extraordinary precision and intensity with a finish just short of 50 seconds. Wine Advocate # 158 Apr 2005
Parker Points: 95
Drinking Period: 2011 - 2035

Tasting Notes:
In many respects, the 2002 may be even more impressive than the 2003. A far more challenging vintage to get everything right, and especially in St.-Emilion, where many disappointments have been produced, this is one of the wines of the vintage and (along with Pavie) among the finest wines from the Right Bank. It possesses a deep purple color as well as a gorgeous nose of creme de cassis, blackberries, wet stones, and wonderfully perfumed floral notes. When the wine hits the palate, it exhibits impressive purity, medium to full body, a multi-layered texture, and extraordinary precision and intensity with a finish just short of 50 seconds.Wine Advocate # 158 Apr 2005
Parker Points: 95
Drinking Period: 2011-2035

Tasting Notes:
In many respects, the 2002 may be even more impressive than the 2003. A far more challenging vintage to get everything right, and especially in St.-Emilion, where many disappointments have been produced, this is one of the wines of the vintage and (along with Pavie) among the finest wines from the Right Bank. It possesses a deep purple color as well as a gorgeous nose of creme de cassis, blackberries, wet stones, and wonderfully perfumed floral notes. When the wine hits the palate, it exhibits impressive purity, medium to full body, a multi-layered texture, and extraordinary precision and intensity with a finish just short of 50 seconds.Wine Advocate # 158 Apr 2005
Parker Points: 95
Drinking Period: 2011-2035

Tasting Notes:
Is the 1999 Ausone the wine of the vintage? Dense purple color, a compelling bouquet of licorice, minerals, black and blueberry liqueur, extraordinary delineation, high tannin, superb extract, and phenomenal richness all are the stuff of a legend. This wine seems impossible to have emerged from a vintage like 1999. Proprietor Alain Vauthier produced only 20,000 bottles because he eliminated one-fourth of the tiny crop. The result is out-and-out fabulous, but the wine needs 12-15 years of cellaring. Wine Advocate # 140 Apr 2002
Parker Points: 95
Drinking Period: 2015-2050

Tasting Notes:
93 points. I do not understand the critics of Alain Vautier, who now has sole control of Ausone and is taking the estate's quality to a higher level. Moreover, the wine is consistent, with great depth and richness on the mid-palate, without sacrificing Ausone's 40-50+ years of longevity. As I suspected, the 1996 is beginning to shut down. I left it in the glass for nearly 30 minutes and was impressed with the nuances that developed. The color is a dense ruby/black/purple. Reluctant aromas of blueberries, blackberries, minerals, flowers, truffles, and subtle new oak eventually emerge. Elegant on the attack, with sweet ripeness, and a delicate, concentrated richness, the hallmark of this wine is subtlety rather than flamboyance. A sweet mid-palate sets it apart from many of the uninspiring Ausones of the eighties and seventies. The wine is stylish, and presently understated, with tremendous aging potential. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2040. Wine Advocate 4/99.
Parker Points: 93
Drinking Period:  -

Tasting Notes:
1995 will be remembered as an historic vintage for Ausone. It is the first year where, after more than a decade of infighting among the owners, Alain Vauthier emerged as the sole proprietor, and thus had complete control of the wine's viticulture, vinification, and up-bringing. Ausone's extraordinary minerality is present in the 1995, yet there are more aromatics, a richer, more multidimensional palate impression, and a fuller texture - all with the terroir brilliantly expressed. The wine boasts a dense ruby/purple color, and an emerging but tightly-knit nose of spring flowers, minerals, earth, and black fruits. Rich, with an opulent texture, and surprising sexiness for a young vintage of Ausone, the medium-bodied 1995 displays exquisite balance between its acid, tannin, alcohol, and fruit. Although it is not yet seamless, all the elements are present for an extraordinary evolution in the bottle. Given its backward style, this wine will require 5-7 years of cellaring, and will age at a glacial pace for 30-40 years. Wine Advocate # 115 Feb 1998
Parker Points: 93
Drinking Period: 2003-2045

Tasting Notes:
Long-time readers of this publication know that I believe Ausone is the most intellectually challenging wine made in Bordeaux. The wine often tastes as if it needs 40-50 years to shed some of its astringency and closed style. With that caveat in mind, the 1989 seemed significantly less impressive than in previous tastings. Certainly it is nowhere near the quality of the 1990. The 1989 reveals amber at the edge, and a green tobacco and mineral-scented, hard-edged nose of musty wood and earthy fruit. This mid-weight wine is spicy and elegant, with moderate body, and a boatload of astringent tannin in the harsh finish. It requires a minimum of 10-15 more years of cellaring. Wine Advocate # 109 Feb 1997
Parker Points: 88
Drinking Period: 2005-2020

Tasting Notes:
Medium ruby-colored, with a pronounced smoky, herb-tinged bouquet revealing aromas of black tea, minerals, and sweet fruit, this medium-bodied 1982 exhibits a striking liquid minerality, decent acidity, and a powerful, concentrated, long finish. The 1982 Ausone is just turning the corner and beginning to reveal considerable complexity as well as finesse. Wine Advocate # 129 Jun 2000
Parker Points: 93
Drinking Period: 2005-2040