1er Grand Cru A Class.
Merlot Noir 50 %, Cabernet Franc (Bouchet) 50 %.
Aged in cask from 20 to 24 months.
Anticipated maturity 15 - 50 years.
The wines of Château Ausone, called " the wines of the poet ", obtain, after long years of aging, an important difference with all the neighboring vineyards.
What the critics say...
Robert Parker: 100 points(01/04/2006)
The 2003 Ausone is off the charts in terms of richness. While I gave a 3-digit score to the 2000, I think this profoundly concentrated wine may be even more sublime and exotic. Its inky/blue/purple color is followed by an extraordinary perfume of flowers, crushed rocks, sweet raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and God knows what else. The impression is one of extraordinary richness and purity, and a multilayered texture yet a surreal lightness as well as laser-like precision. This exquisite offering must be tasted to be believed. Incredibly young, it will undoubtedly close down over the next few years, re-emerging after 15-20 years. It should last for 70-100 years. It is a wine for anthology
Pairing: Aged Cheese, Game Animals, Grilled Red Meats, Legume, Roasts, Stews.
Château Ausone is a Bordeaux wine from Saint-Émilion appellation, one of only two wines, along with Château Cheval Blanc, to be ranked Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located on the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the Gironde... department, close to the town of Saint-Émilion. The winery also produces a second wine named Chapelle d'Ausone. The success of the wine produced at Ausone is attributed to a combination of exposure and the soil, a mixture of sand and clay on limestone unique to the district. The vineyard is 7 hectares (17 acres), arranged with the grape varieties of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot, planted with a density of 6,500 plants per hectare. Due to the small scale of the vineyards, picking may be done at an optimal moment, usually in two afternoons. Of both the Grand vin and the second wine Chapelle d'Ausone, the annual production averages little more than 2,000 cases (180 hL).
